Catholic Digest Interviews Jim Caviezel, Actor

New London, CT - June 16, 2009 -  Since playing Jesus in "The Passion of the Christ," Jim Caviezel, 40, has been anything but idle. Catholic Digest caught up with him to discuss his how being a dad has changed his life and how he hopes his new film, "The Stoning of Soraya M." -- out in theaters June 26 -- will change others'.
 
"I don't even know who I was before (I was a father)," said Caviezel, who adopted an orphaned boy, Bo, and girl, LeLe, from China, with his wife Kerri. "Dennis Quaid told me a long time ago when he had his son Jack, 'You'll have emotions in you that you didn't even know existed before you had a child.' I now know what that feels like. Even though they're adopted, it's as strong as any instinct. That's what blew me away. I always thought if I adopted that I wouldn't have the same feeling [as I would] if they were genetically my own children. Nothing could be further from the truth."
 
Caviezel says his faith played a large role in the decision to adopt. "I was walking out of Mass and Susie McEveety, the wife of Steve McEveety, who produced "The Passion of the Christ," said, 'Will you adopt this child?' recalled Caviezel. "And I saw (a picture of) a baby with a tumor on top of its head and in its brain. And I saw his eyes and -- this sounds like such sentimental hogwash, but I'm telling you the truth - in my heart I heard this boy calling to me, saying, 'Will you love me?'

"So I told my wife, 'I'd like to adopt this little boy. I think we're supposed to.' I thought she'd certainly say no, and then she just said, 'I'm in shock that you would want to adopt not just any child, but this child. I never thought you were even open to adoption.' I said, 'I wasn't open to adoption; I wanted my own children.' We'd been close before to having children and it didn't work out, and that's all I'll go into [about] that, but we still hope to have our own children, but I knew in my heart as strong as anything, as strong as meeting my wife, as strong as becoming an actor, [that this is what God wanted]."
 
In his new film, "The Stoning of Soraya M." (opening June 26), Caviezel plays a journalist visiting Iran. While there, he encounters a woman (played by Shohreh Aghdashloo, "House of Sand and Fog") who tells him the story of an Iranian woman who is stoned to death after being falsely accused of adultery. Caviezel hopes the film makes an impact on viewers.
 
"All it takes is one person to change the future...The greatest miracle to me from this movie would be that someone watches it and it changes their life. That would mean a lot to me."
 
To read the complete Catholic Digest interview with Jim Caviezel, visit http://www.catholicdigest.com/article/print/qa-jim-caviezel

Catholic Digest is America's most popular Catholic magazine. Since 1936, Catholic Digest has used the stories of real people to demonstrate that a life guided by faith can be exciting, challenging, enlivening, and joyous. Catholic Digest is owned by Bayard, an international publisher with more than 100 periodicals in Europe, Africa, Asia, and America.