Pope Francis blesses Jesus actor in 'Ben-Hur' remake

VATICAN CITY, April 16 (UPI) -- Pope Francis blessed actor Rodrigo Santoro, who will be playing Jesus in the remake of the Charlton Heston film Ben-Hur.

He and co-star Nazanin Boniadi, who is playing Esther, received an audience with the pope on a trip to Vatican City Wednesday. Boniadi shared Instagram photos of the trip, including one of Santoro receiving Pope Francis' blessing.

What a remarkable experience to witness Pope Francis bless my dear friend and co-star Rodrigo Santoro, who is playing Jesus in #BenHur. #Vatican #Rome

A photo posted by Nazanin Boniadi (@nazaninboniadi) on Apr 15, 2015 at 6:27am PDT

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Santoro is best known for his roles in Love, Actually, 300 and Lost.