Mel Gibson’s Passion of The Christ starred 33 year old Jim Caviziel.
He said he was perfect for the role because of his age—the same age as Christ at the crucifixion.
During the movie’s filming, he was struck by lightning and died, but came back to life.
Jim Caviezel, the actor who portrayed Jesus in Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ,” experienced a series of intense incidents during filming. One of the most notable was being struck by lightning during the final shot of the movie, which was part of the Sermon on the Mount scene123. This incident led to significant health issues, including two heart surgeries, one of which was open-heart surgery23.
In addition to the lightning strike, Caviezel suffered other injuries during filming. He was accidentally whipped twice during the scourging scene, resulting in a 14-inch scar6. A cross weighing over 150 pounds also fell on him, causing him to bite through his tongue and cheek, which was included in the film23.
Caviezel has spoken about these experiences, reflecting on the spiritual significance and the challenges he faced during the production of the film13. Despite these hardships, he has expressed his deep faith and the profound impact the experience had on him1.
Citations:
- https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/the-passion-of-the-christ-almost-killed-jim-caviezel.html
- https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/jim-caviezel-on-being-struck-by-lightning-on-the-passion-of-the-christ.html
- https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/passion-of-the-christ-star-jim-caviezel-recalls-being-struck-lightning-while-filming
- https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/6k8jsq/til_jesus_actor_jim_caviezel_was_struck_by/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNoWaSHV9Zs
- https://www.instagram.com/reppnforchrist/p/C-1JrfDy88m/
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335345/trivia/
- https://www.tiktok.com/@popculturebrain/video/7350333139320950059?lang=en