TV SERIES · 1977– · UK
Jesus of Nazareth
35 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (35)
- #001
Robert Powell resembled Jesus so strongly in photographs that whenever he stepped out of the dressing room in costume, the crew's foul language suddenly stopped.
- #002
During filming in Tunisia, R2-D2 paid a surprise visit to the set. George Lucas was shooting Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) at the same time. According to Koo Stark, "The remote-controlled R2-D2 had to roll past the camera and disappear behind a sand dune. But the operator couldn't manage to stop the robot, and it headed toward the Jesus of Nazareth set."
- #003
Robert Powell's eye makeup consisted of a thin line of navy blue eyeliner on the upper lid and a thin line of white eyeliner on the lower lid. This had the effect of emphasizing the piercing blue of his eyes, giving him a piercing gaze, and combined with very little blinking it made the character appear otherworldly and supernatural.
- #004
Robert Powell stated that he did not like some Christian churches using photographs of him in his Jesus costume as objects of worship.
- #005
In a 2019 interview, Robert Powell admitted that although he is not personally religious, while filming the Sermon on the Mount scenes in front of hundreds of ecstatic and tearful extras he had an experience that could be described as a religious one. Many of the crew were also deeply affected and became quite emotional afterward, praising Powell for his intense performance.
- #006
To appear physically weakened after Jesus's imprisonment and torture, Robert Powell went on a near-starvation diet for 12 days before filming the crucifixion scenes, eating only cheese.
- #007
Writer and director Franco Zeffirelli wanted Marcello Mastroianni for the role of Pontius Pilate, but they could not agree on financial terms. Zeffirelli was ultimately happy because he felt Rod Steiger was a "magnificent Pilate."
- #008
The miniseries cost 12-20 million dollars to make, a budget equivalent to many feature films of the time. It held the record for the most expensive film made for television for several years.
- #009
The cast includes seven Oscar winners: Christopher Plummer, Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Peter Ustinov, Anne Bancroft, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger and Ernest Borgnine; and six Oscar nominees: James Mason, Sir Ian Holm, Ian Bannen, James Earl Jones, Valentina Cortese and Sir Ralph Richardson.
- #010
According to Ernest Borgnine, many local extras had to be dubbed because they could not speak English very well. Writer and director Franco Zeffirelli decided to avoid recording sound entirely on many episodes and sent the lead actors and actresses to the studio later to dub their own characters.
- #011
The role of the blind man was the last role of Italian comedy star Renato Rascel.
- #012
It was banned in Egypt after religious leaders objected to its content.
- #013
The idea of casting Robert Powell came about after Kathie Moody, the wife of executive producer Sir Lew Grade, told her husband after watching the actor's performance in Jude the Obscure (1971) that she was crazy about his "wonderful blue eyes."
- #014
It was initially announced that the lead would be played by Tom Courtenay, with Alan Bates as Herod, Dustin Hoffman as Judas, Burt Lancaster as Caiaphas, Nino Manfredi as Barabbas and Peter O'Toole as John the Baptist. The originally announced cast also included Laurence Olivier as Pontius Pilate and John Gielgud, Paul Scofield and Terence Stamp in unspecified roles.
- #015
Norman Eshley is the voice of Joseph. Robert Rietty is the voice of the rich man whom Jesus tells to sell his fortune, one of the shepherds, a Roman soldier, the head of the census, the blind man healed at the temple, and the messenger who mentions Lazarus.
- #016
Executive producer Sir Lew Grade and writer and director Franco Zeffirelli insisted that their adaptation of the life of Jesus should be "ecumenical," coherent even for non-believers and "acceptable to all denominations." To ensure the film's accuracy, the producers consulted experts from the Vatican, the Leo Baeck College in London and the Quran School in Meknes, Morocco. However, when Zeffirelli asked Rabbi Albert Friedlander to help him create a Bar Mitzvah scene for Jesus, Friedlander said such ceremonies had only been practiced from the fifteenth century onward. Zeffirelli nevertheless insisted on including it, and Friedlander tried to teach Lorenzo Monet to read a short passage of the Pentateuch in Hebrew, but he mumbled it and Zeffirelli was not satisfied (in the film the child Jesus mostly reads in English).
- #017
Over four days of Easter 2016 (Good Friday, Saturday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, 25-28 March), the UK television channel Sky Arts aired one episode per day in order. The version they used was four two-hour (with commercials) edits, equal to eight hours, apparently from a remastered High Definition version. This was repeated at Easter 2020 (10-13 April).
- #018
Writer and director Franco Zeffirelli considered Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino for the role of Jesus, and Robert Powell for the role of Judas.
- #019
The actor who played the young Jesus was dubbed.
- #020
Maria Schneider turned down the role of the Virgin Mary, a decision she later regretted. Schneider would go on to play a small role in Franco Zeffirelli's Jane Eyre (1996).
- #021
The character Zerah is fictional and is not based on any figure known or named in the Bible.
- #022
Reverend Donald Wildmon, who ran a strong campaign against TV programs he considered indecent, was embarrassed by this production. Based on comments he read in which director Franco Zeffirelli emphasized Jesus's humanity, he campaigned against it without actually having seen it. Wildmon assumed this meant the series would not portray Jesus as a divine being; in fact, the series fully affirms his divinity, not only depicting miracles such as the raising of the dead but also showing him after the Resurrection, something earlier films portraying Jesus had not done.
- #023
Franco Zeffirelli later became the godfather of Robert Powell's first child from his marriage.
- #024
This was Francis De Wolff's last television appearance before his death on 18 April 1984 at the age of 71.
- #025
Dame Elizabeth Taylor was interested in playing Mary Magdalene.
- #026
The Spanish actress Isabel Mestres, who played Salome, was dubbed by the German voice artist Nikki Van der Zyl.
- #027
Although Herod Antipas is one of the main characters, there is no explanation for why Jesus was not taken before King Herod Antipas (Luke 23). Since Antipas's visit is recorded only in Luke's gospel and does not appear in the others, it may have been omitted for reasons of timing.
- #028
In Chile it has become a Holy Week classic, broadcast every year since 1982 on National Television (TVN) and a tradition in the country's homes.
- #029
Anthony Quinn had recently appeared in the life story of one of the world's most respected religious leaders: The Message (1976), a biography of Muhammad also filmed in North Africa. The female lead of The Message, Irene Papas, came very close to playing the Virgin Mary in Jesus of Nazareth.
- #030
Peter Ustinov has only 25 lines.
- #031
Sir Tom Courtenay was offered the role of Jesus.
- #032
Those dubbed include Norman Bowler, Fernando Rey, Renato Rascel and Maria Carta.
- #033
Ernest Borgnine and Anthony Quinn appeared in both Barabbas (1961) and High Risk (1981).
- #034
Celia Johnson was initially considered for Herodias.
- #035
It was released in cinemas in France on 11 January 1978.
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