 Director Martin Scorsese (qv) first read  Nikos Kazantzakis (qv)s novel "The Last Temptation of Christ"  after being given a copy by actress Barbara Hershey (qv) while he  was directing her in _Boxcar Bertha (1972)_ (qv), his second feature  film, in 1972. When she read in a trade paper many years later that  Scorsese was finally getting the opportunity to direct a film  adaptation, she begged him to let her play the role of Mary  Magdalene. To make sure she didnt feel that he was giving her the  part as a favor for having recommended the book, he made her  audition.