Near the start of the new millennium, American
actor Jim Caviezel was one of the hottest
heartthrobs in Hollywood.
With starring roles in The Thin Red Line,
Frequency, The Count of Monte Cristo, and
more, Caviezel seemed primed for a long, successful
Hollywood career.
However, after taking on the career-defining
role of Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's controversial
biblical drama The Passion of The Christ,
Caviezel's big-screen career has been largely
non-existent.
So what happened?
Hollywood reject
According to Caviezel, accepting the title
role in The Passion of the Christ all but
ensured the death of his Hollywood career.
In fact, only minutes after Mel Gibson offered
him the role of biblical proportions, the
director tried to talk him out of it.
As Caviezel told one church congregation:
"He said, 'You'll never work in this town
again.'
I told him, 'We all have to embrace our crosses.'"
But Caviezel claimed to care little for Hollywood
awards, accolades or the Walk of Fame and
was willing to sacrifice his career for an
opportunity in Gibson's interpretation of
the story of Jesus, explaining:
"Jesus is as controversial now as he has ever
been.
Not much has changed in 2,000 years … We
have to give up our names, our reputations,
our lives to speak the truth."
Of course, there've been others who've portrayed
the holy character on-screen and continued
to have fruitful careers, so clearly, there's
more to the story than that.
Back to school
After playing Jesus, Caviezel decided to enroll
in Spanish courses at the University of Notre
Dame.
He told the school's Office of Public Affairs
and Communications:
"I'm in the process of finally getting my
college degree.
It's like home here.
Like family.
Notre Dame was a no-brainer.
I plan to be studying here when I'm not working."
Caviezel didn't just study at Notre Dame.
He also addressed students in the Grotto,
where he called on them to "Have the courage
to step into this pagan world and shamelessly
express your faith in public."
He also attended football games and participated
in some student section crowd push-ups — so
it wasn't all business, at least.
Love scenes lost
Even though romance certainly sells, especially
in Hollywood, Caviezel's unwillingness to
film love scenes makes him an unattractive
bid for pretty much any movie aimed at adults.
Caviezel told the New York Post in 2002:
"I have a hard time getting naked on film.
I don't believe in it.
I don't think it's right.
In my faith, I'm taught that abstinence is
important…
You're never gonna see my butt on film unless
I'm in the Holocaust, walking around."
Caviezel did film a love scene with Jennifer
Lopez in 2001's romantic drama Angel Eyes,
but he made it clear from the get-go that
he wouldn't be stripping down for the scene.
He revealed:
"I just said, 'Look, put a top on her.
I'm gonna keep my shorts on, she's gonna keep
hers on.
Get the camera and shoot around it.'
And that's out of devotion, love, and respect
to my wife."
Something similar happened on the set of The
Count of Monte Cristo.
Polish-American actress Dagmara Dominczyk
said:
"Jim took me aside and said, 'You know, I'm
married and very faithful.'
And I said, 'Jim, it's a Disney movie.
I'm not gonna grab your crotch!'"
Workplace and worship
In 2006, Caviezel appeared in a controversial
anti-stem cell research commercial and kicked
off the advertisement by using Aramaic words
to describe Judas' betrayal of Christ.
"Le-bar nash be-neshak"
Scholars of the ancient language agree that
using the phrase effectively likens anyone
supporting stem cell research to the biblical
traitor himself.
He's also been openly supportive of strongly
conservative politicians and refuses to try
and separate his faith from his profession.
As he told the Polish press in 2017:
"People in Hollywood keep asking me why can't
I separate my acting career from being a Catholic.
My faith helps me to make the right choices."
The good news is, he's had plenty of opportunities
to pursue religion-oriented work, including
narrating a 2016 documentary about Pope John
Paul II and lining up to play Saint Luke in
the upcoming biblical drama film Paul, Apostle
of Christ.
Career resurrection?
Caviezel's most notable post-Passion role
was that of former CIA agent John Reese in
the sci-fi crime drama Person of Interest,
which ran for five seasons on CBS.
The show received generally positive reviews
and ratings during its run.
Since the 2016 series' finale, which hit a
ratings low for the show, Caviezel has yet
to be seen again on the small screen, but
he may be heading back to where it all began
and ended by starring in Mel Gibson's follow-up
to The Passion of the Christ.
He said of his return:
"I won't tell you how he's going to go about
it, but I'll tell you this much, the film
[Gibson's] going to do is going to be the
biggest film in history.
It's that good."
Considering both he and Mel Gibson have had
to work their ways back into the mainstream
for different reasons, their reunion should
prove to be interesting indeed.
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