Caviezel portrayed Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's 2004 The Passion of the Christ. During filming, he was struck by lightning, scourged by accident, dislocated his shoulder, and suffered from pneumonia and hypothermia.[14] Prior to filming, Gibson reportedly warned Caviezel that playing Jesus in his controversial film could hurt his career. In 2011, he stated that good roles had been hard to come by since, but this movie, in particular, the role of Jesus Christ was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Passion of the Christ went on to take in a box office of $612.1 million.[15][16]
Caviezel had leading roles in the 2006 films Unknown and Déjà Vu. He played Kainan in Outlander (2008) and provided the voice of Jesus on the 2007 New Testament audio dramatization The Word of Promise.[17][18] In 2008, he starred in Long Weekend.[19]
In 2009, Caviezel played French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam in The Stoning of Soraya M., a drama set in 1986 Iran about the execution of a young mother. When asked about how his Catholic faith was affected by this story, he said, "You don't have to go any further than the gospels to figure out what the right thing to do is, whether you should be more concerned helping someone regardless of their religion or where they're from".[20] That same year, he reprised the role of Jesus in the latest installment of The Word of Promise.[21] Caviezel starred in The Prisoner, a remake of the British science fiction series with the same name, in November 2009.[22][23]
From 2011 to 2016, Caviezel starred in the CBS drama series Person of Interest as John Reese, a former CIA agent who now works for a mysterious billionaire as a vigilante. The show received the highest ratings in 15 years for a series pilot and consistently garnered over 10 million weekly viewers.[24] Caviezel was nominated for the People's Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic TV Actor in 2014[25] and again in 2016[26] for his work on Person of Interest.
In 2017, Caviezel signed on as lead character of CBS's SEAL Team series.[31] However, Caviezel left the project due to creative differences before production began and was replaced by David Boreanaz.[32]
Caviezel portrayed the Apostle Luke in the film Paul, Apostle of Christ, which opened in theaters on March 23, 2018, to mixed reviews.[33][34]
In January 2018, Caviezel's agent announced that Caviezel had signed on with Gibson to reprise his role as Jesus in The Passion of the Christ sequel, entitled The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection.[35][36] In September 2020, Caviezel said, "Mel Gibson just sent me the third picture, the third draft. It's coming." He added, "It's going to be the biggest film in world history."[37]
In 2018, Caviezel signed on to portray Tim Ballard, a DHS Agent and an anti-human-trafficking activist, in the film Sound of Freedom, about the organization Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) and its mission to save children from sex trafficking and slavery. Ballard had specifically requested that Caviezel play him.[38] Caviezel stated, "This is the second most important film I have ever done since The Passion of the Christ. ... It's going to affect the saving of a lot of children and the changing of lives. It will also bring a lot of light into the darkness."[39] The film was theatrically released on July 3, 2023.
In 1996, Caviezel married Kerri Browitt, a high school English teacher. They have adopted three children from China.[41][30]
Out of respect for his wife, Caviezel requested that he wear a shirt and that Jennifer Lopez wear a top during a love scene in the film Angel Eyes,[42] and he refused to strip in a love scene with Ashley Judd in High Crimes.[43] He said, "I do love scenes—but not ones with gratuitous sex. I also don't do gratuitous violence. And it's not just about my wife, although that's important. It's sin, pure and simple. I mean, it's wrong."[44]
Religious beliefs
Caviezel is a devout Catholic. In a 2017 interview, Caviezel talked about the importance of his Catholic faith, the lasting impact that The Passion of the Christ has had on his life, and his special devotion to the Virgin Mary.[45][46] During the filming of The Passion of the Christ in Italy, he received daily counsel, confession, and Holy Communion from a local Catholic priest, with an interpreter.[47]
Political views
Caviezel is publicly against abortion.[30] In 2006, Caviezel was featured with actress Patricia Heaton and Missouri athletes Kurt Warner and Mike Sweeney in an advertisement opposing Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2, which allowed any form of embryonic stem cell research and therapy in Missouri that is otherwise legal under federal law. He began the advertisement by saying, "Le-bar nash be-neshak" (Aramaic for "You betray the Son of Man with a kiss"), a reference to Judas's betrayal of Jesus Christ and a phrase used in the Gospel According to St. Luke.[48][49] (In the advertisement, the line did not include a translation into English.) Caviezel closed the commercial with the line, "You know now. Don't do it. Vote no on 2." The advertisement was a response to a commercial featuring Michael J. Fox, who favored embryonic stem cell research.[50]
Support of QAnon
Beginning in 2021, Caviezel endorsed elements of the QAnon conspiracy theory,[51][52] first doing so during a remote appearance at the "Health and Freedom Conference"[53][54] at Rhema Bible Training College in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.[55] The appearance was to promote the film Sound of Freedom, centering on anti-human trafficking activist Tim Ballard. Ballard's activism has been alleged to correspond to the rise of QAnon, though he denies any connection to the movement.[56] Caviezel mentioned that Ballard was supposed to be appearing at the conference but was "saving victims of trafficking" who were victims of "adrenochroming", a fictional practice whose existence is suggested by QAnon adherents.[57] Caviezel suggested he had seen evidence of children being subjected to the practice.[58] The event included appearances by other QAnon promoters, such as L. Lin Wood[59] and Michael Flynn.[60] In October of the same year, Caviezel spoke in Las Vegas at the "For God & Country: Patriot Double Down" conference, where he mentioned the need to fight child sex trafficking, Satan and liberal values. He claimed that "the storm is upon us", a slogan associated with QAnon echoing the belief in a final battle against evil and repeated the battle cry of William Wallace in Braveheart, also urging the audience to "[send] Lucifer and his henchmen straight back to hell where they belong".[61]
After Sound of Freedom was released in 2023, Caviezel continued to promote QAnon during interviews and media appearances related to the film.[62] During a July 2023 appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show, Kirk asked Caviezel to address claims of his belief in QAnon. He claimed he was unaware of QAnon when the movie was filmed in 2018, and subsequently defended followers of QAnon, claiming that they were being persecuted and comparing them to the Christians in the New Testament. Caviezel also made more remarks about adrenochrome and claimed that "QAnon" does not exist, only "Q" and "anons" - a common talking point used by QAnon followers to deflect from their support for the movement.[63]
^"Jim Caviezel". About.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2010. One of five children, he grew up as part of a devout Roman Catholic family.
