After witnessing his stunning performance in Mel Gibson's biblical epic "The Passion of The Christ," it would be easy for anyone to argue that playing Jesus was the role of Jim Caviezel's career.
But whether you believe it was the pinnacle for him or not, the 35-year-old Caviezel knows that ultimately, he's just another working actors trying to find another gig.
"Right now I'm still trying to have a career," Caviezel told me in a recent @ The Movies interview. "You could say, 'Well aren't you having one?' And the answer is 'Yeah' -- but still after every role you do, you're unemployed, you know you got to go out and look for another role -- and people get tired of you and they move on."
Given the response to "The Passion," it's pretty safe to say that people aren't tired of Caviezel just yet. That's because the film -- which amassed an amazing $370 million at the North American box office (and an additional $239 million overseas) -- is certain to cause a buying frenzy again when it's released on video and DVD (Fox Home Entertainment) Tuesday.
While "The Passion" has given Caviezel his greatest exposure to the public yet, the actor is certainly no stranger to the moviegoers. A 13-year acting veteran, Caviezel has starred in such films as "The Thin Red Line," "The Count of Monte Cristo," "Frequency," "Pay it Forward," "Angel Eyes" and most recently, "Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius."
Without question, though, "The Passion" is his most controversial film to date, given its brutally realistic portrayal of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and fears of Jewish leaders that the film would spark a new wave of anti-Semitism.
Of course, the controversy over "The Passion" started brewing months before the film's Ash Wednesday release in theaters in February -- when Gibson became vocal in the media as the issues over the film started to heat up.
Several film industry critics called what Gibson did a shrewd marketing campaign. Caviezel looks at it simply as a situation where a guy needed to defend his film.
"Mel from the get-go was trying to direct a movie and at the same time, do a PR thing for it," Caviezel said. "He had no choice. Since people were calling him anti-Semitic and every other thing in the book, he better have answered those charges. And, on the other side, they better prove that he is."
In regard to his own passion for "The Passion," Caviezel said he'll "take any flak that's there."
"I am not a hater," said Caviezel, who is Catholic. "My faith is against any form of hatred. We were not out to make (a film about hatred). "
The film's release of video comes just as the movie awards season starts to heat up. But, even with an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Actor under his belt already, Caviezel said it's not about the recognition he's getting for the role that makes him a winner. It's the opportunity that he got to do the role in the first place.
"At the end of the day, when you look at 'The Passion,' I don't know of any actor who would have turned down an Academy Award film director in Mel Gibson and the film's great screenplay," Caviezel said. "I was just fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time -- and the opportunity came to me and I took it. I couldn't worry about the other stuff that could happen because of it."
But ultimately, Caviezel said, it's his life off of the set that matters to him the most.
"It's more important to be a person who lives a good life and tries to be best person he can be," Caviezel said. "And I try to do that."
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