Making a movie is never easy. There are long hours, grueling schedules, unexpected weather problems, and the occasional coffee shortage that sends the entire crew into panic mode. But few movie sets have ever had to deal with what happened on the set of The Passion of the Christ. Sure.
Films have faced production delays, wild accidents, and even the odd case of a haunted set, but how many have experienced actual, literal lightning strikes? If that’s not a celestial warning, at the very least, it’s an expensive insurance claim.
If you think Hollywood is dramatic, wait until you hear what happened while filming one of the most intense religious movies of all time. Divine intervention? A cursed set? Or just really, really bad luck? Let’s get into it.
The shocking truth of The Passion of the Christ
You’d think filming a biblical epic would come with a certain level of divine protection, right? Not quite. Jim Caviezel, the actor playing Jesus, had quite the experience on set, beyond just wearing prosthetic wounds and enduring brutal filming conditions.
According to BBC News, while shooting the Sermon on the Mount scene, the man was actually struck by lightning. Yes, real lightning. Not CGI. Not special effects. The actual zap-from-the-sky, “you should probably buy a lottery ticket” kind of lightning.
And just when everyone thought it was a freak accident, lightning struck again, this time hitting assistant director Jan Michelini. Oh, and if you’re keeping track, this was Michelini’s second time being struck by lightning on the set of this movie. That’s right, he got hit twice. Either Michelini has the worst luck ever, or someone up there really didn’t want him near this film.
If you’re wondering what the immediate reaction was, producer Steve McEveety told VLife, a supplement of Variety (via BBC News), that he saw actual smoke coming out of Caviezel’s ears. Now, if you’re an actor playing Jesus and suddenly have smoke coming out of your ears, that’s got to be at least a little concerning. Was this a divine sign? A biblical-level warning? Or just Mother Nature playing a very intense game of “Gotcha!”?
More than just lightning strikes
As if the whole lightning thing wasn’t enough, Caviezel endured plenty of other mishaps while filming. He dislocated his shoulder while carrying the cross, suffered from hypothermia while filming the crucifixion scenes, and even got accidentally whipped during one particularly intense moment. This guy wasn’t just playing Jesus, he was living the full suffering experience, minus the whole resurrection part.
But here’s where it gets even weirder. Despite all the so-called cursed incidents, The Passion of the Christ went on to become one of the highest-grossing R-rated films of all time, pulling in a whopping $612 million worldwide, according to IMDb. Not exactly the box office numbers you’d expect from a supposedly doomed production. The film performed so well that a sequel is already underway.
Was the movie really cursed? Or was it just a case of extreme, almost comical, bad luck? Fans of the film have debated it for years, but one thing’s for sure: this set was nothing short of electrifying. Literally.
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