James Caviezel

James Caviezel

Caviezel at the Giffoni Film Festival
Born James Patrick Caviezel, Jr.
September 26, 1968 (1968-09-26) (age 42)
Mount Vernon, Washington, United States
Occupation Actor
Years active 1991—present
Spouse Kerri Browitt Caviezel (1996-present)

James Patrick Caviezel, Jr. (pronounced /kəˈviːzəl/; born September 26, 1968) is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Jim Caviezel. He is perhaps best 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 and Private Witt in The Thin Red Line.

Contents

Early life

Caviezel was born in Mount Vernon, Washington, the son of Margaret, a housewife, and James Patrick Caviezel, Sr., a chiropractor.[1] He has a younger brother, Timothy, and sisters Ann, Amy, and Erin, and was raised in a tight-knit Roman Catholic[2] family in Conway (Skagit County), Washington. Caviezel's surname is of Romansh origin; his father is of Slovak (maternal) and Swiss (paternal) descent, while his mother's ancestry is Irish.[3][4] He attended Mount Vernon High School for two years and then moved to Seattle and lived with family friends in order to play basketball at the Catholic O'Dea High School. The following spring, he transferred from O'Dea to another Catholic school John F. Kennedy Memorial High in Burien. There he starred on the basketball team and graduated in 1987. Following high school, Caviezel enrolled at Bellevue Community College where the 6 ft 3 in athlete also played college basketball. A foot injury in his second year, however, put an end to his hopes of a basketball career in the NBA. He later transferred to the University of Washington where he turned his focus to acting and became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Career

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 the hydro races 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,[5] released in the fall of 2007.[6]

He is currently shooting Long Weekend co-starring Claudia Karvan as directed by Jamie Blanks at Wilson's Promontory, mainland Australia's southern most tip.

Alongside Ian McKellen, Caviezel starred in a remake of the British science fiction TV show, The Prisoner, which aired in November 2009.[7][8]

Caviezel is co starring in the film Blown, a London espionage thriller with Samuel L. Jackson.[9]

Personal life

Caviezel is a devout Roman Catholic[10] and has been a featured public speaker at religious venues since the release of The Passion. On March 19, 2005 he was the main speaker at the first Catholic Men's Conference in Boston. Caviezel stated that he chose to speak at the conference only because he liked Boston Archbishop, Seán Patrick O'Malley. His wife Kerri Browitt Caviezel, also a devout Roman Catholic, is a teacher and an accomplished flautist. The two are active in their Conejo Valley, California parish. Kerri supports a charity for single mothers and also volunteers with their church's Detention Ministry at a camp for incarcerated youth in Malibu, California.

In 2006, Caviezel enrolled in at least one class at University of Notre Dame.[11] He was not enrolled as a full-time degree seeking student.

In 2007, he and his wife adopted Bo, a baby Chinese boy with a brain tumor; the Caviezels have also adopted a second child with a brain tumor, a young girl, from the Guangzhou region of China.[12]

On July 17, 2009 Caviezel was involved in a motorcycle accident about 14 miles southeast of Leavenworth, Washington in which someone threw a bicycle in his path. Suffering cuts and bruises, Caviezel was taken to Cascade Medical Center in Leavenworth; Caviezel was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.[13]

Public politics

On October 24, 2006, Caviezel was featured (along with Patricia Heaton, Kurt Warner, and Mike Sweeney) in an advertisement opposing embryonic stem-cell research. Caviezel 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 betraying Christ and a phrase used in the Greek version of the Gospel of Luke.[14][15] The line, however, did not include a translation into English. Caviezel closed the commercial with the line, "You know now. Don't do it," referring to the voting in favor of the amendment.

The advertisement was a response to a commercial, featuring Michael J. Fox, in favor of embryonic stem cell research.

Caviezel donated $2,100 in 2006 to the unsuccessful campaign to re-elect US Senator Rick Santorum.[16]

Filmography

Year Film Role Director
1991 My Own Private Idaho Airline Clerk Gus Van Sant
1992 Diggstown Billy Hargrove Michael Ritchie
1994 Wyatt Earp Warren Earp Lawrence Kasdan
1996 Ed Dizzy Anderson Bill Couturié
The Rock F/A-18 Navigator Michael Bay
1997 G.I. Jane 'Slov' Slovnik Ridley Scott
1998 The Thin Red Line Private Witt Terrence Malick
1999 Ride with the Devil Black John Ang Lee
2000 Frequency John Sullivan Gregory Hoblit
Pay It Forward Jerry Mimi Leder
Madison Jim McCormick William Bindley
2001 Angel Eyes Steven 'Catch' Lambert Luis Mandoki
2002 The Count of Monte Cristo Edmond Dantes Kevin Reynolds
High Crimes Tom Kubik Carl Franklin
2003 Highwaymen James 'Rennie' Cray Robert Harmon
I Am David Johannes Paul Feig
2004 The Passion of the Christ Jesus Mel Gibson
The Final Cut Fletcher Omar Naim
Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius Bobby Jones Rowdy Herrington
2006 Unknown Jean Jacket Simon Brand
Déjà Vu Carroll Oerstadt Tony Scott
2008 Outlander Kainan Howard McCain
The Stoning of Soraya M. Freidoune Cyrus Nowrasteh
Nature's Grave Peter Jamie Blanks
2009 The Prisoner Michael/Six Nick Hurran

References

  1. ↑ James Caviezel Biography (1968-)
  2. ↑ Marcy Dermansky, Jurgen Fauth. "Jim Caviezel". About.com. http://worldfilm.about.com/cs/actor1/p/jimcaviezel.htm. Retrieved 2010-06-22. "One of five children, he grew up as part of a devout Catholic family." 
  3. ↑ "PASSION" LOSES REALISM WITH ITS BLUE-EYED JESUS.(COMMENTARY) | Article from The Virginian Pilot | HighBeam Research
  4. ↑ I ALMOST DIED ON THE CROSS - JUST LIKE JESUS; My Irish mother called acting 'blarney' but..(News) | Article from The People (London, England) | HighBeam Research
  5. ↑ The Official Word of Promise Audio Bible Website
  6. ↑ Kwon, Lillian. Jim Caviezel Back as Jesus in New Audio Bible, The Christian Post, December 26, 2006. Accessed June 10, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Ian McKellen cast in The Prisoner". BBC News. July 1, 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7483053.stm. 
  8. ↑ scotsman Prisoner series set for remake - Scotsman.com News]
  9. ↑ hollywoodreporter
  10. ↑ CHRIST COMPLEX - Interview with actor Jim Caviezel - Gayle MacDonald; Globe and Mail, December 27, 2002
  11. ↑ Sydlik, Ryan. Caviezel takes ND course, The Observer, August 31, 2006. Accessed June 10, 2008.
  12. ↑ White, Hillary. With Adoption of Second Disabled Child Jim Caviezel Makes Good on Pro-Life Convictions, LifeSiteNews.com, April 28, 2008. Accessed December 25, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Passion" star Caviezel injured in motorcycle crash
  14. ↑ Response to Michael J. Fox ad
  15. ↑ Jesus' words used vs. stem-cell initiative, The Washington Times, October 25, 2006. Accessed June 10, 2008.
  16. ↑ NEWSMEAT ▷ Jim Caviezel's Federal Campaign Contribution Report

External links