Actor Jim Caviezel Shares Dream Where He ‘Felt God’s Love’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Jim Caviezel is discussing his performance in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, explaining that he wants audiences to “see Jesus” in his portrayal.
“I was in a dream, and I felt God’s love, so powerful, but it wasn’t close enough,” he explained in an interview with TBN. “And I said, ‘You’re not close enough to me’…and He said, ‘If I do, you may not like Me’…when we were on the cross together, He was completely playing the scene. That was my prayer. I don’t want them to see Jim Caviezel. I want them to see Jesus.”
Caviezel then addressed the viewers: “If I could tell you one thing — our Lord loves you. If you ever have it within you just…tell Him that you love Him.”
The actor has previously spoken about his experiences on the set of THE PASSION and how it strengthened his faith in God.
“While shooting THE PASSION, not only was I struck by lightning, but I also dislocated my shoulder,” he told Jet Set Magazine. “So here I am, being hoisted up to hang on the cross. I’ve got to remove the sling and they’re stretching my arms, so I say, ‘Ok God, this is where I need a hug to stay up here because this hurts like crazy!’ He definitely did lift me up because there was no way my shoulder would have held up. I was a true believer before but was a confirmed one after that grueling day.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Caviezel’s tumultuous time on the set of THE PASSION:
Actor Jim Caviezel is sharing the moments he felt God while working on THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.
“I was struck by lightning on the last shot of the movie,” he said in an interview with TBN. “It’s well known…prior to that, it was shoulder dislocation. It happened in the weirdest areas of the movie. There’s a piece where Mary runs to Jesus and she says, ‘I’m here,’ and in this take, I went down and when you put it in slo-mo, you’ll see the stream of blood coming out of my mouth. I almost bit my tongue off.”
The actor has previously spoken about some of the injuries he sustained on the set of PASSION.
“I was lit up like a Christmas tree!” he said of being struck by lightning. “I was doing the Sermon on the Mount. I knew it was going to hit me about four seconds before it happened. What they saw was fire coming out the right and left side of my head. Illumination around the whole body.”
In another interview, Caviezel said his work on the movie “nearly killed” him.
Caviezel is set to reprise his role as Jesus in an upcoming sequel to the movie, titled THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST: RESURRECTION. It’s expected to premiere in April 2025.
“I won’t tell you how [Mel Gibson]’s going to go about it,” the actor told USA Today. “But I’ll tell you this much, the film he’s going to do is going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good. There are things that I cannot say that will shock the audience. It’s great. Stay tuned.”
