Actors including Kristen Bell and Brian Cox have said they were unaware that they were set to be the stars of a controversial new podcast about Jesus.
On Wednesday (November 19), Fox announced that they were launching a new 52-part series named The Life Of Jesus Podcast, with Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt hosting and, they boasted, over 100 notable actors signed on for voice roles.
Among those names were Veronica Mars and Frozen star Kristen Bell and Succession’s Brian Cox, as well as Malcolm McDowell, John Rhys-Davies and Sean Astin.
Shortly after the show was announced, however, it quickly became apparent that many of the big names involved were not aware of the podcast’s existence. Indeed, it appears that the voice recordings being have been re-purposed from an entirely separate project 15 years ago.
Bell, whose voice is being used as Mary Magdalene in The Life Of Jesus Podcast, only found out about the show when she was asked to appear on Fox & Friends the day before it was announced, according to a statement her representatives gave Rolling Stone this week. The actor did not give permission for the old audiobook recording to be repurposed, they added.
Representatives for Cox, McDowell and Rhys-Davies have all also confirmed that they were shocked to hear that their voices were being used for the Fox production. “Brian recorded audio for a project over a decade ago,” Cox’s rep has said. “He was unaware that the audio would be repurposed for a new podcast series in 2025. Brian only became aware of the podcast today.”
McDowell’s spokesperson said they “found out about it when everyone else did”, adding they were never consulted and “we would not have approved” had they been.
Fox News have said: “Gulfstream Studios produced The Life Of Jesus Podcast from The Truth And Life Dramatized Audio Bible, which was licensed by Fox News Audio, with full cooperation and participation by all the actors involved.”
The Life Of Jesus Podcast premieres on November 30 via Fox Faith.
Elsewhere, Daniel Day-Lewis recently expressed his frustration with Cox’s criticism of the method acting style of his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong. “I just don’t like it being misrepresented to the extent it has been,” Day-Lewis said. “I can’t think of a single commentator who’s gobbed off about the method that has any understanding of how it works and the intention behind it.”
