On the Set of HOUSE OF DAVID
By Dr. Ted Baehr, Publisher
The first season of Wonder Project’s Prime Video series HOUSE OF DAVID looks at the life of the most famous King of Israel, David, up to his battle with Goliath. The series also follows the first king, Saul, and his family, from his anointing by the Prophet Samuel to his falling victim to his pride. Some of Movieguide®’s Epiphany Prize® winning filmmakers, such as Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn, decided to produce the series while Dallas Jenkins served as a special advisor to the Wonder Project. Erwin and Gunn also direct episodes of the series about King David.
At first glance, King David is a difficult topic because of his many flaws, including becoming an enemy of his own country, becoming an adulterer with Bathsheba and arranging the murder of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah the Hittite. In this regard, Jesus in THE CHOSEN seems to be a much more family-friendly hero who of course is Fully God and Fully Man and without sin. However, one of the most famous theological books in the 1800s that was found in almost every home in France and other countries was a reformed Christian book on David, which showed that it was God’s Grace alone that made David special, so that even Jesus is called the Son of David and, of course, the Son of God as well as Son Of Man, which is the highest Christological title as far as serious theologians are concerned.
On the first day of the set visit, I had a wonderful opportunity to have dinner with three actors who played Saul’s children, Eshbaal, played by Sam Otto, Princess Mychal played by Indie Lewis, and Princess Mirab played by Yali Topol Margalith. Each of them came from a different faith background yet all of them have become good friends and all of them sang the praises of our Movieguide® friends Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn. They said that both Jons took the time to listen to their concerns about the dialogue and never felt like the filmmakers were too busy to spend time to work with them. They said the whole experience was like a family.
Also, the stories in the series adhere to the biblical worldview but expand upon the personal stories of each character so that each one of them became more relatable and human.
Erwin and Gunn discussed their strong desire to do a series about David with Erwin saying this had been one of his dreams since he did a short video with his father in Israel when he was a young 16-year-old teenager. Erwin said he wanted a show that he and his children could watch together as a family. So, unlike other productions about David, the series will try not to cross the line by probing David’s biblical flaws, or Saul’s for that matter.
They said finding an actor to play David was very hard. They spent months searching for an actor and almost felt that it might be impossible. Then, in an answer to prayer, they found Michael Iskander, who was starring on Broadway.
Michael told us his mother had taken him as a young boy to the United States. When he heard about the part of David, he wanted to play David. Michael got involved in acting as a teenager when he was chosen in spite of his inexperience to join his school choir. Erwin and Gunn knew Michael was the right person when they not only saw his acting ability but also when they saw he looked young and had a great singing voice. Michael even taught himself to play the lyre to get the part.
Of course, the culmination of the first episodes is the battle with Goliath.
Martyn Ford was cast as Goliath and had played Goliath in a movie many years before. He became best friends with Michael, so they even worked out together. Martyn is a giant of a man but very positive and kind.
The two Jons wanted Goliath to be a real person, so they told the story of his strong family ties to his mother and his brothers, who are known as the Giants from the city of Gath. Therefore, the program makes us as interested in Goliath as we are in David as we see that both of them are fighting for their own country.
Many of the actors went to the Bible to understand and develop their characters even though they came from different religious backgrounds. Ali Suliman, who plays King Saul, said that reading the biblical story changed his life. He realized that the law of God is more powerful than the law of man, and that power tends to corrupt, and it corrupted Saul.
During our set visit, we had a chance to watch a very little bit of the battle between the Philistines and Israelites where both sides were mounted on horseback.
In the final analysis, it’s clear that Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn are committed to the biblical story as it reveals God’s living grace upon King David and also that they have won the trust and respect of their cast and crew.
Movieguide® looks forward to reviewing THE HOUSE OF DAVID before it’s released on Prime Video later this year.
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