While any faith-based film has the potential to upset certain groups, Willem Dafoe, who portrayed this questioning Jesus, was “shocked” by the fervent backlash. Dafoe reflected on the experience in a recent talk at the Sarajevo Film Festival, during which he claimed that the campaign to get the movie banned was “driven by the religious right who needed something to energize their cause,” per Variety. “They complained about the idea of the movie,” he continued. “They hadn’t seen it.”
“Then it morphed into a strange thing about Jews in Hollywood and became an antisemitic thing,” he recalled. “It snowballed. The perception is that it was the Catholic Church, and it wasn’t the Catholic Church; it was the fundamental right in America that started [it]. I was shocked because in an age of super-violent movies and porn, this is a movie that was trying to address the nature of faith. It was a sincere attempt.”
Despite everything that arose around it, Dafoe still considers his work in the film a “beautiful role.” In fact, it was one of the veteran actor’s “favorite roles because it was so demanding.” “You’re in every shot,” he shared. “We had very little resources, we shot very fast, no money, but that was the way to shoot it because we didn’t get distracted by the spectacle. We could only do what we do. There was a beauty, a grace, and simplicity to it.”
If nothing else, the film gave Dafoe a pretty solid plan B if the whole acting thing ever takes a nosedive. When asked if he enjoyed being crucified for the film, the actor responded that it was “an experience.” “I put any of you up on a cross and you’ll have an experience,” he went on. “In fact, if all of this goes to hell, I can find a patch of land and make it an experience.” Dafoe is currently booked and busy, so he probably won’t have time for that any time soon, but if he does, we’ll see how the same groups that tried to cast The Last Temptation Of Christ out of Hollywood react.
