Jim Caviezel, actor: How being a dad has changed his life

Catholic Digest ^ | August 19, 2009 | Julie L. Rattey

[NYer]

Since playing Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ,” Jim Caviezel has been anything but idle. Catholic Digest caught up with him by phone to discuss his latest news, including how being a dad has changed his life and how he hopes his new film, “The Stoning of Soraya M.” — out in theaters June 26 — will change others’. Caviezel, 40, spoke with us from one of his favorite haunts, a Jewish restaurant called The Meating Place in Agoura Hills, California, where he says he enjoys the best Israeli food he’s had outside Israel.

You and your wife Kerri have become adoptive parents to an orphaned boy, Bo, and girl, LeLe, from China. How has becoming a father affected you and your faith?

I don’t even know who I was before (laughs). Dennis Quaid told me a long time ago when he had his son Jack, 'You’ll have emotions in you that you didn’t even know existed before you had a child.' I now know what that feels like. Even though they’re adopted, it’s as strong as any instinct. That’s what blew me away. I always thought if I adopted that I wouldn’t have the same feeling [as I would] if they were genetically my own children. Nothing could be further from the truth.

And how has that affected you and your wife’s faith life?

Well, you’re mirrors, aren’t you? Every day when we go to school we pray the Rosary. We don’t talk, we pray. I always feel we communicate better in the prayer. If I don’t stay consistent, they won’t be consistent.

How else has being a father changed you?

I guess you love more. I see my wife take care of the children, and (to see) how they respond and how my children are makes me love them more. To add to that, I’m more in control of my duties as opposed to being caught up in the world. I’m not ruled by my feelings, I’m ruled by love, which is a decision. And that is being implemented into my children — that it’s not how I feel, it’s what I’m going to do. That’s what my faith has taught me and now it’s teaching them, but it won’t mean a hill of beans unless they see that coming from both of us.

What are some of the things you find most rewarding about being a dad?

The other day my little girl jumped in my lap, put her hand on my face, and whispered in my ear, "Papa, I love you so much." It pulls on your heartstrings. When you come home and the kids run to you, come up and grab your leg. We have a little thing. They stand on my feet and I walk them into the kitchen and we just laugh.

How did faith play a role in the adoption process for you and your wife?

I was walking out of Mass and Susie McEveety, the wife of Steve McEveety (click here to read Catholic Digest's interview with McEveety), who produced “The Passion of the Christ,” said, 'Will you adopt this child?' And I saw (a picture of) a baby with a tumor on top of its head and in its brain. And I saw his eyes and — this sounds like such sentimental hogwash, but I’m telling you the truth — in my heart I heard this boy calling to me, saying, 'Will you love me?'

	Caviezel plays a journalist who encounters an Iranian woman (Shohreh Aghdashloo, “The Nativity Story”) with a story in “The Stoning of Soraya M”

So I told my wife, 'I’d like to adopt this little boy. I think we’re supposed to.' I thought she’d certainly say no, and then she just said, 'I’m in shock that you would want to adopt not just any child, but this child. I never thought you were even open to adoption.' I said, 'I wasn’t open to adoption; I wanted my own children.' We’d been close before to having children and it didn’t work out, and that’s all I’ll go into [about] that, but we still hope to have our own children, but I knew in my heart as strong as anything, as strong as meeting my wife, as strong as becoming an actor, [that this is what God wanted].

Part of what had spurred the adoption was a pro-life challenge. Could you share a little about that?

This guy I know said, 'You’re pro-life. Tell you what, if you really believe in what you speak, adopt a child — not any child, he’s got to have a serious deficiency,' (and I will become pro-life). He never changed his (position), but it convicted me. I don’t think he thought I would step up to the plate.

I was listening to Johnny Mathis the other day and I said, “What an amazing voice.” I have yet to hear another person sound like Johnny Mathis. How are we so arrogant to think the 51.5 million babies who have died in this country… Look, I am for helping women. I just don’t see abortion as helping women. And I don’t love my career that much to say, “I’m going to remain silent on this.” I’m defending every single baby who has never been born. And every voice that would have been unique like Johnny Mathis’. How do we know that we didn’t kill the very child who could have created a particular type of medicine that saves other lives?

In [“The Stoning of Soraya M.”] this woman was brutally attacked by a group of Islamic people who believe in Sharia law (Islamic law), prevalent in many countries. Weekly, women are stoned to death. This story takes place [in Iran] and the man who wrote about it (Freidoune Sahebjam, in his 1994 novel The Stoning of Soraya M.: A True Story) went [to Iran and] came upon a woman who told (about an innocent woman who had been stoned to death for supposed infidelity).

The man who wrote this book chose to get involved in something that cost him his entire life. There were many a bully who went after him. They had been hunting this man down for years. Two days before I went to meet this man he died of a heart attack (in March 2008). You can’t tell me that this man was not stressed when this thing was going to go public. If the book got him a death sentence, can you imagine what the film is going to be? I met a group of Iranian actors and one of the women said to me, 'Often in the West you say, ‘We want free rights and free choices here in the United States.’ Well, what makes you think we don’t want to have free rights and free choices in our country? You guys always write us off because of some religious fanatic thing.' If you speak out in their area, you disappear or you get publicly stoned to death.

What do you hope audiences will take away from the film?

When you go to church on Sunday, it’s absolutely worthless unless you apply what you’ve learned to your everyday life. What I hope they take away is the same story Jesus tried to tell years ago, which was the Good Samaritan. At some point, we all play a character in the Bible. We all think of ourselves, Oh, I’m Peter, I’m Paul, I’m John. I’m Jesus (laughs). But nobody says, “I’m Pontius Pilate. I’m politically correct here.”

	Jim Caviezel reprises his role of Jesus on The Word of Promise audio bible. Visit www.wordofpromise.com for more information.

You reprise your role as Jesus in The Word of Promise audio Bible. What was that like for you?

I had to do it in English. I knew that I would have an older voice someday, and I said, “While I’m still young I want people to hear the Jesus that I intended to play before [director Mel Gibson] introduced the foreign languages [into “The Passion of the Christ”]. My prayer was I didn’t want people to see me. I want people to see Jesus. The only difference between this and a movie is that you have no visual. You hear the lightning strike. You hear the birds chirping. You hear what it might have been like in that time. And it engages your heart and your emotions. And all of a sudden your life begins to change a little bit every day. And you won’t have to tell people whether you’re praying or not; they will know you’re praying. Because I’ll tell you, the difference between that person and someone who does not pray [is that] he has peace and real love. And if you change just a little bit every day, my gosh, you’re going to start experiencing heaven now, not waiting until you die to experience it.  CD

To learn more about “The Stoning of Soraya M.” and how you can help prevent violence against women worldwide, visit thestoning.com and stoningparable.com.

[lysie]

Wow! Thanks for the ping.

[Northern Yankee]

He seems to be so genuine. I am hoping that perhaps he can help Mel Gibson out of his troubles that Mel has been bringing on himself.

[Northern Yankee]

You're welcome!

What a humbling and true man.

[mware]

As Caviezel once said in an interview, "You don't make a movie about the Passion and not get a part of it."

Gibson, has the demons working overtime on him.

[Northern Yankee]

Absolutely.

His fall from grace is understandable. (We need only look at Saul or Peter for that matter.) The human soul is weak if not armoured by prayer and grace.

[lysie]

I emailed it to family and friends.

A good way to start the morning.

[Northern Yankee]

Great idea.

Just got back from daily Mass. This morning it's rainy and cool. (60 degrees) I love walking into church and smelling the candles burning on the altar.

I feel like I am home.

[NYer]

i sent the pic to his cell phone and he said “yep, that’s her, but why did God send her to China first?"

Lol ... wonderful sense of humor! I am both adopted and an adoptive parent. And your husband is absolutely correct ... it matters not where you were born but the nurturing love of the family that raises you. Congratulations on your beautiful daughter! May she grow in the love and grace of our Lord.

[madamemayhem]

thank you and congrats on your adoptive parent journey i found the process to be exciting, frustrating, nitpicky, panic inducing and amazing. when the adoption assistants walked thru that door carrying our girl..whoa nelly...i only recall feeling that kind of joy at the birth of my son. for me it was exactly the same.... only without the stretch marks and with a really long flight.

[NYer]

when the adoption assistants walked thru that door carrying our girl..whoa nelly...

My experience was quite similar except my daughter's birth grandmother was carrying her with a nurse to one side and a lawyer to the other. She placed her in my arms and with tears streaming down her cheeks asked me to lover her as my own. We both embraced and I gave her the reassurance that she would always be loved and respected. My daughter is now 23 years old! How fast the years slip away.

[Victoria Delsoul]

I’m glad that there are a few Hollywood actors or actress who keep their values and sanity intact.  Jim Caviezel is a good man and a good actor. I recall reading about him being very moved when he met the Pope several years ago.  I hope he remains a good, decent gentleman.

[Girlene]

Thanks for the ping, Northern Yankee. What a refreshing interview/article.