‘Of Kings and Prophets’: James Floyd Joins Maisie Richardson and Ray Winstone in Cast of ABC's Pilot Drama About Israel's First King
James Floyd, a versatile film, TV and stage actor with a BIFA award to his name, is set to play the part of Ish-Boseth, the youngest warrior son of Saul and Ahinoam, in ABC's pilot for Of Kings And Prophets, a drama written by Adam Cooper and Bill Collage and executive produced by Jason Reed, Reza Aslan and Mahyad Tousi of BoomGen Studios, along with Jeffrey Nachmanoff, who will also direct the upcoming show.
Floyd joins previously announced cast members Maisie Richardson-Sellers, also regularly seen on the small-screen in The CW's The Originals, who will be portraying Michal, the youngest child of King Saul, and Ray Winstone, who has been named to play the lead in the ABC pilot biblical drama.
Winstone, who was also seen in the biblically-themed Noah movie last year and in the Ben Hur miniseries in 2010, will be playing the role of King Saul, the first king of Israel. A two-time BAFTA nominee for best actor, Winstone's notable film credits include The Departed, Hugo as well as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. He won an International Emmy for his role in 2005's Vincent.
Saul, according to the biblical accounts, was anointed by the prophet Samuel. During his 42-year reign, he managed to unite the scattered tribes of Israel, giving them greater strength and allowing them to defeat many of the enemies of his country, including the Ammonites, Philistines, Moabites, and Amalekites. However, later in his life, his jealousy of David drove him to madness and to his eventual downfall.
As described in the pilot outline, Of Kings And Prophets is "an epic biblical saga of faith, ambition and betrayal as told through the eyes of a battle-weary king, a powerful and resentful prophet and a resourceful young shepherd on a collision course with destiny." BoomGen Studios further describes it as "a 360° story experience of the tale of how an insignificant Semitic tribe battled hostile tribes and enemy gods to become a kingdom whose name would last through the ages."