Goldsmith, who was born in the United Kingdom, had a tremendous amount to contribute to the production as not only is he an accomplished screenwriter; but he is also a student of the Bible. “It wasn’t that we just hired a great writer, because there would have been way too much of a learning curve. I don’t know that we could have done it with a writer who viewed this as just another project. John was as sensitive as the members of the Advisory Committee as to what we were dealing with, and the kind of respect that was required to ensure the safety of the words. He was phenomenal in taking "The Gospel of John" and creating a screenplay for film. The Advisory Committee was actually awed by it – the way he did it, and his profound understanding of the Gospel. “

Pearl credits each member of the production team with bringing an exceptional level of expertise to the production process. “Don Taylor, our production designer did a magnificent job in picking locations, areas where there were remains of the past that could be enhanced so that they were truly representative of the time. Our costume designer, Debra Hanson, with her background in costume design from Stratford, was steeped in an understanding of how to approach a period piece. The research on all fronts of this project was tremendous and that’s what has given the film its richness.”

Casting the film was undertaken with great care, with auditions held in both Canada and the United Kingdom for seventy-five principal roles. The final tally of on-screen participants, including extras, numbers approximately 3000.

Explains Pearl, “I think casting is absolutely critical to the success of the film, because again it is a word for word, which means there is no opportunity for either the writer or the actors to omit a word, change a word, or for us to edit. We cast actors with strong theatrical backgrounds because they know how to deal with text. They are used to being ‘on the word’ every night and to be unwavering in terms of their performance and their delivery of the same lines over and over. This is especially true for the role of Jesus in the requirement and pressure for him to learn tremendous speeches.”

“I don’t know that there is an actor today or in recent times, who has had as large a role as Henry Ian Cusick playing Jesus. I can’t think of anything, any role that is larger than what he has just finished filming. It was critical to the whole production that we had to feel confident that the actors would know how to approach text and be able to learn it and deliver it without twenty-five or thirty takes.”

The film’s editor Michel Arcand concurs entirely. “I am amazed by the performance of the actors. They are so impressive. Mr. Cusick is going to be a star, that’s for sure. He was so focused. I was really impressed with the way every actor was really focused on his or her character. They were not even blinking … they were ‘there.’ It was so amazing,” notes Arcand.