Son of God actor Diogo Morgado to play the 'devil' in new TV series as producers pray for a ratings miracle

PUBLISHED: 09:52 EST, 11 March 2014 | UPDATED: 12:54 EST, 11 March 2014

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He is mesmersing as Jesus with his hypnotic eyes in the movie Son of God but now Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado has gone to the other side to play the devil in a new TV mini series.

And the 34-year-old actor, - who has a background of modelling and whose staggering good looks helped make movie a box office hit,- says he wants to be taken seriously.

Television executives are hoping Diogo, whose chiselled face earned him the sobriquet 'Hot God' in the blockbuster miniseries The Bible, will perform another small miracle in his latest TV venture.

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Mesmerising Jesus: Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado was so good looking as Son OF God in the movie released last month he was dubbed Hot God

The Lisbon-born star has been lined up to play a character from hell in a pilot episode, according to American entertainment website TMZ.

The CW television drama is written and co-produced by Eoghan O'Donnel and Basil Iwanyk, according to Deadline.

Insiders reveal it will open with a strange object crashing down to Earth, causing a group of strangers to die from the energy pulse created by the explosion.

Off-screen stud: Diogo leaving the Today Show in New York last month, where he says he takes acting very seriously

The strangers are then revived only to discover that they have been given the task of saving the world from an imminent apocalypse.

Morgado will play a character simply known as The Man, a strange being who suddenly appears in the desert in search of answers surrounding the mysterious events.

There are no formal announcements about when the pilot episode will be released.

Watch: Diogo Morgado in 'Son of God' trailer

Miracles on screen: The actor in a scene from Son Of God

The actor's portrayal of the Son of God in Mark Burnett-produced religious flick is still doing well at the box office.

En masse viewings from religious groups carried it through the opening weekend last month, but the movie sailed on in the box office charts last weekend with a $10,5 million gross, according to Box Office Mojo.

However, Diogo insists he wants people to repsect his work - not his looks.

He said: 'I take the nickname as a compliment obviously, but I'm waiting for the good stuff. And the good stuff for me is if someone just nabbed me on the shoulder and said, "Look, you did a pretty good job."'

Looking good: Critics noted that Son Of God had perhaps the best-looking Jesus ever cast

He takes his acting seriously and did his homework by visiting the Holy Land to learn about the Bible and its people last year.

'I was shocked. I was in panic because I knew the responsibility,' he told Today about his role in Son Of God.

'I mean, I went to Jerusalem and while I was there, I felt on my own the importance of the story. (It's) so alive.'

There is no doubt his handsome face helped make last year's award-winning TV adaptation of The Bible a blockbuster success, drawing in more than 13 million viewers when he played Jesus the American TV hit The Bible last year

Writing for the New York Post, reviewer Linda Stasi noted: 'Things really pick up when Jesus — played by Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado, who looks like a surfer dude, particularly in the shot-from-below, walk-on-water sequence — shows up.'

She added: 'Morgado is very good in the part, although he sure doesn’t look the part.'