The Passion Of The Christ’s Jim Caviezel Was Struck By Lightning While Filming A Pivotal Scene! From A Dislocated Shoulder To Whipping – Here’s What Else He Endured ( Photo Credit – Movie Still )
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Released in 2004, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ left the world stunt with its depiction of the Passion of Jesus according to the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The epic biblical drama, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, was primarily shot in Italy with dialogue in reconstructed Aramaic, Hebrew, and Latin. But did you know, the film – filled with violence and blood, saw its lead actor undergo a lot, including heart surgeries? Read on.
As per several media reports, Jim – who is a devout Catholic, endured a lot, including the elements, illness and physical pain, while filming the Mel Gibson biblical epic. While he felt the troubles were worth putting himself through for the film’s authenticity, he once did open up about the challenges. Read on.
As reported by express.co.uk, Jim Caviezel suffered a lot while filming The Passion Of The Christ. He reportedly caught pneumonia and a lung infection while filming the crucifixion scenes while almost n*ked in the bitterly cold winds in Italy. Aside from that, he also sustained several cuts and scrapes, as well as dislocated his shoulder while carrying the cross.
Recalling the scourging scene, Jim Caviezel once revealed that one of the actors who played a Roman inflicting the beating accidentally hit him for real. He recalled the feeling of the hit and said, “(it’s) like getting the wind knocked out of you. The stinging is so horrific that you can’t get air.” But these weren’t the most shocking. The actor was also struck by lightning while filming the Sermon on the Mount scene near Rome.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan, Jim had once said, “We were shooting the Sermon on the Mount. About four seconds before it happened it was quiet, and then it was like someone slapped my ears. I had seven or eight seconds of, like, a pink, fuzzy colour, and people started screaming. They said I had fire on the left side of my head and light around my body. All I can tell you is that I looked like I went to Don King’s hairstylist.”
Jim Caviezel told Catholic News Service in 2018: “[Filming The Passion of the Christ] nearly killed me. Not many people get struck by lightning; I did. Five and a half months of cold. I had to have two heart surgeries, including open-heart surgery, because of that film.”
Well, we are happy that Jim Caviezel is all, but we know the memories of filming The Passion Of The Christ are going to be with him to the very end.
