![\"Judah](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/720\/2016\/07\/esthertop-300x158.jpg\")
Director Timur Bekmambetov said that Esther\u2019s role was crucial to the story as she serves as a bridge for Judah to join her in her newfound faith in Jesus Christ. \u201cShe presents faith for Judah because he loved her,\u201d he said. In the update, Esther presents Judah with an ultimatum that leads him to a spiritual crossroad.<\/p>\n
Boniadi plays Esther with confidence and grace. She recently spoke about the part the character plays in Judah\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n
How did you approach playing Esther? It\u2019s a slightly different incarnation of\u00a0the character. <\/strong><\/p>\n I love her evolution, I love that she goes from a place of a servant to, once she finds her faith, I think she becomes more outspoken and a stronger voice, which is not typically what you see in those period pieces. I love that she\u2019s stronger, she\u2019s more vocal. She stands for what she believes in. I think Timur made it a point to make the women more relatable to a modern audience. And I love that a woman in that time can be portrayed as strong and self-aware. I really enjoyed playing her. I love her journey of journey, of finding her strength in her womanhood, of her voice as a woman. And it\u2019s not all about the men, so I love that.<\/p>\n There was clearly a point where she made a point to stay with Christ and made Judah make his choice. \u201cI\u2019m not going to compromise for you.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n I love that from the beginning when she finds the Carpenter, it\u2019s a triangle. It\u2019s not a love affair with Jesus, but he fulfills her spiritual needs and Judah fulfills the love and the physical emotions of love. And there comes a point where she really has to choose does she follow the spiritual faithful path and what defines her and fulfills her spiritually or the person who in the flesh is everything she needs and loves. Then she clearly makes that decision, the person that fulfills her faith.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This film seems well timed for everything going on in the world. <\/strong><\/p>\n Absolutely. I posted something on social media, a Martin Luther King quote, \u2018Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.\u2019 Hate doesn\u2019t drive out hate, only love can do that. The most response I got was negative. \u2018That\u2019s so na\u00efve.\u201d \u201cHow can you think love will solve that? Love won\u2019t solve everything.\u2019 I think this film though is this overwhelming sense that love can conquer hate. The impulse is hate and that\u2019s absolutely the impulse, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t have gotten that reaction. But the key is to kind of somehow turn that around.<\/p>\n It\u2019s interesting to see Esther\u2019s service to her community, caring for those people. For people who want the world to be a better place, how does a character like Esther serve as a role model? <\/strong><\/p>\n I love playing this role specifically because I am an activist and I see her as an activist during her time. I think to serve is not to be selfless completely, because I sleep better at night knowing that I\u2019ve helped other people, as cheesy as that sounds. For me, I\u2019m doing for self fulfillment. It\u2019s not that I give, give, give for no reason. It truly makes me feel good. I think with this role comes that sort of message that serving others and caring about others ultimately gives you everything you hope to achieve. It is about making your own life better in a way and I thinkt hat\u2019s an easier, more palatable for people to consume, if each one of us takes care of our sphere of influence. When people find out I\u2019m an activist, they say it\u2019s easy for me as an actress to get up on a soapbox and say these things. I always say \u2018no, because I know activists and you don\u2019t know their names and they\u2019re doing amazing work in communities, even if just their school, their family, as a mother, as a father. Whatever your sphere of influence is, taking care of that will ultimately make the world a better place and I think that\u2019s where Esther comes from.<\/p>\n![\"Nazanin](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/720\/2016\/07\/Nazinin-200x300.gif\")
![\"Judah](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/720\/2016\/07\/Esther02-300x200.gif\")
![\"Judah](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/720\/2016\/07\/Esther01-200x300.gif\")