Jim Caviezel was warned that playing "The Passion of thhe Christ" could ruin his career as an actor.

   Jim Caviezel played Jesus Christ in 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ”. A Mel Gibson Film. Caviezel believes that at 19 years old the voice of God spoke to him and told him to be an actor. When Mel Gibson offered Caviezel the role, Caviezel accepted knowing that this was what he was supposed to do. Mel Gibson called Caviezel 2 days later and warned him that this role could end his movie career. This didn’t make a difference to Caviezel.

       Jim Caviezel also suffered greatly while acting in the “Passion of the Christ”. He got hypothermia, contracted double pneumonia, separated his shoulder and got struck by lightning while he was on the cross.

Caviezel stated "The pain was excruciating," referring to his time on the cross, adding that in the last shot in the movie, "I got ripped right in half from that lightning bolt." 

Caviezel also said he had atrial fibrillation while he was on the cross and that a set doctor turned to Gibson after listening to his heart through a stethoscope and said, "He could die." 

After the shoot, Caviezel underwent two heart surgeries that he said stemmed from all that he went through in the movie. 

The Cross was rigged with a bike seat. The cross scenes according to Caviezel were exhausting, and he often fell a sleep out of exhaustion on the cross. Caviezel stated "It was constant torment".

Caviezel, was also concerned about the crucifixion scenes. He didn’t believe he would be able to do them due to his separated shoulder. Caviezel stated "It forced me into the arms of my God because I had nowhere else to go"

Caviezel is preparing to play Jesus once again in "The Resurrection of the Christ," which is slated to be released in 2026.

Mel Gibson invested tens of millions of his own money into 2004’s "The Passion of the Christ," as this was the only way he would be able to produce this film in Hollywood. The film was a grossed more than $612 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing religious film ever, the film's budget was $30 Million Dollars.