Ewan McGregor, 'Last Days in the Desert' Jesus Actor, Admits He's Not Christian
Ewan McGregor, the Hollywood actor who plays the role of Jesus Christ in the "Last Days in the Desert" movie, has admitted that he is neither a Christian nor religious, but follows more of the Jewish tradition.
"I'm not a religious person," McGregor told The Daily Beast in an article published on Sunday. "I'm married to a Jewish woman, so my children are Jewish and my involvement in religion has more to do with the Jewish faith now and not the Christian faith, which I was very vaguely brought up in."
He added: "My parents were not religious, but my school had prayers at morning assembly. So my early understanding of religion was the Protestant faith in Scotland. But my experience is no longer that."
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The actor, who is also famous for roles in "Star Wars," "Moulin Rouge," and "Trainspotting," portrays Jesus in Rodrigo Garcia's film, which explores the end of Christ's 40-day journey in the desert. The film features Jesus helping a family He encounters and resisting the devil and his temptations, also portrayed by McGregor.
The Hollywood star argued that while the movie has its critics, "Last Days in the Desert" doesn't attempt to show an entirely accurate depiction of the Bible.
"I think even those people might question or find offensive a film that is absolutely based on the Gospel. But we didn't make a movie that's offensive to people of faith. I think that is the truth. We didn't set out to offend them, or not offend them. We made a film about the relationships between fathers and sons, and the lead character is Jesus," McGregor asserted.
In a previous interview with the New York Daily News, the actor said the focus of the film is not on the Divine nature of Christ, but on His role as the son of God.
"The film is very much about the human side of Jesus, because I don't know how you go about shooting the Divine side," he said. "I did quite a bit of research on Jesus going in … reading all these books about who Jesus was and who He wasn't and that wasn't helpful to me."
McGregor clarified that although the film portrays Jesus as fully human, Christ's status as the Messiah is not questioned either.
"There's never a moment that He's uncertain of His faith," the Scottish actor explained. "I played Him as the son of God and a man who is in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights to meditate on His path, the path ahead of Him, which is to go out and preach and dedicate His life, ultimately and completely, to spreading the Word of God, His Father."
