James Patrick Caviezel Jr. (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor, known for his starring role as John Reese on the CBS series Person of Interest (2011-2016), Private Witt in The Thin Red Line (1998), Slovnik in G.I. Jane (1997), Detective John Sullivan in Frequency (2000), Catch in Angel Eyes (2001), Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), and his portrayal of Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004).
He began acting in plays in Seattle, WA. He earned his Screen Actors Guild card with a minor role in the 1991 film My Own Private Idaho. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.
He was offered a scholarship to study acting at NY's Juilliard School in 1993, but turned it down to portray Warren Earp in the 1994 film Wyatt Earp. He later appeared in episodes of Murder, She Wrote and The Wonder Years. After appearing in G.I. Jane (1997), he had a breakthrough performance in the 1998 Terrence Malick World War II film The Thin Red Line.
He was originally cast to play Scott Summers / Cyclops in X-Men (2000), but dropped out due to a scheduling conflict with the film Frequency (2000).
He starred in the mainstream films Pay It Forward (2000), The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), and Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004).
He portrayed Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ. During filming, he was struck by lightning, accidentally scourged, had his shoulder dislocated, and suffered from pneumonia and hypothermia. Prior to filming, Gibson reportedly warned Caviezel that playing Jesus in his controversial film would hurt his acting career. In 2011, Caviezel claimed that good roles had been hard to come by since, but stated that the movie, in particular the role of Jesus Christ, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
He had leading roles in the 2006 films Unknown and Déjà Vu. He played Kainan in Outlander (2008) and provided the voice of Jesus on the 2007 New Testament audio dramatization The Word of Promise. In 2008, he starred in Long Weekend and in November 2009, he starred in The Prisoner, a remake of the British sci-fi series The Prisoner.
From 2011 to 2016, Caviezel starred in the CBS drama series Person of Interest as John Reese, a former CIA agent who now works for a mysterious billionaire as a vigilante. The show received the highest ratings in 15 years for a series pilot. Caviezel was nominated for the People's Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic TV Actor in 2014 and again in 2016 for his work on Person of Interest.
In 2017, Caviezel signed on as lead character of CBS's SEAL Team series, however; he left the project due to creative differences before production began and was replaced by David Boreanaz.
He has also narrated multiple documentaries.

Zero A.D.
King Herod
2025

Sound of Freedom
Tim Ballard
2023

Sweetwater
Sports Writer
2023

Infidel
Doug Rawlins
2019

Onyx: Kings of the Grail
Narrator (voice)
2019

John Paul II in Ireland: A Plea for Peace
Self
2018

Running for Grace
Reyes
2018

Paul, Apostle of Christ
Luke
2018

The Ballad of Lefty Brown
Jimmy Bierce
2017

The Face of Mercy
Narrator (voice)
2016

When the Game Stands Tall
Bob Ladouceur
2014

Escape Plan
Willard Hobbes
2013

Savannah
Ward Allen
2013

Transit
Nate
2012

Person of Interest
John Reese · (103 episodes)
2011

The Prisoner
6 / Michael · (6 episodes)
2009

Kabul 24
Narrator (voice)
2009

Long Weekend
Peter
2009

The Stoning of Soraya M.
Freidoune
2009

Facing Extinction: Christians of Iraq
Narrator (voice)
2009

Outlander
Kainan
2008

Déjà Vu
Carroll Oerstadt
2006

America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions
Narrator (voice) · (1 episode)
2006

Unknown
Jean Jacket
2006

Madison
Jim McCormick
2005

The Final Cut
Fletcher
2004

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius
Bobby Jones
2004

The Passion of the Christ
Jesus
2004

The Big Question
Self
2004

Highwaymen
James 'Rennie' Cray
2004

I Am David
Johannes
2003

Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
Self
2002

High Crimes
Tom Kubik
2002

The Count of Monte Cristo
Edmond Dantes
2002

Angel Eyes
Steven "Catch" Lambert
2001

The Science And Technology Behind 'Frequency'
Self
2001

Pay It Forward
Jerry
2000

Frequency
John Sullivan
2000

Ride with the Devil
Black John
1999

The Thin Red Line
Pvt. Robert Witt
1998

G.I. Jane
Slovnik
1997

The View
Self · (1 episode)
1997

The Rock
Rear F-18 Pilot
1996

Ed
Dizzy
1996

Diggstown
Billy Hargrove
1992

The Resurrection of the Christ: Part II
Jesus

Children of the Dust
Dexter · (2 episodes)
1995

Wyatt Earp
Warren Earp
1994

Blue Chips
Basketball Player (uncredited)
1994

My Own Private Idaho
Airline Clerk
1991
St. Vincent
Syndicate
Patrick O'Malley

The Resurrection of the Christ
Jesus

The Wonder Years
Bobby Riddle · (1 episode)
1988

Murder, She Wrote
Darryl Harding · (1 episode)
1984