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Actor Jim Caviezel Lit Up the College Basketball Courts

Jim Caviezel
Doug Doyle for WBGO

Actor Jim Caviezel is best known for portraying Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ and from 2011 until 2016, as John Reese on the CBS science-fiction crime drama series Person of Interest

Jim Caviezel
Credit When The Game Stand Tall for WBGO
Caviezel was thrilled to play the role of a legendary football coach in When The Game Stands Tall

In a 2014 edition of SportsJam with Doug Doyle, Caviezel talked about his role in the movie When the Game Stands Tall, his acting career and his basketball days.

Caviezel starred in the 2014 football film When the Game Stands Tall as De La Salle High School coach Bob Ladouceur, whose Concord, California Spartans prep team had a 151-game winning streak from 1992 to 2003, surpassing all records for consecutive victories in any American sport. 

“Whether you’re a high school football coach, a college or NFL coach, it really comes down to simplification, or simplifying things. A great coach is a great teacher.”

Caviezel has always loved sports and it started with his father's influence.

“First thing he (my dad) taught me when I was a boy was how to put on my shoes, and socks. Obviously if you go out and play, and don’t put your socks on right, you’re going to have a huge blister. He showed me great things, but did it in the simple way.”

Caviezel
Credit felcav.tumbir.com
Caviezel played basketball at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School in Burien, Washington

Caviezel played high school basketball in Washington, and would go on to play hoops at Bellevue College, but a  foot injury in his second year put an end to his dream of becoming a professional basketball player.  He transferred to the University of Washington, where he turned his focus to acting,

“I would not have been able to play in the NBA. I would have been one of those bubble players that was a very good player. I played against some great NBA players. But there was a guy in our area named John Stockton. I had to go head to head with him a couple of times at Gonzaga when we were playing. That guy depressed me. I realized that I probably had to find another career, and thank god it was acting.”

Other notable roles include Private Witt in The Thin Red Line (1998), Detective John Sullivan in Frequency (2000), Jim McCormick in Madison, Catch in Angel Eyes (2001), Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo (2002), golfer Bobby Jones in Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004), and Carroll Oerstadt in Déjà Vu (2006).

Caviezel is also a big Seattle Seahawks fan.

Click above to hear the 2014 SportsJam with Doug Doyle interview with Jim Caviezel.

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Doug Doyle has been News Director at WBGO since 1998 and has taken his department to new heights in coverage and recognition. Doug and his staff have received more than 250 awards from organizations like PRNDI (now PMJA), AP, New York Association of Black Journalists, Garden State Association of Black Journalists and the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists.