The Passion of the Christ' star: Hollywood turned its back on me over faith

Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus Christ in the 2004 film "The Passion of the Christ," opened up in a recent interview about how Hollywood snubbed him after his portrayal of Jesus.

"All of a sudden I stopped being one of five most popular actors in the studio, and I hadn't done anything wrong. I just played Jesus," Caviezel told Polish film critic Lukasz Adamski.

Caviezel added that everyone has their cross to bear, and that judgment is waiting for everyone.

"Was I personally affected by this rejection? Well, everyone has their cross to bear," he said. "The world changes ... but I will not be in this world forever. Neither will the producers from Hollywood. At some point, everyone will have to answer for what they have done."

Caviezel portrayed Jesus when he was 33 years old and said he believed that it meant something for him to portray Jesus at the same age that he was crucified, and didn't consider it a coincidence that the two shared the same initials.

"Don't you tell me it was a coincidence!" he said. "There are no coincidences. I keep hearing about 'accidents' and 'strokes of luck.' Secularization affects the entire world, including the USA. Only atheists believe in coincidence."

He continued, and affirmed his faith by calling out naysayers who are of the world, and not just in this world. "There are no coincidences for God," he said. "Even when God resurrects the dead, they will say it happened by accident."

The actor noted that despite working in Hollywood, it never tainted his faith — on the contrary, it made it stronger.

"I’ve never forgotten that the name of Jesus is above all else," he said. "It is also the most controversial name of all times. Love is controversial and he impersonates love. Jesus was telling the Romans about love and they killed him because of that. 'Who is that man to tell me what kind of person I’m supposed to be?' - they asked arrogantly. He was betrayed by his own people and abandoned by everyone. My duty was not only to show it all on the screen. My real duty is to live in accordance with the gospel every day and to give witness to the truth."

Caviezel also noted that he'd be interested in working with "The Passion of the Christ" director Mel Gibson again, who has a sequel planned to the 2004 film, reportedly titled "Resurrection."

The sequel is set to follow the Gospels after Jesus's resurrection.

In November, Gibson discussed the upcoming film — which, at the time, he claimed was three years out — and said, "[The Resurrection is] more than a single event, it’s an amazing event. And to underpin that with the things around it is really the story, to enlighten what that means. It’s not just about the event; it’s not just some chronological telling of just that event. That could be boring, and you think, ‘Oh, we read that.'... But what are the other things around it that happened?"