Actor Jim Caviezel stars in one of the most popular films of Holy Week, The Passion of the Christ, which narrates the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life and which generated a great debate in the months prior to its premiere in February 2004, as point that was vetoed in several countries due to the crudeness of the images of the Stations of the Cross.
Maybe you haven’t seen the film, but you probably know the viral photograph that was taken behind the scenes and that shows Mel Gibson, director and producer, next to Caviezel, dressed as Jesus and with a bloody face. Although it is now used as a meme, that image captures the difficulties that the actor faced in achieving an interpretation as close as possible to the story.
Why did Jim Caviezel agree to star in ‘The Passion of the Christ’?
Before this controversial film, Caviezel’s name was already in the cinema for his leading roles in The Thin Red Line (1998) and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), but he recognizes that The Passion of the Christ changed his life. When he sought him out for the performance, Mel Gibson warned him: “If you take this role (of Jesus), you may never work in this city again” and was surprised to hear from Jim a similarity with the religious character: “My initials They are JC and I am 33 years old.”
Although the actor was afraid about what was to come for his career, he responded to Gibson with the conviction of being Catholic: “We all have to embrace our crosses” and accepted the challenge. He was warned several times and always had a similar reaction: “If we don’t carry our crosses, we will be crushed by their weight.” These phrases are part of the story that he has shared before audiences who believe in Catholicism for more than 20 years.
Caviezel says he felt a great presence while filming: “The sentence that came to me was: ‘I don’t want people to see me. I just want them to see Jesus. And through that conversions will occur.’ “That’s what he wanted, for people to have a visceral effect to finally make the decision to follow (Jesus) or not.”
Jim suffered the movie. According to The Guardian, the actor was struck by lightning during filming on a set near Rome, his shoulder was also dislocated, he was hit by a cross weighing more than 70 kilos and was injured after being flogged by an actor. who played a Roman soldier.
According to his statements to Fox News, the impact of the lightning was such that Jim required two surgeries, one of them open heart, and he subsequently received medical treatment. As if that were not enough, prolonged exposure to low temperatures caused pneumonia. Either way, he says it was all worth it.
What happened to actor Jim Caviezel after ‘The Passion of the Christ?
Despite the conflicting discussions about the approach to the Stations of the Cross in The Passion of the Christ, the film was successful, grossing more than 600 million dollars at the box office and leaving its mark until it is positioned among the historical films about this religion. But contrary to what one might think, the leading role did not mean a ladder to fame for Caviezel, it hindered his career, as he has acknowledged.
“Take a decision. What you discover is that some decisions are considered bad and I don’t see it that way. If there was a comedy, I would do it, but after playing Jesus, you don’t get offers like that anymore. As soon as I did The Passion of the Christ, other movie offers stopped coming in,” he told People.
But Caviezel didn’t stop working, he just didn’t get high-profile roles; he attributes this to directors’ fear that his past performance would overshadow a different project. He acted in several productions, including his portrayal of Lucas in Paul, the Apostle of Christ (2018) and the lead role in Sound of Liberty (2023) as Tim Ballard.
Will ‘The Passion of the Christ’ have a sequel?
Two decades after the first film, Mel Gibson directs The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection, again with Jim Caviezel as Jesus. The film focuses on the days that passed between death and resurrection.
The release date has not yet been revealed, but according to specialized media, filming began last year.