‘House of David’ creator, actors share about their quests to bring King David’s story to the screen

The creator and stars of “House of David,” a new Prime Video series depicting the story of David from the Bible, visited Liberty University’s campus on Wednesday, the day before the series is set to release, to talk about the project and share the ambition and dedication the legendary story demanded.

The show’s creator, director, and producer Jon Erwin joined cast members Michael Iskander (David) and Martyn Ford (Goliath) on the Convocation stage and later in the afternoon, the actors spoke to cinematic arts students about the making of the film.

Erwin is half of a storytelling duo with his brother, Andrew, that has brought films like “Jesus Revolution,” “I Can Only Imagine,” and “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” to the screen.

“House of David” tells the story of the ascent of the biblical figure, David, who eventually becomes the most renowned and celebrated king of Israel. At the direction of God, the prophet Samuel anoints the unlikely, outcast teenager as the new king, and David finds himself on a journey to discover and fulfill his destiny, navigating love, loss, and violence. The series will premiere with three episodes on Feb. 27, with new episodes following weekly on Prime Video.

On Wednesday morning, following a trailer for the series, the three guests joined Vice President of Spiritual Development Josh Rutledge at Convocation. They spoke about the inspiration for the show and their individual journeys to the project.

Erwin said he was stirred to tell the story of David through entertainment for decades, beginning as a child when he visited David’s tomb in Israel. Through the progression of his career, he honed his craft until he felt equipped to make David his next project.

“It took a long time to get to a story like this,” Erwin said. “All of the films I made before this — like ‘Jesus Revolution’ or ‘I Can Only Imagine’ — were about preparing and trying to get the skillset to tell David’s story. This has been a career-long quest. There’s something about being dedicated to what you do and to improving what you do every day.”

Physically imposing enough to play Goliath, Ford said he’s experiencing success in his life and career that he used to think was out of reach. When his dream of being an athlete did not work out, his stature and agility led to his career in acting in physically demanding roles, and he said he experienced struggles to uphold his mental and physical well-being as he forged his career. Now, he helps others who are currently dealing with those obstacles.

“Just because you’re not achieving what you want today, it doesn’t mean you won’t get there tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve been through everything from emotional breakdowns to eating disorders to everything you can imagine because I never felt like I (was achieving) what I initially set out to achieve. But at the grand old age of 42, I’m finally living the life I want to live and being able to impact and help people who may be going through a tough time in their life. It’s never too late to keep trying.”

Like many others, Iskander said he was enamored with the Christian television show “The Chosen” and sought out an opportunity to be a part of a Bible-based production. He pursued the role of David and originally was not cast, but when a second opportunity arose, his mother advised him to fast and pray. After what he called “a long, grueling, nail-biting process of waiting and praying,” he got a call from the Erwin Brothers saying he had the role.

Iskander said studying for the role opened his eyes to Scripture in a way he hadn’t seen before, and he sees playing David as “worship to the Lord.” He found it easier than expected to develop skills like playing the lyre and singing, thanks to his previous role in the cast of the Broadway musical “Kimberley Akimbo.” His ability to sling stones was aided by his past as a high school athlete in discus and shot put. However, he spoke about the difficulty of getting the sheep on-set to follow him as their shepherd, and he shared humorous anecdotes of how he navigated the challenge — including the near-death of his favorite lamb — until he succeeded in leading the flock on the final day of filming.

Erwin said the current standing of the entertainment industry allows Christian projects to reach larger audiences, and “House of David” is his biggest release yet.

“We’re in an unprecedented moment in the entertainment industry on behalf of Christianity and (faith) values,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and it’s because our voice has been so clearly heard; the power of our unified voice has created this moment. The industry is taking notice.”

When the first three episodes of the show are released to Prime Video on Thursday, it is going to be available to 250 million people in 25 languages around the world. While he said the show is written “in a way that honors the themes, honors the truth, and honors the spirit” of David’s story, Erwin said he hopes the series will point others to read the story directly from Scripture themselves.

On Wednesday afternoon, Iskander and Ford visited a display created by fashion design students in the Montview Student Union that exhibits pieces of Goliath’s armor and weapons from the show, provided by the production. The four students — senior Anna Blass, senior Krislyn Grigg, junior Liza Perdew, and junior Miranda Sappington — worked under the direction of program director and Professor Kim Cashman and in coordination with the show’s costume designer, communicating through detailed Zoom calls to make sure the costume was dressed and displayed properly.

“It was very detail-oriented; we worked with the costume designer and other people from the production, and being a part of this felt like I was doing what I’m here at Liberty to do,” Sappington said. “It was a great opportunity to put my skills to use, especially on something as neat as this.”

The display will remain up until March 6.

The two actors also held a Q&A session with students from the Cinematic Arts, Zaki Gordon Center in the university-owned theater inside the Get Air Trampoline Park in nearby Candlers Station Shopping Center. Answering questions from Professor Scotty Curlee, they spoke about their beginnings in the industry, how they got their individual roles, their preparation process, and how to show professionalism and preparedness on the sets of their projects.

Students who attended Wednesday evening’s Campus Community were invited to stay in the Vines Center and watch the first episode a day before the series’ wide release.