# Jim Caviezel says a surreal encounter with Jesus convinced him to star in ‘The Passion of the Christ’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/jim-caviezel-says-a-surreal-encounter-with-jesus-convinced-him-to-star-in-the-passion-of-the-christ/
- Published: 2026-11-11T18:38:01+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T19:50:29+00:00
- Original publisher: Fox News (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.foxnews.com/media/jim-caviezel-surreal-encounter-jesus-convinced-star-passion-christ
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, World

## Key points

- Caviezel says an encounter with Jesus persuaded him to accept the role.
- He initially told the figure to find someone else.
- He says filming brought injuries, hypothermia and a lightning strike.

## Summary

Jim Caviezel says a vivid encounter he understood as a visit from Jesus changed his mind about playing Christ in Mel Gibson’s *The Passion of the Christ*. He had initially refused the role, but says the figure told him there was no requirement for him to accept it, then said he had no one else in mind; Caviezel took this as a sign to agree.

Caviezel, now 58, played Jesus in the 2004 film about the final hours of his life. He says filming caused a shoulder injury and hypothermia, and that he was struck by lightning during a scene; he recalled being blue from the cold in the finished film. He made the comments on Sean Hannity’s podcast while discussing his career and upcoming films.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.