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Cavaziel: 'Shunned' by Hollywood because of Passion/ Christ
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Maybe it wasn't in films but Steven Hill managed to achieve a 50 year acting career even though he's an Orthodox Jew who keeps the Sabath.
And yes it cost at times - it lead to his replacement by Peter Graves in Mission: Impossible.
I understand how he would feel this way, but I disagree. He's a good actor, he's good looking, I kind of like him but I feel he just doesn't connect with the audience. He is just not very engaging to watch and does not have a certain "star-quality". It's hard to explain but to put it negatively, he's rather dull.
Somehow I've seen much of his work (I guess his choices are interesting) yet he's not one of my favorite leads. I've never seen him lift a movie or show but he always kind of bog them down and is uninteresting to watch.
Somehow I've seen much of his work (I guess his choices are interesting) yet he's not one of my favorite leads. I've never seen him lift a movie or show but he always kind of bog them down and is uninteresting to watch.
"Frequency" is a good movie and he's rather dull in that. He sort of reminds me of a vastly less interesting Rob Lowe.
I found Frequency to be extremely moving. It's one of my favorite films; it affected me deeply on an emotional level. I found Caveziel's understated performance to be spot on. The character was withdrawn and unhappy because of his father's death.
Even taking into account their CG-ing his eyes brown, the Iguana wins the thread!Yeah. Except 2,000 years ago, he was the rather forgettable leader of one of the many Jewish apocalyptic cults of the day, and today he is the focus of the world's largest religion. Yeah, not much has changed.
Then, why is he bitching about it? I am amazed by the ability of some people to feel persecuted in the most powerful nation in the world, where 80% of people agree with them.
The truth being, Jesus was a blue-eyed, white-skinned Swiss in 1st century Palestine. Yeah.
Although...It's hard to argue with the Commander there.
CBS screened it and supposedly things are looking good...
That would be something. It's hard for a show to get picked up on CBS.
I liked Frequency, too. I don't think Cavaziel isn't without looks or talent, and it is possible to keep to your convictions and religion and still be big in Hollywood. However, I don't think he chooses to bother. Him developing his own 'star quality' and career doesn't seem to be his priority. He'd rather talk on EWTN.
Do we fault the guy? When celebs go all wild and sex and drugs and stupid and rock and roll Lindsay Charlie type or are famous for nothing like Paris we applaud them, we lift them up and eat up every juicy scandal. So why then is it so strange for an actor to just willingly reduce his spotlight and walk away? If the guy takes a role he believes in whether it is big or small in a film and it doesn't ditract from the movie, what is the difference?
I think him aligning his difficulty in Hollywood to The Passion or playing Jesus is understandable, but I think he also seeks out such heavy or thought provoking roles when he does get parts, too.
Do we fault the guy? When celebs go all wild and sex and drugs and stupid and rock and roll Lindsay Charlie type or are famous for nothing like Paris we applaud them, we lift them up and eat up every juicy scandal. So why then is it so strange for an actor to just willingly reduce his spotlight and walk away? If the guy takes a role he believes in whether it is big or small in a film and it doesn't ditract from the movie, what is the difference?
I think him aligning his difficulty in Hollywood to The Passion or playing Jesus is understandable, but I think he also seeks out such heavy or thought provoking roles when he does get parts, too.
Chaos was one of the very few shows CBS has picked up within the last few years that I thought was even worth bothering checking out. As such, it was a true anomaly for a network whose middle initial stands for Boring.
No, that was William DeFoe in Last Temptation of Christ.
i know, i know...all white Jesuses look alike....
No ii didn't William Dafoe, Max Von Sydow are some what type cast as heavy's and Christian Bale has done ok as batman and others.
But wasn't Michael Chiklis shunned for a while for playing John Belushi? He seems to be doing ok now.
I was thinking about Willem Dafoe earlier. LToC was far more controversial at the time than The Passion, and the Mary Mother of Jesus movie with Bale was kinky of crappy. So I think their star power proves they can rise above any good or ills regarding portraying Jesus. So what is the question then? Does Cavaziel choose to not rise above it, focusing on religious appearances? Can he not rise above it because he isn't as good an actor? Or is complaining about it the way to go?
You would think he would be set for life by The Passion. Every time there is a charity or church showing, go and be a public speaker and tour with it or something. If Mel was a normal person that is what he should be doing. Eh, oh well. Maybe no actor should think they are special enough to play Jesus?
You would think he would be set for life by The Passion. Every time there is a charity or church showing, go and be a public speaker and tour with it or something. If Mel was a normal person that is what he should be doing. Eh, oh well. Maybe no actor should think they are special enough to play Jesus?
I can see two sides to this.
One one hand, after the success of 300, Gerard Butler keeps getting good money offers to make crappy movie after crappy movie (that people don't go to see unless it's a romantic comedy starring an A-lister like Jennifer Aniston) even though he wasn't the reason people went to see 300.
On the other hand, Jeff Goldblum didn't become the No. 1 movie star in the world because of Jurassic Park and Independence Day.
It's possible Caviezel's been too picky with the projects coming his way and as a result the spotlight's fallen off of him. Plus who knows how Cyclops would've worked out for him had he said yes.
One one hand, after the success of 300, Gerard Butler keeps getting good money offers to make crappy movie after crappy movie (that people don't go to see unless it's a romantic comedy starring an A-lister like Jennifer Aniston) even though he wasn't the reason people went to see 300.
On the other hand, Jeff Goldblum didn't become the No. 1 movie star in the world because of Jurassic Park and Independence Day.
It's possible Caviezel's been too picky with the projects coming his way and as a result the spotlight's fallen off of him. Plus who knows how Cyclops would've worked out for him had he said yes.
The truth of the matter is that Hollywood is full of of hot, promising, talented young actors (and actresses) whose careers cool off eventually. Not every actor who stars in a big hit goes on to superstar status, for a wide variety of reasons. Some make comebacks later in their career, some don't. Ten years from now, will the stars of AVATAR be A-list actors? Who knows? It's a horse race.
One can't immediately assume "shunning" is involved.
One can't immediately assume "shunning" is involved.
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Clearly they -can- but they shouldn't.
Haven't seen Passion, and no interest in doing so. I've heard some very interesting things about it and the people involved with it, many of which I hope aren't actually true.
Can't speak for Caviezel one way or another, but if you're going to apply fairly high standards to what roles you'll accept and you're not already an A-list actor to begin with, you really shouldn't be too disappointed if you never make it to that point.
Haven't seen Passion, and no interest in doing so. I've heard some very interesting things about it and the people involved with it, many of which I hope aren't actually true.
Can't speak for Caviezel one way or another, but if you're going to apply fairly high standards to what roles you'll accept and you're not already an A-list actor to begin with, you really shouldn't be too disappointed if you never make it to that point.
Honestly, this whole description could apply to Sean Penn.
My number one childhood crush was Robert Powell, the most beautiful white man who ever lived. And I never saw him in any other acting role after Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps his look was too "iconic" to overcome. I don't know. On the other hand, I never bought Willem Dafoe's Christ because -- I couldn't escape the fact that this was Dafoe, acting.
There's probably some truth to Caveziel's claims of not getting more high profile roles (not all roles require nudity or sex, etc.) because of his participation in The Passion. Even Christopher Reeve seemed fairly limited after Superman (until his accident). It's just whatever Hollywood demands at the time, and any little thing can keep your phone from ringing.
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