Hot Jesus Actor Diogo Morgado Criticized for Being Too Sexy to Play Son of God

Actor is about to star in Son of God

By Lily Harrison Mar 04, 2014 10:36 PMTags
Diogo Morgado, The BibleJoe Alblas/A+E Networks, LLC

There's no denying that the actor who plays Jesus Christ in the current flick Son of God is smokin' hot.

Diogo Morgado, whose good looks sparked the nickname "Hot Jesus," first took on the role in Mark Burnett's hit television miniseries The Bible, and it seems now he's at the center of controversy once again for his good looks.

The 34-year-old actor did in fact start his career as a model at the age of 14, but has some serious acting jobs under his belt from his early days in his native country of Portugal.

But without going all History Channel on you, anthropological studies have found that the real Christ probably looked a lot like a Palestinian man today. Again, no one really knows for sure.

Joe Alblas/A+E Networks, LLC

What we do know that the odds are slim that he was as buff, tanned, and perfectly coifed as Morgado—or any of the numerous actors who have played Jesus in the past.

Both Burnett and Morgado have responded to the criticism they've faced surrounding the casting decision.

"Listen, whatever attracts the biggest, youngest audience," Burnett told us with a laugh.

Meanwhile Morgado, who has talked about being called "Hot Jesus," reacted by saying in an interview with USA Today, "I take the nickname as a compliment obviously, but I'm waiting for the good stuff. And the good stuff for me is if someone just nabbed me on the shoulder and said, 'Look, you did a pretty good job.'"

"Something like this more than anything, something like playing Jesus, for me, if I can only have one person go straight to me and say, 'You touched me, you brought me something I thought I'd lost,' that would be the best compliment."

Regardless of the "hot" topic, the film earned an estimated $26.5 million in box office sales (in second place for the weekend)—which was around $20 million more than even the film studio had expected.