Jesus was played by a Portuguese actor in The Bible and an Argentinian actor in A.D. The Bible Continues, and he will soon be played by a Brazilian actor in Ben-Hur.
Now The Passion — the live musical that will air on Palm Sunday this year — is going in a similar direction, by casting Hispanic pop star Jencarlos Canela as Jesus.
Unlike the other actors, who came from Europe and Latin America, Canela was born in the United States (in Miami, to be precise), to Cuban parents.
In 2008 — when Canela was only 20 — he was dubbed the “Sexiest Man” in a People en Español poll, which means we could see the #HotJesus hashtag flare up again.
In other news, The Passion has also cast Chris Daughtry as Judas Iscariot.
— The image above is from a Catholic TV ad for the Dutch version of the musical.
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