Mysteries and More: Re: This Day in History

James Caviezel was born in Mount Vernon, Washington, the son of Margaret (née Lavery), a homemaker and former stage actress, and James Caviezel, a chiropractor. He has a younger brother, Timothy, and three sisters, Ann, Amy, and Erin. He was raised in a tight-knit Catholic family in Conway, Washington.His surname is Romansh. His father is of Swiss and Slovak descent, while his mother is Irish.

Caviezel portrayed Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's 2004 The Passion of the Christ. During filming, he was struck by lightning, scourged by accident, dislocated his shoulder, and suffered from pneumonia and hypothermia. Prior to filming, Gibson reportedly warned Caviezel that playing Jesus in his controversial film could hurt his career. In 2011, he stated that good roles had been hard to come by since, but this movie, in particular, the role of Jesus Christ was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Passion of the Christ went on to take in a box office of $612.1 million.