A representative for the “Clockwork Orange” star said that the actor recorded audio for a different project 15 years ago that “was long ago forgotten about.”

Kristen Bell, Malcolm McDowell, more had ‘no knowledge’ that their voices would be used in Fox News Jesus podcast

A representative for the "Clockwork Orange" star said that the actor recorded audio for a different project 15 years ago that "was long ago forgotten about."

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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November 20, 2025 8:07 p.m. ET

Kristen Bell in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Oct. 17, 2025; Malcolm McDowell in Ojai, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2025. Credit:

Araya Doheny/Variety via Getty; Robin L Marshall/Getty

- Fox News announced that Kristen Bell, Malcolm McDowell, Sean Astin, and more would provide voices in the biblical podcast *The Life of Jesus*.

- Representatives for multiple actors involved tell ** that they "had no knowledge" of the project until this week.

- *The Life of Jesus* seems to be repurposing audio recorded 15 years ago for a bible audiobook called *Truth & Life*.

Fox News unveiled a star-studded lineup for a podcast about Jesus — but the actors in the cast say they had no idea the project existed, let alone that they would appear in the show.

The network announced Wednesday that it would premiere a 52-episode podcast series from Gulfstream Studios titled *The Life of Jesus* at the end of the month as part of its Fox Faith vertical. Each 30-minute episode will feature an introduction from *Fox & Friends* host Ainsley Earhardt, and a multitude of Hollywood stars are providing voices for biblical figures throughout the series.

Brian Cox in Rome on Oct. 19, 2025; Julia Ormond in Turin on Nov. 27, 2024; John Rhys-Davies in Los Angeles on June 14, 2023.

Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty; Stefano Guidi/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/WireImage

Among the casting announcements: Kristen Bell as Mary Magdalene, Malcolm McDowell as Caiaphas, Neal McDonough as Jesus, John Rhys-Davies as the narrator, Brian Cox as God, Julia Ormond as Mother Mary, Sean Astin as Matthew, Michael York as Luke, Stacy Keach as John, and Hill Harper as an angel.

Representatives for multiple actors from the project, however, tell ** that they never signed on for the podcast, and that they were unaware of its existence until this week.

Malcolm McDowell in Los Angeles on March 15, 2023.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

A representative for McDowell says that the *Clockwork Orange* star lent his voice to a different biblical project 15 years ago.

"We had no knowledge these recordings were being redistributed as a podcast until this week," the representative tells EW. "This was long ago forgotten about."

A representative for Bell told *Rolling Stone* that the *Nobody Wants This* star did not know about the podcast until she was asked to promote it on *Fox & Friends* on Tuesday — the day before Fox News announced the project publicly — and that she never gave permission for the audio to be repurposed.

"This is the actual and factual story," a representative for Bell tells EW.

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All of the aforementioned actors besides Harper were promoted as cast members for the 2010 project *Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible*. All 10 of those actors played the roles for which they're credited in *The Life of Jesus* in that audio bible.

A spokesperson for Fox News tells EW, "Gulfstream Studios produced the 'Life of Jesus Podcast' from The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible, which was licensed by FOX News Audio, with full cooperation and participation by all the actors involved."

*Rolling Stone* also reported that a producer for the podcast sent an email to at least one actor asking that they "not mention that this audio New Testament Bible was produced years ago," because "we'd like it to feel like something that was produced more recently."

Kristen Bell in Los Angeles on Nov. 10, 2024.

Amanda Edwards/Getty

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A representative for Rhys-Davies told *Rolling Stone* that the actor only learned about *The Life of Jesus* this week, while a representative for Cox confirmed to *Deadline* he also had not been aware of his inclusion in the podcast.

EW has reached out to representatives for numerous celebrities listed as voice talent in the podcast, and Gulfstream Studios, the project's production company, for comment.

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