Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas | Director David L. Cunningham Talks the REAL Nativity

What if the nativity wasn’t sentimental — but courageous, gritty, historical, and deeply human?

In this exclusive interview, Director David L. Cunningham reveals the inspiration, historical accuracy, and behind-the-scenes challenges of Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas — premiering Tuesday, December 9th at 8 PM ET on ABC.

This isn’t the westernized version of Christmas.
This is the REAL world Mary and Joseph walked through — politically dangerous, culturally complex, and full of courage, faith, and hope.

🔥 Key Topics We Discuss:
▪️ Why THIS is the right cultural moment for the story
▪️ How modern audiences misunderstand the nativity
▪️ The courage and faith of Mary and Joseph
▪️ Why the shepherds mattered more than kings
▪️ Why the wise men arrive two years later — and what that means
▪️ Kevin Costner’s personal connection to Christmas
▪️ Filming in Morocco: caves, deserts, storms, and real weather
▪️ Why this Christmas film may inspire people to open their Bible again
▪️ What David hopes happens in your living room on December 9th

📌 About David L. Cunningham
David is an award-winning filmmaker known for creating deeply meaningful stories that connect audiences to themes of courage, faith, and humanity.

📆 Air Date:
December 9 at 8 PM Eastern on ABC

🙏 Watch as a Family
• Let this be the year:
• You see the nativity with fresh eyes
• You understand the cultural and historical context
• You remember the courage of Mary and Joseph
• You appreciate the real meaning of Christmas

👍 Support this film by sharing this interview!

@ABCNetwork @GraceHillMedia @EdenFilms @DavidLCunningham @KevinCostnerModernWest

▶️ Behind the Mike Podcast with Mike Stone
Encouraging, biblical, and culturally relevant conversations for everyday believers.

https://behindthemike.net

#TheFirstChristmas #KevinCostner #ChristmasSpecial #ABC #DavidLCunningham #Nativity #HistoricalBible #BehindTheMike #ChristianPodcast

Timestamped Chapters:
00:00 Intro — Why this film matters
01:15 Why now? The cultural moment for this project
03:14 The biggest misconception about Christmas
05:18 Historical accuracy: wise men two years later
07:20 Kevin Costner’s role and perspective
09:35 Filming moments that moved the director
11:44 What David hopes happens in homes watching ABC
13:41 Final encouragement + air date reminder

Transcript

0:00

Hey, welcome to behind the Mike podcast. I'm Mike Stone, and today we have something extraordinarily special. So on Tuesday, December 9th, ABC will premiere Kevin Costner

Presents: 0:13

The First Christmas. It's a beautifully crafted, historically grounded retelling of the birth of Jesus. I had the privilege of getting an early look at this project, and let me tell you, it is unlike any Christmas film. Most people have ever seen. There's no westernized stable, no sentimental gloss. This film leans into the grit, the culture, the danger, the historical accuracy of what Mary and Joseph truly walk through. And the result is both powerful and deeply moving. And today. Joining us for a very limited time, just ten minutes, is the director behind this incredible project, David L Cunningham. David has spent careers bringing meaningful stories to life, and this one, it hits at the very heart of why Christmas matters. So let's dive in. Because every minute counts. Well, David, welcome to the podcast. I am thrilled to have you. I was able to screen this project and we're talking about Kevin Costner The First Christmas. Did a fantastic job on this. I want to jump right in because I know our time is limited. But thank you for being here. My joy, thank you for engaging with us. Appreciate it. Absolutely. So what made this the right cultural moment to retell the Christmas story? Not you didn't do it as a fairy tale, but as a historical human event, which I greatly appreciate. Well, I think this story is is appropriate for any time, and it just feels like I think in this dark and divisive days, it's magnified even more the importance of, of, of this and the original vision was not to do some kind of spin or anything, but it's like, let's revisit the original text. What's the Christ in Christmas? What's this all about? What were these characters like? What? What's a glimpse into their world? What kind of faith it took, what kind of courage it took for this young couple to bring into this brutal world. The Son of God. I mean, it's just mind blowing to think about. So that's what we wanted. And then from a format standpoint with we wanted to kind of go back to old school like Walt Disney Presents, you know, and when I have Kevin be our presenter and our our guide and, you know, he he the words that he spoke, you know, as intros the story and how it relates to him personally. Those are his words. And so try to bring people in from a very authentic and, respectful place and respect for the story and respect for our audience. Yeah. One of the first things I noticed was the historical accuracy. Having been a Bible college student, I was surprised back then to learn that Western Christianity is kind of twisted some things a bit and taken some liberties. But what do you think is the biggest misconception misconception that modern audiences have about the birth of Jesus? And how did this film correct that? You know, I think there's a general emotion of a kind of a cozy moment. You know, this is cozy environment which Jesus came in to do with the cute little sheep and the angels watching and all of that. And I think the the sacrifice and the courage and the faith that it took for Mary and Joseph, to to see this, this baby, this most special of all babies to come into the world, you know, and infant mortality was through the roof and lived and died and in labor. Brutal times of Rome and a demonic king named Herod who's out to kill this child. Like, let's just go back there for a minute together and let's, let's let's try to have a glimpse into that world using the original text as much as we possibly can to guide us, and hopefully there is, from that perspective, more insight into the character of God that we serve and the character of God that these scriptures are about. And, the upside down kingdom that he is bringing to this world. And so when you just take a second to really kind of think about it, you. Whoa, this is heavy. This is beautiful. This is crazy. You know all of the above. And ultimately, it's it's for each one of us. So. Yeah, that's that's what we're hoping. Yeah, we do have we have sanitized, the real Christmas, first Christmas over the years. But was there any specific detail that you were determined to depict accurately? There's a lot in there that we, you know, we were attempting to, by the way, you know, that kind of thing. And little nuggets here and there that in some ways feel quite small. But are important. The the wisemen showing up two years later? Actually not at the time of birth. And why is that important? And and I think there's there's nothing in the scriptures that is just randomly dropped in there. And so I think we need to really appreciate that and, and not try to make it convenient. But it speaks to, for me the character of God saying, all are welcome and it may take you a long time to get here, but I am waiting. And whatever you believe, I am here. And the two years it took for them to come and their persistence and then their humility to to kneel before this, this baby and who is who they recognize as the Messiah. So I think just unpacking that little bit alone goes, oh, that's another aspect of of God that I didn't really think about. And, and maybe just that little nudge will get people to think even further. Yeah, I think as I was watching it and I was so happy to see those actual, accurate depicting depictions of, of the first Christmas. And it made me wonder how many people are going to crack open their Bible, maybe for the first time in a long time to see, does this guy have it right? And, so I was very encouraged by that. I want to step a little bit off, off track here. I, I'm a huge Kevin Costner fan. Back from, you know, Field of Dreams days and all of that. I've. I've really enjoyed watching his stuff. I probably would not have picked him as my first choice for this project, but he did an incredible job, and he was perfect for it. Why did Kevin make the first cut for you for this role? Well, I'm a huge fan of his two. And for all the reasons that you, you shared and, you know, when we started talking to him, initially, he had he actually had said he'd been thinking about wanting to do something about Christmas and, the connection to his, his childhood, being raised in the church, was a real personal place, and, I, I can't speak for him, of course, but he speaks for himself in the show, and, telling his story. And those are his words. So. And I think what he brings across as an actor, he's got such gravitas, you know, where he's he's Kevin Costner, but at the same time, you know, he's he's it's very he's he's got, a relate ability, you know, to him. And we didn't want that. We wanted that, that to be the key to the story is inviting people into the story, not a theological sermon with a know it all. Not a cynical perspective with somebody that's like, maybe this didn't happen, but to go, hey, friend, let's go learn together. Come on. Let's, let's watch this movie together. So the whole concept of watching a movie with Kevin Costner, I thought, that could be pretty compelling. And it was it was great. It was just that kind of the cherry on top moment, to have him walk out on it and express his honest, true feelings about Christmas. We don't always see that coming from Kevin Costner, but, it was great to hear that from him. There was so many moments that I was just like, wow, great. Was there a moment during the filming when you thought, wow, this is why we're telling the story? Did you have any of those? So many. We filmed, you know, most of this in Morocco with an amazing, amazing cast and locations and in actual caves and, you know, in the desert and all that. But I think one of the things that struck me was when we did the, the scene with the shepherds and the concept that God would give the light, show the ultimate fireworks to these shepherds. They were the ones that got the host of angels, these guys in the middle of nowhere, the lowest on the, you know, the the totem pole, so to speak. And God went all out for them. And and then that that kind of grabbed me in a new way of going, wow, that's the God we serve that he's he's turning this kingdom upside down and going. Your priorities are not about might and power and wealth. You know, it's it's the exact opposite. And, you know, we we've just seen it a million times. Right. The little carved shepherds and the fuzzy sheep and all that cozy vibe. And you wait wait wait wait wait, guys, we let's back up and let's literally think about this. And who he wasn't showing up to the kings and the queens and all that. Even to the little guy in the in the dark, in the rain on a mountaintop and said, guess what? Check this news out. You know, I think that's pretty amazing. It really is. And like you said a couple times now, Upside Down Kingdom. And we're reminded of that all through this. And you mentioned the rain. I, I've never seen, the Nativity with, with rain. And, why wouldn't there be, you know, I think that was a great moment. I know we're getting short on time. I want to ask you when when families sit down. This this does air on ABC,

at 8: 11:47

00 eastern on December 9th. Tuesday, December 9th. When...When families sit down to watch this, David, what do you hope happens in their living rooms? I hope there is a light bulb that goes on and goes. This is what this is all about. You know, we've you hear it all the time. The reason for this season, you know, you're Christ in Christmas, but that's legit. That's that's what this is all about. And this is like the biggest thing to happen in humanity. Let's not let, modernity cozy wrapping, which isn't a bad thing, but let's let's appreciate why we do this and have respect for that when we celebrate, a birthday in our family, you know, of a loved one, you honor that person, you know, you you recognize it. But what if suddenly you just would have a generic birthday without a person, name or face and that, you know, and that's that's, just one, one random example of of what we need to do, especially the most important person. So I really hope that at the end of the day, we will point people to the person of Jesus and the character of his father, God, and an appreciation for all of those people that were a part of the story that said, yes, that had the courage, that had the faith, that had the hope, they had the joy to see it through. And it was it's a heartbreaking story, but we know the ending and the ending is pretty awesome. It is Tuesday, December

9th, 8: 13:43

00 on ABC, Eastern Time. Guys, check it out. David, thank you so much for you and your team. Just allowing Behind the Mike Podcast to, help distribute this a little bit and get the word out. I appreciate so much the project that you did. I pray that you keep on doing it. Thank you for being here today with us. Thanks, Mike. Grateful. Well, David, thank you truly for taking the time today and for the care that you poured into this project. What you and the team created isn't just another Christmas movie. It's a gift to families, churches, and anyone hungry to understand the real story of Jesus birth with fresh eyes. Friends, mark your calendars. Kevin Costner

Presents: 14:27

The First Christmas airs Tuesday, December 9th on ABC, and I would encourage you watch it as a family. Let this be the year you see the Nativity with the depth, humanity, and wonder that it deserves. David, thank you again for joining us. And to everyone watching, stay tuned for a new Christmas episode coming soon. But for now, enjoy this Christmas season. Make it a blessed time with your family. I'm Mike Stone. We'll see you next time on Behind the Mike Podcast.