LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- The actor who played Jesus in the Mel Gibson film "The Passion of the Christ," which opens this week in the United States, said it is not suitable for all.
Jim Caviezel said the R-rated film should not be seen by children.
"I don't think that kids under 12 should be seeing this thing," the 35-year-old actor told the New York Daily News. "On the other hand, maybe this film would be good for kids living in violent areas -- who see people dying every day."
Some have called the film anti-Semitic but Caviezel disagreed.
"We don't look at it and say, 'Oh, well the Jews killed Jesus.' No, we killed Him. Our sins put Him up there," he said. "He didn't die for the people back then. He died for the past, present, the future. He died for us now."
Born in Mount Vernon, Wash., Caviezel said he got his start playing small parts in films like "Diggstown," in 1992; "Wyatt- Earp," in 1994. But his performance in "The Thin Red Line," in 1998, brought him to Gibson's attention.
