Film on the life and death of Jesus, based on the Bill O'Reilly book, will air on the National Geographic Channel in 2015
Posted: October 07, 2014, 5:00 PM | Category:Movies / Media Artist Tags: Source: USA Today
Son of God and The Passion of the Christ both told stories of the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth, and Dr. Frasier Crane himself will be part of the latest telling of His life.
Well, not Frasier, but the actor who played him. Accoring to USA Today, National Geographic Channel has announced many of the cast members for its upcoming TV movie, Killing Jesus, based on the 2013 best-selling book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. That cast includes Kelsey Grammer, who will portray King Herod, the Roman King of Judea who attempted to kill Jesus at His birth.
Other cast members include Stephen Moyer (True Blood) as Pontius Pilate, Rufus Sewell (A Knight's Tale) as High Priest Caiaphas and John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) as High Priest Annas, among others. Lebanese actor Haaz Sleiman will portray Jesus.
The film will chronicle the life of Jesus of Nazareth through the retelling of the political, social and historical conflicts during the Roman Empire that ultimately led to his death.
The project films this fall under the guidance of U.K.-based director Chris Menaul, with a teleplay from Oscar- and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter Walon Green.
"The film Killing Jesus will break new ground in chronicling the life of the most famous human being who ever lived," said O'Reilly, who also serves as an executive producer.
Killing Jesus is expected to premiere on National Geographic Channel in 2015.
In November 2013, National Geographic Channel aired Killing Kennedy, a 2014 Emmy nominee for best television movie and the most-watched program in the channel's history. The network's second-most-watched program is the trio's Killing Lincoln, which aired over Presidents' Day weekend in February 2013.