Actress Cote de Pablo admitted to being deeply touched after reading the script for the biblical miniseries "The Dovekeepers" in a recent interview.
De Pablo played Shirah on the series, which details the lives of four women in Israel's ancient Masada fortification.
Fewer than a thousand Jews held off the Roman Army, and de Pablo said she was captivated by the script, which she looked over while on vacation.
"By page 24 I was sobbing," she admitted. "I just thought it was so beautiful, you know? I was in Greece and I was overlooking the ocean.
"It was the perfect setup to go, 'Oh, great. A script. I won't read it' (but) I couldn't put it down."
The miniseries is based on the best-selling novel by Alice Hoffmann, and produced by famed husband and wife team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. The pair were behind the successful projects "The Bible", "Son of God", "A.D. The Bible", and "The Red Tent".
De Pablo explained that "Dovekeepers" was going to be filmed in Israel, but the location was changed because of unrest.
"Unfortunately the political climate in Israel was not good," she said. "But at the beginning we were going to go and we were all really excited.
"The idea of just being there even if it was just for a little bit was incredible but they chose an island in the Mediterranean, the country of Malta, and a beautiful, beautiful place so I think we were able to reach a good balance."
"The Dovekeepers" also stars Rachel Brosnahan, Diego Boneta, Kathryn Prescott and Sam Neill, and aired on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Response to the miniseries was mixed, with ratings lower than expected.
Burnett and Downey's "A.D.: The Bible Continued" will premiere on Easter Sunday.
