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Getting Physical in Déjà vu: There were a lot of physically demanding scenes in the film, including one on an air boat. “I got hurt on that pretty good," recalls Caviezel. "I had about three wrecks on it. It was hysterical. The first time I got on that air boat machine, it was on land. I said, ‘Do we need a tow truck here’? I’d never seen anything like it.
You get out there and you’re in the water and there’s an island there. You go over the island and you’re back in the water and they work. But, where they’re weak is if you have to turn. You need about 10% to turn it. You’re blowing air. If you are at full maximum, you have no excess air to turn it. You want to go about 90% and always keep a reserve there in case you have to turn it. There’s just a handle here [indicating low, in front of him]. There’s nothing holding you down so if you get hit [it's], ‘Hello…Goodbye.’ (Laughing) You just fly.”
And fly he did. “Yeah, a couple of times I did and I got some bad wrecks on my knee. They said my shoulder wasn’t dislocated.”
Jim Caviezel Shares a Déjà Vu Moment: “I remember the first one I had in my whole life. I was eight years old and I was coming home from school. I remember this vividly because Fridays were my favorite moment after school, because it was the beginning of free time and, after cartoons on Saturday morning, I hated that. I remember walking outside, slamming down my foot and saying, ‘Cartoons is over.’ That was back in the days when you got up early and never slept in because you wanted your Saturday morning cartoons. That was before VCR and what not.
We were out playing this game called Snake in the Grass. I didn’t have to do my homework that night and we were out playing for hours. I walked up this hill and it hit me, and I knew that moment I would never forget. I didn’t know what it was but later on the phenomenon kept coming up. Other people have experienced it, so I think Jerry Bruckheimer made a great call putting that on his film.
I was going up the hill and I knew that night we were going to have popcorn and Brady Bunch and Partridge Family back before VCR, another technology, right? Those were the days of Magnavox and Pong. We had that game… But I was walking up the hill thinking, ‘I’m going to go home and watch Brady Bunch,’ and all of a sudden it hit and bam, ‘I’ve been here before. I’ve been walking up this hill before,’ like all this had happened before even though it never had.”
Following Up Passion of The Christ with a Bad Guy Role: Caviezel believes it wasn’t as important to change things up as it was to hunt for a great role in a quality film. “It’s really about the great role. I look for great roles and great stories. First of all, it’s the script, then the role and where it fits in. I remember I did a film with Ang Lee one time [Ride with the Devil] and I was talking about all these things, about the character and what it might do. The star of the film was Tobey Maguire and he said, ‘Jim, I don’t have time to go into all the things about your character. Those moments are great if you were the main guy, but you are the color red and that’s it. Find me red. I need red on this.’ So, that’s the art. That’s the piece. When you are the main guy, you can be more introspective.
This guy, what is interesting is I kept thinking he was like the hurricane but the eye of the storm, which is absolutely calm. In him is a massive storm but everything had to be against the norm, which is yelling, screaming, putting all that out there. Denzel, who obviously is an unbelievable actor, one of the rare ones that can be both character and leading man, he elevated my work. We got down to the end of that scene where [he says], ‘There’s a difference between you and I,’ and my character is like, ‘Okay, fine. You figured all that out but I’m willing to exchange my life. Are you?’ There you go.”
And Speaking of Passion…: Has Caviezel talked to Mel Gibson since the controversy? “I had one contact from him and I have not heard from him,” said Caviezel. “My thing, I think he’s a brilliant director and no question he’s a great actor but I don’t agree with his comments or his statements. Let’s just say it’s as simple as that.”
Into the Future with Jim Caviezel: Asked what he can say about two of his upcoming movies – Outlander and Unknown – Caviezel replied, “Just go see them both. The Outlander one is gonna be big. Unknown is great. It’s done incredible in Japan and Spain and several countries in the film festivals, a smaller film. Outlander is a lot bigger, kind of like Braveheart and Highlander mixed - and really not.”
