'A.D.' Star Juan Pablo Di Pace Does Not Like Nickname 'Hot Jesus'

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Apr 08, 2015

'A.D.' Star Juan Pablo Di Pace Does Not Like Nickname 'Hot Jesus'

Juan Pablo di Pace, the actor who plays Jesus in Mark Burnett and Roma Downey’s “A.D.” has developed the nickname of “Hot Jesus” with viewers, a name that he does not think is appropriate. The actor said he is flattered that viewers noticed his looks, but the role of Jesus goes far beyond appearance. 

"To me, it cheapens my experience of the role. It just means so much to me. That's flattering, that's great, thank you very much," di Pace said.

According to Christian Today, the actor desperately wanted to play the role of Jesus after reading the script for “A.D.” 

"For a script to move you in such a way, it just felt like I had to play this part,” he said. 

"When I actually got the call, I was like, oh, now I have to really get into this. It was daunting and amazing. It was life-changing.” 

“A.D.” features the crucifixion of Jesus, which di Pace tried to make “as human as possible,” Christian Today reports. 

Di Pace said, "My mother was there at the crucifixion and she said to me, 'When you died, I didn't see my son die, I saw Jesus die.' and that was the most amazing compliment.” 

“A.D.” is the continuation of Burnett and Downey’s “The Bible” miniseries and premiered on Easter Sunday on NBC. 

Publication date: April 8, 2015



'A.D.' Star Juan Pablo Di Pace Does Not Like Nickname 'Hot Jesus'