Harrison was original choice for Monty Python's role

Washington (ANI): A newly unearthed interview with The Beatles has revealed that musician George Harrison was the original choice for the role of Jesus Christ in Monty Python's The Life Of Brian. The religious comedy classic was written keeping in mind the musician who died in 2001.

The film follows the story of a young Jewish man born in the same era and location as Jesus Christ, who is mistaken for the Messiah. "They wanted me to play the part of Christ. At the beginning, when he's doing the sermon on the Mount. That's what they tried to get me to do. But I thought it was a bit too controversial," Contactmusic quoted Harrison as saying in the interview.

The role was subsequently taken by Kenneth Colley. In fact, when the movie's backers pulled out over the controversial subject matter, it was Harrison who funded the project and even did a small cameo in the flick.