Michelle Monaghan Teases ‘Messiah’s ‘Intricately Woven Mystery’
Q&A
Modern-day miracles or elaborate hoax? CIA officer Eva Geller (The Path‘s Michelle Monaghan) is desperate to find out.
On Messiah, the new drama from executive producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey (the Bible series), a mysterious Middle Eastern guru, Al-Masih (Mehdi Dehb), causes an international stir based on his abilities to (seemingly) perform biblical feats, like appearing to heal wounds by touch. But his growing number of dedicated followers around the world alarms government officials like Geller, who fear he’s an insidious imposter with deadly intentions.
Here, Monaghan explains more.
What drew you to this series?
Michelle Monaghan: Michael Petroni, the creator. What he’s brilliantly done is create an intricately woven mystery. What’s so great as you watch the 10 episodes is you see that the characters evolve and your own conclusions evolve and change. It’s really compelling.
How would you describe Eva Geller?
She’s quite rigid. She sees things in black and white: It’s either legal or illegal, you’re either threatening or nonthreatening. It’s how she was groomed being part of the CIA. She’s very complex in the sense that she’s searching for the truth in other people. And she is convinced [Al-Masih] is a con man.
Will we see her challenged in her own beliefs over the course of the series?
That’s exactly right. She’s constantly challenged in terms of what’s real, what’s not. At the same time, the audience is as well.
This is such a bingeable show. Do you like to do that?
I gotta tell you, I’m full-fledged into that. But it’s hard. I’m not going to lie. I’m a mom of two kids, so everyone is busy. The last thing I binge-watched was Fleabag. I’m obsessed with that show!
Messiah, Series Premiere, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020, Netflix
