‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Viewers Applaud Ben Daniels for Emotional Performance of ‘Pilate’s Dream’

Stage veteran Ben Daniels impressed viewers during NBC‘s production of Jesus Christ Superstar, in which he played Pontius Pilate.

Viewers at home rarely get to see the Tony-nominated star, since he usually only takes smaller roles on television and film, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens and most recently, FOX’s The Exorcist.

Daniels’ first song, “Pilate’s Dream,” left viewers stunned.

Daniels starred alongside John Legend as Jesus Christ, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene and Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas. The production of the 1970 Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical was staged at Brooklyn’s Mercy Armory.

Here is a look at how audiences reacted to Daniels’ incredible and emotional performance.

Some were really impressed with Daniels’ outfit.

One person compared Pilate to Erik Killmonger from Black Panther.

Daniels is a Tony-nominated actor for his role in the 2008 revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. He also won an Olivier Award, the U.K. version of the Tony Award, for All My Sons in 2001. He has also appeared on TV in Law & Order: U.K., Cutting It, House of Cards and The Exorcist. In 2016, he had a small role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

One viewer really wanted to learn more about Daniels after seeing his performance.

“It’s a great song to do, and it’s thrilling to me, because I’d never done a musical, and so it’s a totally kind of…you know, sort of wander out onto that huge stage by yourself, I thought it was going to be really daunting, but it’s just a brilliantly crafted song to act,” Daniels said of “Pilate’s Dream” in an interview with TVLine. “In fact, the whole part is, that it doesn’t feel like that. It just feels like I’m doing any straight play rather than a musical.”

Photo credit: Eric Liebowitz/NBC