Stephen Lang is one of the most iconic prophets in religious history during one of his most turbulent periods in House of David. Lang, best known for his work in the Don’t Breathe and Avatar franchises, has explored the historical genre in the past, ranging from the well-received Civil War epic Gettysburg and its prequel Gods and Generals to the political thriller The Gandhi Murder. With the Prime Video show, however, it marks his first major venture into faith-based storytelling, partnering with the creative team of Jon Erwin and Jon Gunn, whose previous successes include American Underdog and Ordinary Angels.
House of David is set in B.C. Israel and chronicles multiple storylines that will eventually intersect thanks to David, the young biblical figure who, in the wake of killing the Philistine giant Goliath, would eventually become one of the most notable kings in Israel’s history. Lang stars in the show as Samuel, the well-renowned prophet who, under the direction of God, takes away power from the prideful King Saul and journeys to discover the next rightful ruler of the land.
House of David
- Release Date
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February 27, 2025
- Network
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Prime Video
Cast
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Alexander Uloom
King Achish
In anticipation of the show’s premiere, ScreenRant interviewed Stephen Lang to discuss House of David. The Tony Award nominee opened up about working with Erwin and Gunn for the project, why it feels like more of a universal story than other faith-based titles have in the past, the research he did to immerse himself in the world of Samuel, and a brief tease of what to expect from Quaritch’s mindset going into Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Lang Felt Empowered By Gunn & Erwin’s “Great Passion” For The Project
He Also Hopes Younger Viewers Tune In For The Universal Themes Of The Show
With House of David being his first real foray into the world of faith-based dramas, as well as his first major TV role since his recurring role of David Cord on The Good Fight, there were certainly various avenues to explain why Lang was interested in joining the Prime Video show. For the star, he immediately pointed to his initial meeting with Gunn and Erwin, admiring they were “straight shooters” and “impressive thinkers” and the more he discussed the show with them, the more he found himself “confident enough to come aboard“:
Stephen Lang: Well, the Jons and I had a substantive meeting when I was considering whether I wanted to join up with these guys, and I found them to be straight shooters and impressive thinkers and imaginative in their approach to material that is really quite extraordinary. And their commitment to the material itself, to telling this story, you could feel it when we had the meeting. So, I felt strong enough and confident enough to come aboard, and then that feeling, I would say, was completely rewarded as I did the work with them, because they just brought great passion to it and great intelligence to it, great creativity, great humor, it was a good job. And of course, it’s a superb, very wonderful and impactful role.
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The show also continues the recent surge in faith-based storytelling on both the big and small screens, with everything from more grounded dramas like Ordinary Angels to even the post-apocalyptic thriller Homestead presenting different kinds of stories while still having certain morals and messages at their core. For Lang, however, he finds that the show holds a very universal theme in regard to David’s journey, recalling how he himself was “feeling very dislocated” in his younger days, much like David, while also teasing the wider scope of its story to entertain all audiences:
Stephen Lang: I hope that young people see the show, because when you get right down to what this show’s about, it’s about a young boy who becomes a young man and will become a man, but he’s really set apart. He is alienated, he’s cut out from the herd, from the family, and he is frustrated and confused by this, because he feels that, somehow, he’s meant to be someone, to do something with his life. But he doesn’t know what it is. He’s just marking time on the periphery, it seems to him, and he’s living in the shadow of the fear of his father and his brothers, it seems to me. And isn’t that a very common theme?
So many young people — I know I was, I have four kids, I think they were at times feeling very dislocated, very alienated, very cut out from things. And this is the story, in David, of a young man who self-actualizes, who actually, with divine help, is able to tap into his own strengths and his own sense of destiny and hope. And that, to me, is a story that’s worth telling. I think older folks will kind of look back and appreciate it, and I hope that younger folks will feel connected to it, and even inspired by it. And that’s just the David part of it, because there’s this whole kind of panorama of really extraordinary characters who are contributing to the narrative, so there’s a lot to look at, there’s a lot to appreciate, there’s a lot to enjoy, and there’s a lot to think about in this show.
Lang Didn’t Pull From Any Prior Depictions Of Samuel For His Performance
He Did, However, Do Extensive Research To Determine Who His Character Was In Real Life
Though certainly not the first to do so, Lang joins a small list of actors to have played Samuel on screen, with previous iterations including Leonard Nimoy in 1997’s David, Eamonn Walker in the 2009 series Kings and Mohammad Bakri in the short-lived 2016 series Of Kings and Prophets. But while there may have been a diverse range of options for potential inspiration, Lang looked to none of them when it came to his performance as Samuel, feeling that every actor brings their own approach that influences their work:
Stephen Lang: Well, I don’t really have anything to compare it to. To be honest, I don’t think Samuel has been played all that frequently. I shouldn’t say memorably, because I’d have to see prior renditions of this particular story. But usually, when the story of David and Goliath is told, it’s told in an almost rudimentary way. It almost comes across as a children’s story. I understand that if you get deeply into the Old Testament and into the religion of it, it takes on other aspects, which is what happens here, of course. But this particular rendition never loses sight of the excitement of this story, of the drama and the conflict of the things that make for really, really good, entertaining and illuminating and thoughtful television and film.
Without looking to past adaptations, Lang instead turned to studying various real materials for his research, including the Books of Samuel, which chronicled his life beginning with his birth to eventually anointing David as the new king of Israel, as well as listening to various commentaries analyzing the books, which he admitted were “extremely dry“. Even still, he made sure to keep his focus on the Old Testament in order to “find who the human being” of Samuel was:
Stephen Lang: You mentioned the New Testament, and I can’t speak for what is on anyone else’s mind. But this was not a New Testament project to me. This happens 1100 years before the birth of Jesus, so I’m aware of the implications. And I can’t speak for how anybody else feels, what their particular ambition, agenda for the project is. To me, it’s to tell quite a remarkable story, a story that’s grounded in history, but has a very, very large dose of legend that coalesces with that history, and also has more than a smattering of myth that goes with it, as well.
So just on that level, it was just a fascinating thing to be part of. But I did saturate myself in Samuels, I and II, and I read commentaries on it, much of which is extremely dry. Basically, I tried to absorb what I consider to be the spirit of these books, and to adhere and honor what I think is the truthful spirit of the way these stories are told in the Old Testament, and from there, to be completely imaginative and to find who the human being, who this Samuel really who he was. Another actor would have a completely different Samuel, but this is who Samuel is for me.
Quaritch’s Journey Won’t Be A Straightforward One In Future Avatar Sequels
“…he’s going to go through a whole bunch of stuff.”
Looking beyond the show, Lang also has the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash coming this December, with the remaining two installments in the franchise set for 2029 and 2031 debuts. While Lang is careful not to share too much and get himself in trouble, he did tease that Quaritch’s journey will not be a straightforward one going into the next three movies, while also hinting that even as he evolves, “there’s a fundamental Quaritchness” that will remain:
Stephen Lang: Well, I really can’t say too much. My journey, the journey of Quaritch, will continue. It’s not a straight journey, it’s going to have bumps and pitfalls. This is my way of saying nothing, of course, you understand that. [Chuckles] What I can say is that there’s a fundamental Quaritchness that I think will always be there. No matter what he goes through, no matter what happens, he will always be recognizably Colonel Miles Quarritch, unless he’s not. But he’s going to go through a whole bunch of stuff.
About House Of David
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. The series follows the once-mighty King Saul as he falls victim to his own pride. At the direction of God, the prophet Samuel anoints an unlikely, outcast teenager as the new king. As Saul loses his power over his kingdom, David finds himself on a journey to discover and fulfill his destiny, navigating love, loss, and violence in the court of the very man he’s destined to replace. As one leader falls, another must rise.
House of David‘s first three episodes premiere on Prime Video on February 27, followed by new episodes every Thursday.
