Jim Caviezel
Jim Caviezel | |
|---|---|
| File:Jim caviezel.jpg at the Giffoni Film Festival | |
| Born | James Patrick Caviezel |
| Spouse | Kerri Browitt Caviezel |
James Patrick Caviezel, Jr. (Template:PronEng; born September 26, 1968) is an American film actor, sometimes credited as Jim Caviezel. He is perhaps best known for playing the part of Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ as well as Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo and Private Witt in The Thin Red Line.
Biography
Early life
Caviezel was born in Mount Vernon, Washington, the son of Margaret 'Maggie Moo', a housewife and stage actress, 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 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.[2][3] 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, Burien's John F. Kennedy Memorial High. 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 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 was originally cast to play Cyclops/Scott Summers in X-Men (2000) but dropped out due to 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 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,[4] released in the fall of 2007.[5]
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 is due to star in a remake of the British science fiction TV show, The Prisoner, to be released in 2009.[6][7]
Caviezel is co starring in the film "Blown", a London espionage thriller with Samuel Jackson.[8]
Personal life
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Caviezel is a devout Roman Catholic 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, Sean Cardinal 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.[9] He was not enrolled as a full-time degree seeking student.
In 2007, he and his wife adopted a baby Chinese boy with a brain tumor named Bo; the Caviezels have also adopted a second child with a brain tumor, a young girl, from the Guangzhou region of China.[10]
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' betraying Christ and a phrase used in the Greek version of the Gospel of Luke.[11][12] 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.[13]
Filmography
References
- ^ James Caviezel Biography (1968-)
- ^ "PASSION" LOSES REALISM WITH ITS BLUE-EYED JESUS.(COMMENTARY) | Article from The Virginian Pilot | HighBeam Research
- ^ 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
- ^ The Official Word of Promise Audio Bible Website
- ^ Kwon, Lillian. Jim Caviezel Back as Jesus in New Audio Bible, The Christian Post, December 26, 2006. Accessed June 10, 2008.
- ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Ian McKellen cast in The Prisoner
- ^ [http://news.scotsman.com/entertainment/Prisoner-series-set-for-remake.4237637.jp Prisoner series set for remake - Scotsman.com News]
- ^ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ie9098baec9eb95cd3763d47ee5676caa
- ^ Sydlik, Ryan. Caviezel takes ND course, The Observer, August 31, 2006. Accessed June 10, 2008.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Response to Michael J Fox ad
- ^ Jesus' words used vs. stem-cell initiative, The Washington Times, October 25, 2006. Accessed June 10, 2008.
- ^ NEWSMEAT ▷ Jim Caviezel's Federal Campaign Contribution Report