Posted on 03/29/2016 2:34:41 PM PDT by NYer
When Jim Caviezel was young, he had to stay home to study Spanish while his family went to see John Paul II during his visit to Vancouver, British Colombia. He missed out on that chance to see the pope. But 20 years later, having a well-established career in the cinema and having earned the right to play the role of Jesus of Nazareth in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, he got a second chance.
There are two parts to his meeting with John Paul II, which Caviezel recounted on separate occasions. One is serious; the other hilarious. Together with is wife and in-laws, he had the chance to greet and converse with the pontiff — who has since been canonized — for five minutes in 2004, around the time of year the movie premiered. The first thing Caviezel did was thank him for his jubilee letter to artists, which had had a profound impact on the actor. He also thanked the pope for the importance he gave to the Virgin Mary in his pontificate.
But he also shared with the pontiff how he had prepared to play the role of Jesus in The Passion, in response to a question from the pope. On the Larry King Live program, the day before the Polish pope’s death, Caviezel recounted that when the pope asked him how he had prepared to play the part of Jesus, Caviezel nervously answered that he had been hanging out with Italians … and he said, “I think Jesus was Italian.”
In response to the pope’s surprise, the actor continued: “He didn’t leave home until he was 30. He always hung out with the same 12 guys, and his mother believed he was God, so he had to be — you know, he had to be Italian.”
With a straight face, John Paul II answered, “That was witty. He was Polish.”
In those interviews with Larry King, which took place on April 1 and 3, 2005, Caviezel, who is Catholic, remembered how John Paul II was important for his development as an actor, even in order to convince his father that acting was his vocation. His father only agreed to support his decision to be an actor when Caviezel informed him that Wojtyła himself had been an actor.
Caviezel also explained that the magisterium of John Paul II was like training for him. “My acting is based in truth. And everything I read about the Holy Father — in his letter to the actors, he talked about truth. And there is good and there is evil. And it’s important not to make good look like evil or evil look good. Just call it as it is. And that’s my training. And I think, when he spoke to people, he spoke to their hearts. And whether you’re speaking in front of a million or you’re acting with another actor, you’re still speaking from your heart. And this is the kind of training that I think [John Paul II] came from.”
“In Christ, God has reconciled the world to himself. All believers are called to bear witness to this; but it is up to you, men and women who have given your lives to art, to declare with all the wealth of your ingenuity that in Christ the world is redeemed,” wrote John Paul II in his letter to artists.
Caviezel had the chance to express this firmly held belief of John Paul II explicitly in The Passion of the Christ, a staple of television programming during these days of Holy Week.
A little levity ... ping!
Wish I had time to tell you the talk Jim gave to a church here in Tucson. I have an autographed CD of the reading of the bible too.
He started out his talk this way:
I was in a theater watching a movie with my basketball in my lap when I heard God call to me...
Later he was interviewing with Mel Gibson for a part in a random movie and Jim said out of the blue, “You want me to play Jesus, don’t you?”
Great man. I love the way he and his wife are sharing their values with their kids and his community. Big, big anti-abortion advocate too. God Bless Jim Caviezel!
And Happy Eastertide everyone!
I saw the Pope during that visit in Vancouver. One of the most memorable experiences of my life. After Mass, and after all day sitting in a field waiting for him to arrive, my friend and I tried to take a short cut back to our bus, moved a barricade, and ducked behind the temporary altar.
We ran smack into the Pope. We were so stunned that we just mumbled something like “Thank you, Father” as his bodyguards hustled him away. He blessed us and waved us on. I mostly remember his beautiful, blue eyes. Just riveting.
Also his smile. Just glowing.
My Pastor says that we were lucky not to be arrested and thrown in jail. The Pope is heavily protected, although we didn’t feel intimidated — just lucky for our 30 second private meeting.
I’m as far from Catholic as one can get, and still, he was a holy man. Anyone could see it.
John Paul II was one of the three most important people of the past half century.
The other two are Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.
LOL!
Very Funny...
Let me guess, he learned to walk on water? This "right" sure is peculiar.
Actually, He was Irish.
(Remember how He turned water into Irish Whiskey?)
No doubt. I bought a Director's Cut version on DVD and it has a version where you can listen to Mel Gibson and two theologians giving a running commentary while the movie plays. They point out all kinds little things in the movie most would never pick up on and it is very, very interesting. One of if not the best movies ever made.
How did you get this? Is it still available?
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/188-9501633-5667527?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=passion+of+the+christ
That’s great. It looks like I need a special DVD player?
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