A.D. The Bible Continues
Juan Pablo Di Pace plays Jesus on A.D. The Bible Continues NBC

A.D. The Bible Continues, a continuation of the popular 2013 miniseries The Bible, premieres on NBC in April and lead actor Juan Pablo Di Pace recently spoke about playing Jesus on the upcoming show.

"I really wanted this role, with all my being and every cell of my body," Di Pace said. "For a script to move you in such a way, it just felt like I had to play this part." (via Zap2it)

Di Pace revealed that the plot of A.D. is basically the book of Acts -- "what happens to the Apostles and to the Romans and to the Jewish people after Christ ascends to Heaven."

Reportedly, the story begins with Christ's crucifixion, rather than beginning after the ascension. Di Pace spoke about filming the emotional scene and believes that his biggest compliment came from his mother.

"My mother was there at the crucifixion and she said to me, 'When you died, I didn't see my son die, I saw Jesus die,' and that was the most amazing compliment," the actor said.

A.D. The Bible Continues premieres on Easter Sunday, 5 April at 9pm ET/PT on NBC.

Check out the upcoming miniseries' trailer below: