Actor Jim Caviezel has spoken out about the warning he received from filmmaker Mel Gibson prior to working on The Passion of the Christ.
Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson wrote the script for The Passion of the Christ (2004), and Gibson co-produced and directed the film.
Jim Caviezel plays Jesus Christ in this highly controversial film, which takes place 12 hours before Jesus’ death.
Prior to filming the biblical drama, Gibson approached Caviezel about ‘a surfer movie’ and traveled to Malibu to see him and Steve McAmedi.
In an episode of Raymond Arroyo’s podcast Arroyo Grande, Gibson discussed what transpired before he got the job, as well as Gibson’s warning to him about how playing Christ may affect his career.
Caviezel explained, “Steve walks up with a book about Mavericks—there’s a big wave, I believe—and Tom Hanks was going to be involved in some way, producing it or something.
“So I read the script, and I guess Kevin Reynolds was going to direct it—[…] I’d never surfed before, but I thought I’d do very well.”
Caviezel initially turned down the film, stating that the script ‘wasn’t there yet,’ but it ‘finally did get there.’
“Steve shows up, and probably 40 minutes into the meeting, Mel Gibson shows up,” says Caviezel. “[…] We were talking about surfing movies and everything, and then it turned into, um, Christ movies, Jesus movies. That’s not related to surfing. “How will Jesus on a surfboard work?”
However, the film was not about surfing, and Caviezel would have to do much more than simply surf, potentially jeopardizing his career in Hollywood.The actor then comprehended and turned to face Gibson, saying, “You want me to play Jesus, don’t you?”
The director affirmed, and Caviezel stated that he was ‘in’ despite not seeing a screenplay or framework.However, Gibson contacted him at home ‘two days later.’
Gibson cautioned him, “If you do this movie, you may never work in this town again.”
This is likely due to the contentious nature of portraying Jesus Christ, particularly among religious people.
Caviezel, on the other hand, was steadfast, stating that what he ‘wanted to produce was what truly occurred’ and that he was ‘happy with it.’Despite the criticism and the film being dubbed the most unsettling film’ some viewers have ‘ever witnessed,’ it will have a sequel.