By India McCarty
Jim Caviezel says Mel Gibson warned him he might “never work” again after starring in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.
“We were talking about surfing movies and everything,” Caviezel said in an episode of “Arroyo Grande” podcast, referring to his initial meeting with Gibson and producer Steve McEveety. “And then it pivots into Christ movies, you know, Jesus movies.”
The actor said he then recalled being 19 and hearing the voice of God telling him to be an actor and told Gibson and McEveety, “You want me to play Jesus, don’t you?”
Gibson said yes, and Caviezel replied, “I’m in.”
Two days after accepting the role, Gibson called the actor and asked, “You really want to do this?”
“He goes, ‘If you do this movie, you may never work in this town again,’” Caviezel recalled but added he “wanted to make [a movie that showed] what really happened, so I was OK with that.”
Caviezel spoke about the conversation in a 2011 speech at an Orlando church, saying, “[Gibson] said, ‘You’ll never work in this town again.’ I told him, ‘We all have to embrace our crosses.’”
“Jesus is as controversial now as He has ever been. Not much has changed in 2,000 years,” he added.
Related: Jim Caviezel Says Hollywood May Forget Him, But Heaven Won’t
In a 2018 interview with The Christian Post, Caviezel explained why being “blacklisted” in Hollywood doesn’t bother him.
“I’ll be point blank with you, my industry has been around for a century, the word of God has been around for 5,000 years if you want to go back to Moses and Abraham,” he said. “Am I the right guy [for the parts]? No, I never thought I was the right guy to play Jesus [either] but a friend of mine told me this, he said, ‘God doesn’t always choose the best, but He chose you, so what are you going to do about it?’”
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST would go on to gross over $600 million at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing religious movie ever (trailer via YouTube).
Caviezel is currently preparing to take on the role of Christ again, for 2026’s THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST.
“I got too far over my skis on the last one,” he explained. “This time, I really want to stay in the moment. I want to enjoy this one.”
Caviezel added, “If I wasn’t [scared], I wouldn’t want to work with that actor. This is a war.”
With a recent blockbuster success in SOUND OF FREEDOM and his upcoming role in THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST, it’s clear that Gibson’s warning to Caviezel wasn’t needed.
Read Next: Jim Caviezel Says Mel Gibson’s Sequel to THE PASSION Will Be “The Biggest Film Ever Made”
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +1