James Patrick Caviezel, Jr. (pronounced /kəˈviːzəl/; born September 26, 1968) is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Jim Caviezel. He is known for the roles of Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, Bobby Jones in Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius, Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo, Catch in Angel Eyes and Private Witt in The Thin Red Line.
Caviezel made an appearance on the TV show of Murder She Wrote early in his career. He appears as Darryl Harding in the episode of “Film Flam” which aired on February 19, 1995.
After appearances in Wyatt Earp and G.I. Jane, Caviezel scored a breakthrough performance in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. He played Black John, a Missouri bushwhacker, in Ang Lee’s Ride With The Devil (1999), a film budgeted and intended as a summer blockbuster, which fell flat at the box office. He was originally cast to play Cyclops/Scott Summers in X-Men (2000) but dropped out because of a scheduling conflict with… read more
James Patrick Caviezel, Jr. (pronounced /kəˈviːzəl/; born September 26, 1968) is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Jim Caviezel. He is known for the roles of Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ, Bobby Jones in Bobby Jones: A Stroke of Genius, Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo, Catch in Angel Eyes and Private Witt in The Thin Red Line.
Caviezel made an appearance on the TV show of Murder She Wrote early in his career. He appears as Darryl Harding in the episode of “Film Flam” which aired on February 19, 1995.
After appearances in Wyatt Earp and G.I. Jane, Caviezel scored a breakthrough performance in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. He played Black John, a Missouri bushwhacker, in Ang Lee’s Ride With The Devil (1999), a film budgeted and intended as a summer blockbuster, which fell flat at the box office. He was originally cast to play Cyclops/Scott Summers in X-Men (2000) but dropped out because of a scheduling conflict with his other film, Frequency.
Caviezel starred in such mainstream Hollywood films as Angel Eyes, Pay It Forward and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). In 2001, he played the lead in Madison, a film that tells the story of hydroplane racing in Madison, Indiana. Caviezel’s character pilots Miss Madison to victory, recounting the 1971 event. The film did not appear in theatres until 2005. In addition, his work in High Crimes (2002) was highly praised by critics.
In 2002, he played a pivotal role in the film I Am David from the Danish novel known by both David and North to Freedom, written by Ann Holm.
In 2004, Caviezel portrayed Jesus Christ in the Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ. During filming he was struck by lightning, accidentally whipped, dislocated his shoulder and bruised his eye.
In 2004, he expressed interest in playing the role of Superman/Clark Kent for 2006’s Superman Returns, mentioning that he would dedicate his performance to Christopher Reeve. Ultimately, he was passed over by director Bryan Singer, who felt that Caviezel was too well known after starring in The Passion of the Christ. The part went to newcomer Brandon Routh instead.
Caviezel plays a lead role in Unknown, an IFC Films project distributed by the Weinstein Company. Caviezel also has a role in Tony Scott’s 2006 action film, Déjà Vu opposite Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer. He also played the lead role, Kainin, in the 2008 film Outlander.
Caviezel provides the voice of Jesus on the Thomas Nelson Inc.-produced New Testament audio dramatization The Word of Promise, released in the fall of 2007.
In 2008 he played in Long Weekend, co-starring Claudia Karvan and directed by Jamie Blanks at Wilsons Promontory, mainland Australia’s southern most tip.
In 2009, Caviezel was French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam in “The Stoning of Soraya M.”, a drama set in 1986 Iran about the execution of a young mother. The film, produced by Stephen McEveety, also stars Oscar nominated, Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. When asked about how his own Christian faith was impacted by this tragic story, Caviezel says, “…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.”
Alongside Ian McKellen, Caviezel starred in a remake of the British science fiction TV show, The Prisoner, which aired in November 2009.
Caviezel is co starring in the film Blown, a London espionage thriller with Samuel L. Jackson.
