In 2008, he portrayed Pontius Pilate in "The Passion", a BBC/HBO adaptation of the last week in the life of Jesus. He had originally rejected the script due to other filming commitments, but accepted the role after his agent told him to re-read it before making a final decision. He was pleased to learn that the serial was being produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark, whose "Bleak House" adaptation he had enjoyed, and that he would be appearing with his "Jekyll" co-star Denis Lawson. Contrary to previous portrayals of Pilate, Nesbitt played the biblical figure as "nice", and—as when playing Jack Parlabane—used his own accent. The serial was broadcast in the UK during Easter week 2008. Shortly after filming "The Passion", he filmed the part of journalist Max Raban in the Carnival Films thriller "Midnight Man", which was shown on ITV in May 2008. It won him a joint nomination (along with the 2007 series of "Murphy's Law") for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best Actor. At the end of the year, he had a starring role in the low-budget independent film "Blessed". The writer and director Mark Aldridge scripted the character of Peter with Nesbitt in mind to play him. The film had a limited release throughout 2008 and 2009 before the BBC screened it on television in 2010. Nesbitt said, "The role of Peter is what I have dreamed about playing, you wait your whole life for an opportunity like this and when it comes you have to grab it."