Ewan McGregor Talks Mindset in Portraying Both Jesus and Satan in 'Last Days in the Desert' Film; Reveals Challenges in Crucifixion Scene
Actor Ewan McGregor has said that playing both Jesus Christ and Satan in the "Last Days in the Desert" film was not as disorienting as people may think, as the two characters are portrayed separately, and Jesus always knows He is the Son of God. McGregor revealed that there were several challenges to shooting the crucifixion scene, however.
In an interview with Yahoo Movies posted on Monday, McGregor reveals that the production was shot for five weeks in Southern California's Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The plot of the movie, which recently opened at the Sundance Film Festival, follows Yeshua, as Jesus is called in the movie, as He wanders the desert for 40 days and 40 nights, meditating on the divine nature of His calling.
As for Satan's nature in the film, McGregor said the film leaves it open for interpretation.
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"I played them as he's the devil and he's Jesus. A lot of what the Devil is saying to Jesus is trying to create doubt and [expletive] with him, really. But that being said, I was never trying to suggest that this was just another sort of Jesus' doubt. I always imagined that they really were two different people."
The Scottish actor said that he doesn't think religious people will find any issues with the film, since Yeshua is portrayed as someone who always knows His calling.
"There's never a moment that He's uncertain of His faith. 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," he said.
"He's not in the desert being uncertain of, 'Am I the son of God?' He's just wanting some clarity, some connection with His Father, who has set this task for Him. And He's not hearing Him, He's not able to communicate with Him. And that became a very human thing."
As for the movie's crucifixion scene, McGregor noted several challenges: "I didn't know if we were in the right place. There was a road that runs in a huge loop around the location. Every now and again, we had to stop because there was a car coming. As the day wore on, I was frustrated that I wasn't quite having the experience that I wanted to have up there."
He added that for such a scene, he needed time to be alone and concentrate.
"At some point I just wanted to be there alone, I suppose. Eventually toward the last few shots of the sequence, they sensed it, I guess. I noticed that I couldn't see anyone anymore and everyone backed out of my eye-line. There was real silence, and I was able to just drift off into the distance. I got some sense of what I was looking for."
McGregor has previously said that he doesn't expect much controversy around the film, even though it depicts an extra-biblical account where Yeshua meets a family in the desert that's experiencing father-son difficulties.
The actor further explained that "there's nothing possibly that could upset people [in the film], other than the very nature of imagining a story with Jesus that doesn't exist in the Scripture," he says. "There's nothing offensive. I'm not worried about it, because I believe very much in the heart of the film we made."
