Jesus Christ Superstar - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Jesus Christ Superstar"
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
Timing: 1:48 (108 min)
Jesus Christ Superstar - TMDB rating
7.1/10
607
Jesus Christ Superstar - Kinopoisk rating
7.917/10
9163
Jesus Christ Superstar - IMDB rating
7.4/10
32000

Actors and characters

Photo Ted Neeley #27379

Ted Neeley

Ted Neeley
Character Jesus Christ
Photo Carl Anderson #87521

Carl Anderson

Carl Anderson
Character Judas Iscariot
Photo Yvonne Elliman #97723Photo Yvonne Elliman #97724Photo Yvonne Elliman #97725Photo Yvonne Elliman #97726

Yvonne Elliman

Yvonne Elliman
Character Mary Magdalene
Photo Barry Dennen #12312

Barry Dennen

Barry Dennen
Character Pontius Pilate

Bob Bingham

Bob Bingham
Character Caiaphas
Photo Larry Marshall #97730
Larry Marshall
Character Simon Zealotes
Photo Josh Mostel #79984

Josh Mostel

Josh Mostel
Character King Herod
Photo Kurt Yaghjian #97731

Kurt Yaghjian

Kurt Yaghjian
Character Annas
Photo Paul Thomas #58847

Paul Thomas

Paul Thomas
Character Peter
Pi Douglass
Character Apostle
Photo Robert LuPone #97732Photo Robert LuPone #97733
Robert LuPone
Character Apostle James
Jonathan Wynne
Character Apostle
Photo Thommie Walsh #97734

Thommie Walsh

Thommie Walsh
Character Apostle Thaddeus
Richard Molinare
Character Apostle Andrew
David Devir
Character Apostle
Photo Jeff Hyslop #97735

Jeff Hyslop

Jeff Hyslop
Character Apostle

Richard Orbach

Richard Orbach
Character Apostle John
Shooki Wagner
Character Apostle

Darcel Wynne

Darcel Wynne
Character Woman
Sally Neal
Character Woman
Leeyan Granger
Character Woman
Vera Biloshisky
Character Woman
Kate Wright
Character Woman
Wendy Maltby
Character Woman

Denise Pence

Denise Pence
Character Woman
Photo Baayork Lee #97737

Baayork Lee

Baayork Lee
Character Woman
Wyetta Turner
Character Woman
Tamar Zafria
Character Woman
Ellen Hoffman
Character Woman
Riki Oren
Character Woman
Judith Daby
Character Woman
Lea Kestin
Character Woman
Adaya Pilo
Character Woman
Zvulun Cohen
Character Priest
Amity Razi
Character Priest
Meir Israel
Character Priest
Avi Ben-Haim
Character Priest
Itzhak Sidranski
Character Priest
Haim Bashi
Character Priest
David Rejwan
Character Priest
David Duack
Character Priest
Steve Boockvor
Character Roman Soldier
Cliff Michaelevski
Character Roman Soldier
Peter Luria
Character Roman Soldier
Tom Guest
Character Roman Soldier
David Barkan
Character Roman Soldier
Stephen Denenberg
Character Roman Soldier
Danny Basevitch
Character Roman Soldier
Didi Liekov
Character Roman Soldier
Doron Gaash
Character Temple Guard
Zvi Lehat
Character Temple Guard
Noam Cohen
Character Temple Guard
Moshe Uziel
Character Temple Guard
Photo Norman Jewison #97738Photo Norman Jewison #97739Photo Norman Jewison #97740Photo Norman Jewison #97741

Norman Jewison

Norman Jewison
Character Man (voice) (uncredited)

What's left behind the scenes

  • The main filming location was Avdat, an architectural reserve in the Negev Desert on the site of an ancient Nabataean city in southern Israel.
  • Huge blocks of ice were specially delivered from Tel Aviv to the desert filming location so that the actors could cool off near them every twenty minutes during breaks in filming.
  • 17-year-old John Travolta auditioned for the role of Jesus. He didn't get the part, but producer Robert Stigwood (1934-2016) remembered the aspiring actor and in 1977 cast him in the musical drama "Saturday Night Fever" directed by John Badham.
  • The Roman who nails Jesus to the cross was played by an Israeli who barely knew any English. For some reason, he decided that Ted Neeley's hands needed to be nailed to the cross by piercing his palms. Director Norman Jewison managed to stop him at the very last moment.
  • Screenwriter Tim Rice had been considering the idea of telling the story of Jesus from Judas's perspective for some time in the late 1960s. When he finally presented the idea to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the latter called it "the most idiotic thing he had ever heard." However, Rice stood his ground, and the rock opera was completed in 1970. Soon after, the album was released, becoming a massive hit. Following this, "Jesus Christ Superstar" was staged on Broadway, with Ben Vereen appearing as Herod. Webber attended the musical's premiere, calling what he saw "vulgar" and offering criticism. All of this eventually led to Norman Jewison's film, which also became a hit. Webber also disliked the film version of the rock opera, but he enjoyed the 2018 reboot "Jesus Christ Live," which won an Emmy Award. According to Webber, it finally managed to capture the spirit he had imbued in the original rock opera.
  • Director Norman Jewison later recounted that during filming, all of the electricians disappeared at once. They were all Israeli, and Jewison was informed that there had been a clash with Arabs nearby, and the electricians, like all adult residents of Israel, had gone to their respective military units to which they were assigned. The electricians returned only two days later.
  • According to Ted Neeley and Norman Jewison, the shepherd shown in the film's final shot ended up there by chance. He was simply passing by and wandered into the frame, but the symbolism did not go unnoticed by the film crew, and they decided to leave the shot in the film (especially considering the already stunning sunset shots).
  • The main filming location was Avdat – an architectural reserve in the Negev Desert on the site of an ancient Nabataean city in southern Israel.
  • Huge blocks of ice were specially delivered from Tel Aviv to the desert filming location so that the actors could cool down every 20 minutes during breaks in filming.
  • 17-year-old John Travolta auditioned for the role of Jesus. He didn't get the part, but producer Robert Stigwood remembered the actor and later invited him to "Saturday Night Fever".
  • Screenwriter Tim Rice had been considering the idea of telling the story of Jesus from Judas's perspective for some time in the late 1960s. When he finally presented the idea to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the latter called it “the silliest thing he had ever heard.” Rice, however, stood his ground, and the rock opera was completed in 1970. Shortly thereafter, the album was released and became a huge hit. Following this, “Jesus Christ Superstar” was staged on Broadway, with Ben Vereen appearing as Herod. Webber attended the musical's premiere, calling what he saw “vulgar” and criticizing it.
  • Director Norman Jewison recounted that once during filming, all the electricians disappeared. They were all Israelis, and Jewison was told that there had been a clash with Arabs nearby, and the electricians, like all adult residents of Israel, had gone to their respective military units. The electricians returned only two days later.
  • According to Ted Neeley and Norman Jewison, the shepherd shown in the film's final shot ended up there by accident.
  • 17-year-old John Travolta auditioned for the role of Jesus. He didn’t get the part, but producer Robert Stigwood remembered the actor and later cast him in “Saturday Night Fever.”
  • Screenwriter Tim Rice had been contemplating the idea of telling the story of Jesus from Judas’s perspective as early as the late 1960s. When he finally presented the idea to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the latter called it “the stupidest idea he had ever heard.” Rice, however, stood his ground, and the rock opera was completed in 1970. Shortly thereafter, an album was released, which became an absolute hit. Following this, “Jesus Christ Superstar” was staged on Broadway, with Ben Vereen as Herod. Webber attended the musical’s premiere, called what he saw “vulgar,” and criticized it.
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