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And you had to play a lot of those emotions without saying anything, because the dialogue is so spare. Do you think your background in theater helped you?

Isaac: Yeah, I think very much so. Mike Rich did a fantastic job with the script, but a trap would be to read it and think just because they're not saying anything, they're not really going through something. But it's there. If you read between the lines and really think about what's not being said, that's where you can find those little moments of nuance.

You've done a lot of Shakespeare, so you're use to talking your head off …?

Isaac: Yeah, and this is the complete opposite. With Shakespeare, there's no subtext; you're speaking exactly what you're thinking constantly. And this is the flip—but you're still feeling Shakespearean emotions. You're still feeling all those things, but you're just not saying it. That was the challenge, to continually remember not to sit back and just passively watch, but to constantly be desiring something even though you're not saying it.

Did you stick to the script?

Isaac: Mostly, but in one scene, there's one moment when we [Joseph and Mary] are by the Sea of Galilee and she says, "Are you afraid?" And in the script, I say, "No, are you afraid?" And she says, "No." But as an improvisation, when she said, "Are you afraid?", I said, "Yeah, are you afraid?" And she just said, "Yeah." And it was this moment of connection, and they kept it.

What is your favorite scene in the movie?

Isaac: There's a few of them, but that scene by the Sea of Galilee is kind of a sweet, melancholy scene. It's the first time they really get a chance to sit next to each other and talk about, "How are we going to raise this kid?" And Mary kind of jokes, "Tell me about your dream," and he's like, "Nah, I don't want to tell you about my dream." It's the first time you see some warmth between them; they're still feeling each other out. If you think about it, he's trying to get her to fall in love with him. He wants this to work, because he's been in love with her for as long as he can remember.

During that scene, Joseph says, "I don't know if I'll be able to teach him anything." Really, what do you teach the Son of God? What went through your mind with all of this?

Isaac: When I first read the script, I was like, "How do I play this? How do I play that I'm going to have the Son of God as my son?" It's such an abstract idea. I just don't know what to think about it. Then I realized that's exactly what Joseph is thinking. Joseph has no clue what that means. He has no idea what to expect. So I think that gave me some freedom to actually think about those things.

What was it like working with Keisha?

Isaac: Fantastic. She is such a naturally gifted actor, undeniably so. I mean, you watch Whale Rider and I defy you to not get teary-eyed at the end there. I mean she was something else. Keisha just has this way of really being able to forget that she's in a movie. It's what every actor aspires to do, to literally forget that there are cameras and people and lights around, but somehow she's able to do that.

Joseph leads Mary on the trek to Bethlehem

It's a genuinely mysterious thing, especially because she's such a funny girl; she's humorous. You would think to have that kind of depth, she'd be going around in some sort of deep, poetic haze. But she's not. She's a really funny, joyful girl. But she's also incredibly mature. She's perfect for Mary, because at one moment she's like a grown woman with the way she can be so articulate about things. And the next moment she can be just a young carefree girl. She's fantastic. I was really lucky to share the screen with her.

Was there any kind of spiritual experience for you in making this movie?

Isaac: Absolutely. I read a lot of the Bible. And once I figured out the thing about love, I started to read about what's biblical love. And the power of humility. That never really until after I saw the finished movie, and I thought, Oh my gosh, this is the greatest act of humility ever. To an ostracized and oppressed people, this is how God decides to come through. I think that's a really powerful message.

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