James Patrick Caviezel was born on September 26, 1968 in Mount Vernon, Washington. He was one of five children born to Jim and Maggie Caviezal. The Caviezels were an close knit Catholic family. As a youngster, Jim was described as being "very intense". His two main interests growing up were sports and religion. He was athletically gifted on the basketball court and dreamed of someday playing in ...  show all 

James Patrick Caviezel was born on September 26, 1968 in Mount Vernon, Washington. He was one of five children born to Jim and Maggie Caviezal. The Caviezels were an close knit Catholic family. As a youngster, Jim was described as being "very intense". His two main interests growing up were sports and religion. He was athletically gifted on the basketball court and dreamed of someday playing in the NBA. He also learned the importance of Christianity at a very young age, attending Church regularly with his family. In 1984, he went to Mount Vernon High School but transferred to O'Dea High School after two years. The following spring, he transferred again to Burien Kennedy High School in Seattle where he starred on the basketball team until graduating in 1987. While at O'Dea and Kennedy, he stayed with family friends. Following high school, Jim enrolled at Bellevue Community College where he played on the basketball team. A foot injury in his sophomore season put an end to Jim's basketball career and his dreams of playing in the NBA. Shortly after his, he turned his focus toward acting. In 1990, he auditioned for a part in the independent film "My Own Private Idaho (1991)". He won a very small role as a foreign airline clerk after he told casting agents that was a recent Italian immigrant. The following year, Jim moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a waiter between auditions. He landed small roles in "Diggstown (1992)" and "Wyatt Earp (1994)" and guest starring roles on "Wonder Years, The" (1988)" and "Murder, She Wrote" (1984)". He continued to go relatively unnoticed in small roles and even thought about quitting acting until 1998 when he received critical recognition for his role as idealist Private Witt in "The Thin Red Line (1998)". The following year, he gained further recognition with roles in "Ride with the Devil (1999/I)" and "Frequency (2000)". In 2001, his role as Jennifer Lopez 's love interest in "Angel Eyes (2001)" helped to establish him as a versatile actor and leading man. It was until 2002 when Jim began to make his strong religious beliefs known. While filming "The High Crimes (2002)", he refused to do any love scenes with on-screen wife Ashley Judd because it conflicted with his strong Catholic beliefs. It was also around this time where he was chosen by Mel Gibson to star as Jesus Christ in the upcoming, controversial film "Passion of the Christ (2004)". The film went on to become one of the high grossing movies of all-time and made Jim a household name. Off screen, Jim lives with his wife, Kerri, a school teacher whom he met on a blind date in 1993 and married in 1997.
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