Actor says the Rosary helped him to portray holiness on the big screen

“Passion of the Christ” star Jim Caviezel told CNA that he relied on Scripture, daily Mass and the Rosary to portray holiness on the big screen in “Paul, the Apostle of Christ.”

The film depicts the persecution of the early Christians in Rome under Emperor Nero, along with an imprisoned Saint Paul conveying a message of hope at the end of his life. Caviezel plays the role of Saint Luke, who regularly visits Paul in prison to document his story while composing the Acts of the Apostles.

The audience sees Luke serving the early Christian community in Rome as a physician, spiritual leader and writer. “He [Luke] mentioned the Virgin Mary more than any other writer,” reflected Caviezel on portraying the Gospel evangelist, “I use the Rosary to focus, to pray.”

“I go to Mass every day and the Eucharist is Christ in me,” Caviezel continued, “Everything that I do is always with heaven's help. It directs my path. It guides me. It is where I got my talent from. What I give back to God from what he has given me … he just multiplies it and blesses it in ways that I never thought possible.”

The film is dedicated to the world’s persecuted Christians. 

“We were writing this script through those heavy intense times with ISIS and the problems that are going on in Syria and the Middle East,” executive producer Eric Groth told CNA. He said his team also reflected “on the martyrs of the centuries who have laid down their lives” in guiding the actors of the film.

Adapted from an article by Courtney Grogan CNA