James Caviezel

Jim has said that when he first met with Mel Gibson, director of Passion of the Christ, he was under the impression that they were going to talk about doing a surfing movie, but then Gibson approached him to play Jesus.

It's been reported that Jim turned down a nude scene in the 2001 film Angel Eyes, which he starred in with Jennifer Lopez. Although Jennifer Lopez was surprised, Jim stood his ground, claiming that he didn't want to be unloyal to his wife Kerri, even if it was just "acting."

In 2004, after the release of the film, Passion of the Christ, James was invited to be a spokesman for the 'Heavenly' clothing line. James turned the offer down as he felt it would be insulting to people who felt that the film had something meaningful to offer.

In 2006, while filming the movie, Déjà vu, James spoke to the Jesuit High School of New Orleans on the subject of acting.

While auditioning for roles, James did some modelling for 'The Gap'.

James is married to school teacher, Kerri Browitt. They met in 1993 on a blind date and married in 1997. The couple adopted a 3-year-old Chinese boy named Bo.

In 2004, while he was filming Passion of the Christ, James dislocated his shoulder which caused him to be out of action for over a month. When he returned to the set, he was struck by lightning during a storm.

James attended three high schools while growing up: Mount Vernon High School, O'Dea High School and Burien Kennedy High School. He graduated from Burien Kennedy High School in 1987. While attending the school, he showed his talent at sports by playing on the basketball team. Later, James graduated from Bellevue Community College and is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

James' favourite food is Mexican.

In 1990, James auditioned for a role in the movie, My Own Private Idaho. He was successful in winning a small role as a foreign airline clerk, after he fooled the casting agents by telling them he was an Italian immigrant.

In May 2002, James drove the pace car in the Indy 500 race.

James has 4 siblings - 3 sisters: Ann, Amy, Erin and 1 brother: Tim. His parents are Jim and Maggie Caviezal. James' brother-in-law, Scott Linehan, is the head coach of the NFL's St. Louis Rams.

James is extremely religious and attended his local Catholic church regularly when he was growing up. In 2001 he refused to do any love scenes with Ashley Judd while he was making the movie, High Crimes, as he declared that it conflicted with his Catholic faith.

In 1991, James moved to Los Angeles looking for more acting work. He worked as a waiter to earn a living while he continued to audition for various roles.

In 1993, James was accepted into Julliard, but declined the offer as it coincided with him winning a role in the film, Wyatt Earp.

When James was 18-years-old, he applied to the US Naval Academy after the movie Top Gun inspired him.