James Caviezel

Born: 26th September 1968
Where: Mount Vernon, Washington

The wannabe league basketball player is best known for his portrayal of Jesus in Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ.

A strict Catholic (he once refused to film a sex scene with Ashley Judd in High Crimes because of his beliefs), he was cast as Jesus in the 12 hours leading to the crucifixion.

During filming some of the scenes, showing the torture Christ faced ahead of his death, resulted in Caviezel dislocating his shoulder.

After hoping to make it as player for a major league basketball team, he switched to acting and landed at part at his first audition for an Italian ticket agent in Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho.

He was accepted into the Julliard School for the Performing Arts, but moved to LA, and quickly landed parts on TV series like The Wonder Years.

With no formal training and only a marginal credit to his name, Caviezel struggled to get his career started and was stuck in minor roles in large films like The Rock and G.I. Jane.

He finally got his second big break in 1998, when film-maker Terrence Malick made his directorial return with the Oscar-nominated WWII drama The Thin Red Line.

Subsequent roles included Ang Lee's Ride With The Devil, the sci-fi thriller Frequency and the romantic drama Pay It Forward with Kevin Spacey.

In 2002, he starred in the lavish remake of The Count of Monte Cristo and the conspiracy thriller High Crimes.

Caviezel took the lead in the low-budget thriller Highwaymen before being cast by Gibson in The Passion of the Christ, although the latter was released in the UK before the former.

He will soon be seen in Final Cut and Bobby Jones: Stroke Of Genius.