<P> In August 1961, 20th Century Fox withdrew from the project, noting that $2.3 million had been spent without any footage being shot . Stevens was given two years to find another studio or 20th Century Fox would reclaim its rights . Stevens moved the film to United Artists . </P> <P> Meanwhile, MGM proceeded with their own 1961 Technicolor epic about the life of Christ, King of Kings, starring Jeffrey Hunter as Jesus, which was filmed in Spain, and when released was nearly an hour shorter than The Greatest Story Ever Told . </P> <P> For The Greatest Story Ever Told, Stevens cast Swedish actor Max von Sydow as Jesus . Von Sydow had never appeared in an English - language film and was best known for his performances in Ingmar Bergman's dramatic films . Stevens wanted an actor unknown to international audiences, free of secular and unseemly associations in the mind of the public . </P> <P> The Greatest Story Ever Told featured an ensemble of well - known actors, many of them in brief, even cameo, appearances . Some critics would later complain that the large cast distracted from the solemnity, notably in the appearance of John Wayne as the Roman centurion who comments on the Crucifixion, in his well - known voice, by stating: "Truly this man was the Son of God ." </P>

Who played jesus in the greatest story ever told