The Bible premiered across America last Sunday with 27 million people tuning in. Jassa continues with how he came to be Young David.
Getting The Part
The day I got the call I was actually waiting to hear back from another project. My agent called and said she had some good news and some bad news. I went with the bad first – I hadn’t got the project I was up for. Then the good news. All I remember hearing was: “would like to offer you the part of Young David in The Bible”. It took me a moment to register what was happening. It had been several weeks since I'd auditioned for The Bible and, assuming I hadn't got the part, I'd genuinely forgotten about it. Before I knew it I had a wig fitting in London, a car at my front door and I was on a plane to Morocco that Sunday.
The Journey
I met Laurie Calvert (Young Jonathan) at Heathrow. We had separate seats on our flight to Casablanca and I spent most of it listening to Hans Zimmer's soundtrack from The Prince of Egypt. I still couldn't quite believe I was to be a part of a production he was scoring. Laurie and I got to know each other while waiting for our transfer. The more we spoke the more excited we became. It then transpired we were among only seven people on the prop plane to Ouarzazate, the film capital of Morocco. Taking advantage of the almost empty plane we settled down in Business Class. We didn't think our luck could get any better when the pilots came out and asked us if we'd like to join them in the cockpit. We were like children living out our wildest fantasy.
First Day in Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate has been the home to numerous incredible productions. Gladiator, The Mummy, Lawrence of Arabia and Kingdom of Heaven were all shot on locations in and around the city, nicknamed The Door Of The Desert. Being the door to the desert I thought I'd have some time to acclimatise. Nope! I was straight off to the very impressive studios for hair and make up tests and costume fittings.
Read more: The Bible - Becoming David - Part I
Read more: Jassa to slay Goliath in Bible epic
The Bible airs every Sunday at 8/7c on History.