John Legend talked about his role as Jesus Christ in NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” at Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York. Legend not only stars in the musical but is also one of the executive producers. Airing Easter Sunday, “Jesus Christ Superstar” is based on the final week of Jesus’ life.
So, John, what was it like starring in such an esteemed and iconic role?
John Legend: I was in a lot of Christmas plays at church, elementary school and stuff like that. Like, my whole life has been preparing me for this moment. Beside the fact that Jesus has inspired people for thousands of years, the show itself is iconic.
As an early rock opera album that eventually became a live theater production, it’s meant a lot to a lot of people for a long time. And so I feel like we have an awesome responsibility to do right by this material and do right by the great work that they’ve put into it over the years.
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Tell me, John, if Jesus came back today what do you think his message would be?
John Legend: [Laughs] I refuse to speculate what his message would be. I feel like people do that with Martin Luther King too much. I don’t think his first goal would be to lower taxes for people that are as wealthy as I am. You know, all we can do is base it on what was already thought about things back then.
His message was disruptive at that time. It was about disrupting the status quo. It was about looking out for the poor. It was about extending grace to people who previously may have been forgotten or cast aside. So hopefully that message still stays with us. It’s timeless and we can apply it to the way we see the world now.
I admire all your charitable causes but do you feel pressure being considered a role model?
John Legend: I don’t think don’t think about being a role model very much. I don’t want to be one. We don’t have a lot of control over how we communicate with people now because of social media. So if people want to emulate some of the things I do, that’s fine.
As an activist and as an artist I have a lot of opportunity to speak to people and I want to use this wisely. I want to use this so that the world is actually improved by the things I say, or the things I do.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO2qyS27714
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