Perhaps best known for playing tough guys on hit TV shows—from Magnum, P.I. to The Sopranos—veteran actor Robert Loggia shows a different side in one of the latest productions from Pure Flix Entertainment.
He stars in Apostle Peter and the Last Supper as the elderly disciple, reflecting on his life to two jailers as he awaits execution in Rome, A.D. 67. Portraying Christ is Bruce Marchiano, famous for having played Jesus in The Visual Bible versions of the Gospel of Matthew and the book of Acts in the 1990s. Apostle Peter and the Last Supper was shot mostly on a stage in Glendale, Calif., and includes exterior scenes filmed at a ranch in the Malibu hills that director Gabriel Sabloff called “an epic, inspiring location—perfect for a Bible story.”
Though it was challenging, the filmmakers brought something fresh to a familiar story while remaining faithful to the truth. “The Bible is very specific about the words of Jesus and certain events, and we re-created those in loving detail,” says Sabloff. “But where the Bible is less specific, we tried to give audiences a perspective they haven’t seen before.”
Sabloff hopes that viewers will finish the movie “with the sense that they have been on an amazing, emotional roller coaster,” but mostly with hope and inspiration. “This is a Bible movie about faith and redemption,” he says. “I think it will really resonate with the Christian audience, but I also wanted it to be accessible to all audiences.”
