Jim Caviezel

James “Jim” Patrick Caviezel Jr. born on Sept 26, 1968, was raised in Mount Vernon, Washington with four siblings – a brother and three sisters. Jim’s mom, a former stage actress, and dad, a chiropractor, provided a close-knit Catholic family for he and his siblings. Jim is of Irish (mom) and Swiss-Romansh/Slovak (dad) descent.

Growing up, Jim was described as “very intense”, a trait that followed him into adulthood. In his younger years, he focused on basketball, aspiring to play in the N.B.A., and religion, instilled by his family and Church. A foot injury during his sophomore season for Bellevue Community College ended N.B.A. hopes.

He turned his focus to acting and in 1990 won a small role as an airline clerk in the independent film, “My Own Private Idaho” (1991) for which he received his Screen Actors Guild card. Jim moved to Los Angeles and worked as a waiter while auditioning and landing roles in “Diggstown” (1992), “Wyatt Earp” (1994), “The Wonder Years” (1998) and “Murder, She Wrote” (1994). In 1993, New York's prestigious Juilliard School offered Jim a scholarship to study acting; he turned it down instead choosing the role of 'Warren Earp' in "Wyatt Earp" (1994) - Kevin Costner's version. In 1998, after contemplating giving up on acting, Jim had his critically acclaimed ‘breakout’ role as 'Private Witt' in “The Thin Red Line” (1998). Following films, “Ride with the Devil” (1999), “Frequency” (2000), “Angel Eyes” (2001), and “The Count of Monte Cristo” (2001) established him as a versatile actor and captivating leading man. Known for his “good guy” portrayals, Jim is equally talented and chillingly convincing at portraying morally challenged characters as seen in “High Crimes” (2002), “Déjà vu” (2006), and “Escape Plan” (2013).

In 2002/2003 timeframe, Mel Gibson approached Jim offering him the career-defining and once-in-a-lifetime role of Jesus Christ in “The Passion of the Christ” (2004). After a grueling filming experience where Jim received multiple traumatic injuries & suffered extreme illnesses - dislocated shoulder, scourging, struck by lightning, physical/mental exhaustion, pneumonia & hypothermia due to exposure - , “The Passion of the Christ” made headlines and broke box-office records around the globe, becoming the highest grossing independent film of all time bringing in $612+ million. While Gibson’s version of the story was surrounded with controversy, Jim’s performance was universally acclaimed by critics and viewers. Unfortunately, Gibson’s warning that Jim’s participation in the film could have negative repercussions on Jim’s career, appear to have proven true. Honestly, this is baffling to me. In 2011, Jim recounted that since “The Passion of the Christ” good role offers had been limited but he is the proudest of this work.

My personal favorite – that I really miss: In 2011, the role of CIA assassin turned avenging champion, ‘John Reese’, working with a reclusive billionaire to save “irrelevant” members of society, in the CBS drama “Person of Interest” became Jim’s biggest small screen adventure. “Person of Interest” was an immediate hit with viewers soon becoming the highest rated television show. The pilot received the highest ratings in 15 years and held 10+ million viewers consistently.

Jim’s most recent project, “Sound of Freedom” (2023), was a break-out hit of summer 2023 and made a powerful statement to enlighten the public on the atrocities surrounding human trafficking of children. “Sound of Freedom” is listed as the 14th highest grossing independent film of all time bringing in $247+ million on a $14.5 million budget. Due to multiple complications, the movie had a long road to release being completed in 2018 but not having a theatrical release until 2023. Currently, there are rumors of a sequel in the works.

Jim is famously religious and has been outspoken politically – no doubt. While I admire his convictions, I will not delve into those areas on this site. However, one question is often asked: ‘Does Jim do love scenes?’ This can cause heated debates on boards … the simple answer is ‘a qualified Yes’. Jim provided a straight forward and concise answer to this question during an interview (‘Passion’ Star Prepares All His Life for Role of a Lifetime (2004) – I highly recommend this interview, it has a lot of insight into Jim’s beliefs). Jim clarified,

“Don’t get me wrong, I do love scenes - but not ones with gratuitous sex. I also don’t do gratuitous violence. And it’s not just about my wife, although, that’s important. It’s sin, pure and simple. I mean, it’s wrong.”

... That answer is as clear as it gets – can’t really add anything … except to say that when Jim was taking this position 20 or so years ago, it was not at all common for an actor to stand against the norm of explicit sex scenes in movies. However, now more and more top tier actors – male & female – are acknowledging the awkwardness of filming these scenes and saying ‘no’ to the explicit sex scenes when the sex is unwarranted for the plot. And, to be fair, Jim’s love scenes are far hotter than the gratuitous sex scenes – leaving a little to the imagine is actually highly sensual and provocative.

Off screen, Jim is married with three children. He is active in the political and religious sectors, speaking at events on various topics close to his heart and making films that not only entertain but make a statement on today’s social climate. (Note: I don’t provide information on Jim’s family – immediate or extended – because they have not chosen to be celebrities; therefore, it would be an invasion of their privacy.)

***** PSA: *****
Jim has two official social media accounts: x/Twitter (@reallycaviezel) and Instagram (@therealjimcaviezel). He clearly states on his Instagram account that he has NO other social media … which folks, means he has NO Facebook account. There are multiple Facebook accounts where the owner posts as if he/she is Jim speaking to his fans. THIS IS FAKE. Please don’t fall for it – people have been scammed by imposters. Yes, it would be fun if Jim asked you to “private message me so I can get to know you” (an actual quoted message from one of the FAKE accounts) … BUT, it is FAKE – this isn’t going to happen - save yourself grief and whatever else the imposters are asking for – do not interact with the imposters! Can’t say it any clearer.