From 'Jesus' to conspiracies, Jim Caviezel's controversial career and beliefs

Jim Caviezel, perhaps best known for playing Jesus in Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’ is almost known as much for his off-screen beliefs as his on-screen characters. Not only is he an outspoken Catholic, but he is linked to a popular conspiracy theory. What’s really true? Read on to find out!

Caviezel was born in 1968 and raised in a small town in Washington state. His mom was a homemaker and former actress and his dad was a chiropractor. He was raised in a tight-knit Catholic community.

Recounting his passion to become an actor, Caviezel said in a video on Church Pop that he was “a simple guy when God came to me in a movie theater.” He said he then asked the Lord what his purpose was and he said “Hey, I’d like you to be an actor.” Then he dedicated his career to the craft.

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Despite his conservative Christian values, Caviezel’s first important role was playing a small part in the iconic 1991 queer film ‘My Own Private Idaho,’ which follows a gay hustler afflicted with narcolepsy (River Phoenix) and his adventurous with a rebellious boy played by Keanu Reeves.

Image: My Own Private Idaho, Fine Line Features

The fates were indeed smiling upon the actor. After moving to Hollywood, he starred in several movies and TV shows, working his way up to bigger roles on mainstream films in the early 2000s like ‘Pay it Forward,’ ‘The Count of Monte Cristo,’ and eventually starred in the racing film ‘Madison.’

Image: The Count of Monte Cristo, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Touchstone Pictures

But his massively huge break came when Mel Gibson picked the actor to star as Jesus in the film ‘Passion of the Christ.’ Gibson said “if you do play Jesus, you may never work in this town again,” according to Caviezel, who accepted, saying: “everyone has their cross to bear.” He was 33 years old at the time… and his initials were JC.

Image: The Passion of The Christ - Extended Trailer (2004), Icon Productions

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Another strange occurrence was his being struck by lightning, he says, during the last shot of the ‘The Passion’. "It fell on my head, and I bit through my tongue and my cheek," Caviezel told Fox, saying the lightning-caused heart problems and dislocated his shoulder. "And it was actually in the film," he added. "You see blood streaming out of my mouth" during the scene, he said, also noting getting hit by a 150lb cross.

Image: The Passion of The Christ - Trailer (2004), Icon Productions

‘The Passion of The Christ’ was extremely popular in 2004, but also highly controversial… namely for what some critics said was its anti-semitic depictions of Jewish people killing Jesus Christ. The June 2006 issue of Entertainment Weekly named it the most controversial film of all time… while In 2010, Time listed it as one of the most "ridiculously violent" films of all time.

Owing to his Catholic faith, the actor has been outspoken on his stance on these two issues. In 2006, he appeared in an advertisement opposing the use of stem cells in research, in part responding to Michael J. Fox’s advocacy for such research to fight Parkinson’s disease. He has also shared his opposition to abortion a number of times.

Image: Response Ad to Michael J. Fox/ ResponseAd/Youtube

Despite Gibson’s warning that playing Jesus would end his career, Caviezel starred in several films in its wake including ‘Unknown’ (2006), ‘Deja Vu’ (2006), ‘Outlander’ (2008), and ‘The Stoning of Soraya M’ (2009), a film about the execution of a young mother in Iran.

From 2011 to 2016, Caviezel starred in the CBS drama ‘Person of Interest.’ While the show received good ratings, some of his colleagues reportedly told the journalists at the popular podcast QAnon Anonymous that he was hard to work with — overenthusiastic with guns, driving recklessly and often forgetting his lines.

After his run on ‘Person of Interest,’ he was offered to star in another CBC show — SEAL Team series. He was reportedly very enthusiastic because he expressed his admiration for the elite American force. However, he left the project over “creative differences.” From then, he started acting in fewer staring roles in less mainstream films. He has yet to return to TV.

Then, in 2021, Caviezel gained more media attention for his views related to the popular QAnon conspiracy theory. The theory’s followers are convinced that there’s a global elite of evil, cannibalistic pedophiles that are part of the deep state. QAnon followers believe this group has conspired against Donald Trump, and that he would successfully fight against them. QAnon followers have committed violence and were heavily involved in Jan 6.

Image; CNN/Youtube

In 2021, the actor appeared at a fringe conference in Oklahoma, where he publicly discussed the horrors of the ‘a-dren-o-chroming’ of children, a core belief of Q- A n o n. “If a child knows he’s going to die, his body will secrete this adrenaline. And they have a lot of terms that they use that he takes me through, but it’s the worst horror I’ve ever seen…. these people that do it… there will be no mercy for them,” he said.

Later the same year, he went to a QAnon-linked conference in Las Vegas, where he gave a 20-minute speech. In it, he concluded by referencing the “storm,” which QAnon believers expected to happen as the mass arrests of the p e d o p h i l e ring. Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama were supposed to be arrested during it as well. “We are headed into the storm of all storms. Yes, the storm is upon us,” Caviezel said.

Caviezel’s apparent adherence to QAnon beliefs overlapped with his starring role in one of this summer’s biggest movies ‘The Sound of Freedom.’ In it, the actor plays US agent Timothy Ballard breaking up human trafficking rings in Colombia. The theme of human trafficking certainly overlaps with the QAnon posture, though film execs have denied that there’s a link.

Image: Sound of Freedom - Official Trailer (2023), IGN Movie Trailers, Youtube

During his film tour in 2023, he told the ‘Prophets and Patriots’ podcast slammed pride displays like rainbow flags and vowed that “anti-Christian bigotry” will soon come to an end. He also slammed the far-left: "This is our Na zis, these are our communists, these are our left that we have to fight, and they want to take down our republic. They are going to take your faith. They are going to take your First Romans,” he said, warning they want to edit the Bible.

Image: Sound of Freedom - Official Trailer (2023), IGN Movie Trailers, Youtube

While promoting ‘Sound of Freedom’ in 2023, he went on Steve Bannon’s podcast, still espousing QAnon-esque messages. “I believe Donald Trump was selected by God Almighty,” he said.

“That’s why the devil wants to kill him, wants to hurt them. It’s always been this way since Pharaoh and then to Herod and now but more than ever and enslaving them and doing many, many things including organ harvesting and adrenochroming. And I will say that until I’m, you know, I’m dead,” he continued on the Bannon podcast.

Later, the radical actor managed to hold a special screening of the movie alongside the former president of the United States in July 2023. “President Trump is going to save Children the likes of which you have never seen! You might even say he is the new Moses telling Pharaoh (World Cabal) to let the children Go Free!” wrote Caviezel on his Instagram.

Image: @therealjimcaviezel/ Instagram

The actor has announced that he’s teaming up with Gibson to make a sequel (or two) to the ‘Passion of the Christ.’ It's called ‘The Passion of the Christ: Resurrection’ and is slated for release in 2025, according to IMBD. This flick is supposed to be about the events that occured three days between Jesus's crucifixion and his resurrection.

Speaking on The Shawn Ryan Show, Caviezel said that he thinks the upcoming film where he will reprise his role as Jesus “will be the biggest film in history.” He added: “It might be two films. Could be three, but I think it's two.”

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