Three new actors have joined the Saul-and-David drama Of Kings and Prophets.
First, in the centre of the photo above, there is British actor Oliver Rix, who will play David, the young shepherd who goes on to become the second King of Israel.
Second, to the left, there is New Zealand actress Simone Kessell, who will play Anohim, the wife of King Saul (Ray Winstone) and, thus, the mother of Michal (Maisie Richardson-Sellers). Anohim is described as “a top adviser to the throne.”
There have been many films about David and Saul, and many films that depict Saul’s sons and daughters (well, at least the daughter that David married), but I can’t recall if any of them have ever depicted Saul’s wife before, much less given her a significant role in the story. Saul’s wife is called Ahinoam in the Bible, and she is mentioned only once, in I Samuel 14:50 — but David, too, is said to have married a woman named Ahinoam, who became the mother of his firstborn son Amnon. Some scholars think these two women might be the same person, but that doesn’t seem likely.
Finally, to the right, there is Lebanese-American actor Haaz Sleiman, whose role in the pilot has not yet been announced. Sleiman currently has the title role in Killing Jesus, which will premiere on the National Geographic Channel on March 29.
The picture above comes from Sleiman’s Facebook page.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In