Lebanese actor Haaz Sleiman considers it quite an honour to be portraying the role of Jesus Christ in National Geographic's TV movie Killing Jesus, even describing the role as a "dream come true" because the Savior's teachings had a positive impact on his own life.
In an interview with The Christian Post, Sleiman said that before getting the role, he was"going through a lot" of issues in his life.
"And I used a lot of Jesus' teachings, you know, to apply it in my life. So when this part came, it was sort of magical to me that I would be doing this and everything that he taught, I believed in," he shared.
Sleiman was raised a Muslim and he explained that as Jesus is a revered figure in his religion, he is applying the same respect and admiration Muslims have towards Christ in portraying the role.
"I did the scene with healing the kid that was possessed by a demon, and looking at that child a certain way, not looking at him as a weak person. Or people with leprosy, not looking at them as weak. Or people who are poor, not looking at them as weak. But rather, all of them equal, to me, to everybody else and that they're strong," Sleiman explained.
Through playing the role, the actor has learned to incorporate Jesus' wisdom, kindness, and compassion into his personal life.
"It's a wonderful thing that I get to do this everyday that I come to set," he added. "It's what I do in my life anyways. I try to do that in my life. In fact, now I can do that in my life and at work. It's like a dream come true."
Killing Jesus is based on the book written by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, and will premiere on March 29, Palm Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on National Geographic Channel.
