Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

JIM CAVIEZEL WHO PLAYED CHRIST REVEALS HIS DEEPEST HOPE FOR THE MEL GIBSON FILM
CHRISTIAN NEWS TODAY ^ | 2/04 | DAN WOODING

Posted on 02/28/2004 5:05:16 AM PST by Liz

(Pictured: Mel Gibson (director/producer) directs Jim Caviezel (Jesus) for The Passion of The Christ, a film by Mel Gibson. © 2003 Icon Distribution Inc. All Rights Reserved. A Newmarket Films release. Photo credit: Philippe Antonello).

“My prayer is that I don’t want people to see me in the film; I only want them to see Christ,” he says

By Dan Wooding

BEVERLY HILLS, CA (ANS) -- Jim Caviezel, the talented actor who portrays Christ in the movie, “The Passion of The Christ,” which focuses on the last 12 hours of Jesus' life, has revealed his deepest hope for the film. (Pictured: Jim Caviezel, who portrays Christ in the movie. -- Picture by Dan Wooding.)

“My prayer is that I don’t want people to see me in the film; I only want them to see Christ,” he told a group of journalist in Beverly Hills recently.

Caviezel, who has soulful blue eyes, and a dark, almost eerie kind of good looks, was born in Mount Vernon on September 26, 1968. One of five children, he grew up as part of a devout Catholic family and has starred in many films and in 1998 Caviezel had his breakthrough role in The Thin Red Line. The film received a number of Oscar nominations, and its stellar ensemble cast, which included Ben Chaplin, Sean Penn, George Clooney, and Nick Nolte, earned almost unanimous acclaim.

He has starred in many movies since then including his portrayal of a football coach's embittered son in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday. In 2000, Caviezel starred in the supernatural thriller Frequency, playing the son of a long-dead man (Any Given Sunday co-star Dennis Quaid) with whom he is able to communicate over ham radio and he took the lead in the period adventure The Count of Monte Cristo (2002).

But he has never worked on a movie like his latest with his as Jesus Christ himself in Mel Gibson's The Passion (2004) in which he was struck by lightening during the filming and endured his shoulder being was separated during the crucifixion sequence.

Caviezel revealed what it was like during the making of the film that was shot in southern Italy and in Rome.

“I would start with the makeup at 2:00 AM and at 10:00 AM we were ready for me to start the cross,” he said.

He said that the actual crucifixion filming, things got really difficult for him. “I separated my shoulder and then my eye began to cause me to hyper focus,” he said. “I also had to learn to breathe while on the cross. I would then have to get up early in the morning and go through the whole cycle again and then you have to take off the make up and it takes about two hours to take off and you sit the in the shower for about 25 minutes and then you start to sweat. I would have to drink water because I was dehydrated and then hypothermia would start to kick up during the day. Beside my problem with my shoulder, the wind would come up and it was like the Grand Canyon and the wind would go right through you.

“My shoulder would experience terrific pain because of the wind hitting the cross and it kept pulling the shoulder out of joint and making me go insane. This was going on over and over again, plus I was getting only three to four and a half hours of sleep. When you go to sleep at night and you have hypothermia, I don’t care how many sweats you put on, you shake through the night. So I would wake up and be shaking and then I would go to work and the skin was starting to become raw. When they were putting on the make up, I would shout, ‘Ouch, please don’t touch me here. You are hurting my shoulder.’

“That went on for five weeks just for the crucifixion. We would start on Monday and go through to Saturday night. On Sunday, I would go to church and then on Monday I would start the cycle over again.

“At the same time, I had to lift weights for my quadriceps to be able to take the weight of the cross. They would put me on for about 12 minutes at a time and so all my weight was going into my right leg.

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

“Then I got struck my lightning. I was on Golgotha when it happened. It almost makes you want to quit. I can tell you that Jesus wasn’t smiling on the cross. It really hurts, but as an actor, I didn’t go through anything that He went through. I was reading a book and read that he has suffered over 5,000 blows to His body and that really meant something.

“During the scourging scene, I got hit. When they came in with these whips, they were supposed to hit a metal board behind me, but one of them hit me square in the back. You know what happened? I went ‘ouch’ and I couldn’t breathe. It was an automatic response. When the guy hit me, I said something I shouldn’t have. I added, ‘I know I am playing Jesus, but I feel like Satan right now.’ Mistakes happen, but you’re the mistake it’s not pleasant.”

He also talked about the horror of crucifixion. “When you are on the cross, you die by asphyxiation,” he said. “You can’t breathe. When I was up there, my legs were going numb and then my forceps would go numb. I could get diaphragm activated to get the air into my chest. They would bring me food and I would turn around and wretch right there on the cross. It’s amazing. You would see people laughing. People love watching people suffer. It’s amazing. There were others who couldn’t stop watching because they were in love with Christ – yet I’m not Him!”

He revealed how strange it was for him during the filming. “People came up to me and called me Jesus, but I never felt adequate that I was Him. The first thing I said to Mel was, ‘If we don’t carry our cross, we are going to be crushed under the weight of it.’ He was under attack. The same time that he was directing, he fighting wars all over the place. I don’t know how he finished this thing. It was a miracle. God gave us just barely enough to get through.

“I knew what I was in for when I took this film, but I had no idea it would go in the direction it did. The only thing that scared me where the three languages, as I barely knew Latin, but knew nothing about Aramaic and old Hebrew was foreign to learn.”

When asked how it had changed him playing Jesus, he replied, “I now know Him in a more personal way that I have. I am proud of this film because it is the truth. It is as it was even though some have tried to discredit that line.”

He then talked about meeting Billy Graham. “I got to be with him for three hours and he is a wonderful man,” he said. “I remember watching him on TV one night and I wanted to be one of those people that walked out. When we met, I told him, ‘I believe you carry the Holy Spirit with you; I believe you are a holy man.’

“This film is under such controversy. I told someone who said that he had heard it was a very controversial film, and I said, ‘Have you seen other passion play that wasn’t? Where they killed a good man?’ Jesus didn’t die for some mythological story, he didn’t die for fantasy.

“I don’t think I could have done this film without the faith that I have. During the day, when you work with an academy-award-winning director like Mel Gibson, why wouldn’t you do a film that is based on the Gospels, but I tell you, it scared just about everyone away. It scared financiers. It is controversial. Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace to the world, but I came with a sword.”

Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times). Wooding is also a syndicated columnist, and was for ten years a commentator on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 41 books, one of which is "Blind Faith" which he co-authored with his 93-year-old mother Anne Wooding, who was a pioneer missionary to the blind of Nigeria in the 1930s. Copies of this book are available from the ASSIST USA office at PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126. t.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: caviezel; thepassion
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-109 next last
To: Lazamataz
Laz--he either meant forearms, or was misquoted.
41 posted on 02/28/2004 7:08:27 AM PST by SkyPilot
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Liz
bttt
42 posted on 02/28/2004 7:18:59 AM PST by tutstar ( <{{---><)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Liz
Isn't it amazing the stir that Christ created over 2000 years ago and it seems as though history repeated itself as the controversy over this film has emerged.
43 posted on 02/28/2004 7:19:44 AM PST by LoudRepublicangirl (loudrepublicangirl)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Dr. Scarpetta
Good luck, and may God be with you!

My mother and brother will be going with me tomorrow.

My wife is taking our two daughters to a string concert at the same time.

44 posted on 02/28/2004 7:24:33 AM PST by Northern Yankee ( Freedom needs a soldier...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: longtermmemmory
I noticed that his initials were J.C and during the making of the film he was 33.
45 posted on 02/28/2004 7:25:51 AM PST by navygal (phillipians 4:13)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: LoudRepublicangirl
it seems as though history repeated itself as the controversy over this film has emerged.
----
I plan on seeing the movie today. I have seen shorts on TV. The portion where Satan is talking to Jesus in the garden. Satan suggests to Jesus that no one will remember or care.
I think Satan is very busy at this very moment fueling critic controversy. The latest controversy is that this film is too "bloody" graphic to be viewed. Satan would love to shut this movie down so that no one will remember or care and to keep His sacrifice hidden from view.

The gospels suggest that by his stripes we were healed. It's obvious to me that Satan doesn't want us to see those stripes.
46 posted on 02/28/2004 7:44:21 AM PST by juzcuz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: GulfWar1Vet
I didn't notice Jim, I saw "Jesus".

Same here. Highest accomplishment in acting, IMO. That said, I am very much looking forward to special features on the DVD release, where I can see the actor at work in his craft. Jim called Rush yesterday and discussed the outtakes from the whipping scene...how he had been inadvertantly hit not once but twice...the scars that left...how it left him beyond breathless and completely unable to act. I hope his discussion of this is on the DVD.

47 posted on 02/28/2004 7:49:54 AM PST by .30Carbine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Aquinasfan; Liz
I am still digesting and meditating on the changes this movie has wrought in me (or that God has wrought in me throught it). One verse of scripture keeps popping to the surface of my thoughts like a baloon that can't be restrained under water:

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

I had to look it up in context. I am glad that I did.

48 posted on 02/28/2004 7:57:30 AM PST by .30Carbine
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Liz
Regardless of any shortcomings in Mel's movie, it is the right message at the right time.    A wise preacher once told me: if I got turned around and lost my way, I should go back to the cross and get my bearings.

It is obvious that a lot of people in our compound republic have professed themselves to be wise and have become fools.    But God has promised: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles|7:14

So we don't have to wait for somebody else to see the error of their ways and repent, we can get a head start on healing our land.    I believe that Mel's movie will have a lot of God's people going back to the cross this Easter so, during this crucial election year, maybe we will all have a better idea of just which way we want to go.

49 posted on 02/28/2004 8:03:12 AM PST by al_possum39
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: moneyrunner
Well stated. I saw the film with a friend last night. The theater was also packed, and absolutely silent during the entire showing.

My friend began to feel faint and had to leave the theater before the crucifixion. It was very hard to watch the horrific treatment Jesus received, even knowing that it was an actor in makeup. I would never have missed seeing the film; it really brought home to me how horribly he suffered for us. The magnitude of his sacrifice has been diminished over the years, and words on a printed page just don't have the power of a screen portrayal. I am very grateful to Mel Gibson for having brought this to the screen.

50 posted on 02/28/2004 8:07:05 AM PST by Think free or die
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Think free or die
The magnitude of his sacrifice has been diminished over the years . . .

From our standpoint it's a roller coaster. From God's standpoint the magnitude is constant. All of history hinges on these frightful hours, and Christ's words, "It is finished."

When Moses brought down the Table of the Law all the people were awed. The Exodus forged a people who constantly remembered God's gracious salvation from the Egyptians, and yet they lapsed again and again. The magnitude faded for them, too.

Here's to hoping this Sacrifice will not be lost on us as we traverse our short time in this life.

51 posted on 02/28/2004 8:32:29 AM PST by Fester Chugabrew
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Fester Chugabrew
i can't understand why our local movie theatre gave it a 2 1/2 star rating....the same rating it gave "Confessions of a Teen-Age..." something or other. Lord of the Rings got a 3 star rating.
52 posted on 02/28/2004 9:09:24 AM PST by Carolinamom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: .30Carbine
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Excellent.

I'm still digesting this movie as well. The images and scenes keep popping up. I think I can remember every scene. This movie certainly deserves repeated viewings.

53 posted on 02/28/2004 9:32:58 AM PST by Aquinasfan (Isaiah 22:22, Rev 3:7, Mat 16:19)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]

To: NYer
Please add me to your Catholic ping list. Thanks

ILBBACH

54 posted on 02/28/2004 10:53:05 AM PST by ILBBACH
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: longtermmemmory
Not to mention that the star of "Bruce Almighty" shares those same initials. Hmmmmm.
55 posted on 02/28/2004 11:24:07 AM PST by TradicalRC (While the wicked stand confounded, Call me, with thy saints surrounded. -The Boondock Saints)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Carolinamom
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reveiwer gave it a C-.

Liberal Rag.


I am anxious to see what Rotten Tomatos does with it.
56 posted on 02/28/2004 11:32:24 AM PST by DollyCali (2004: Opportunity for love, growth, giving, doing..... It is our choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]

To: NYer
I would like to be on your Catholic Ping list please?
57 posted on 02/28/2004 11:33:05 AM PST by DollyCali (2004: Opportunity for love, growth, giving, doing..... It is our choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Liz
In 2000, Caviezel starred in the supernatural thriller Frequency, playing the son of a long-dead man (Any Given Sunday co-star Dennis Quaid) with whom he is able to communicate over ham radio

Great movie, highly recommended to all FReepers! NOTE: it's a time travel fantasy, but not really a 'supernatural' thriller.

58 posted on 02/28/2004 11:35:14 AM PST by 537 Votes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Aquinasfan
Does anyone know what Nostradamus has to say about this?
I mean: so many coincidences. JC, 33, foretold by a stranger...must have been predestined somehow.
I know they tried if they could find Mel Gibson’s name encoded in the Old Testament and they did.
But is he encoded in Nostradamus too?
Jesus was in Nostradamus, wars and other main events.
And Mel is a main event, he's a statue.
WHO KNOWS????
59 posted on 02/28/2004 12:24:58 PM PST by LizVanBreda
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Liz
I saw this actor on Jay Leno last night, and what a great person he is. Not to mention that he's too fine !!!! Hubba hubba !!
60 posted on 02/28/2004 12:34:44 PM PST by Rainmist
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101-109 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson