The Most Bizarre Things That Happened While Filming

When it comes to smiting film sets, the movie gods are agnostic. For while The Passion of the Christ is notorious for the controversy it caused, there was a lot of calamity caused on set. Mel Gibson's self-financed Biblical epic was a cultural lightning rod in 2003 — and apparently its star was, too.

Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in the film, was struck by lightning while performing the Sermon on the Mount. Caviezel wasn't the only one. Assistant Director Jan Michelini was struck not once, but twice, the first time while standing under an umbrella, the second time while coming to Caviezel's aid.

Well, at least that was all Caviezel had to endure during the making of this film, right? Yeah, not so much.

Very few stars in film history have suffered more for their art than Caviezel. Besides being struck by lightning, he was hit twice by errant whips during the lashing scene; had his shoulder dislocated while carrying the cross; suffered migraines from having his eye cosmetically shut; and got a lung infection and pneumonia from hanging on a cross with 25-degree temperatures and 30-knot winds.

Despite all of his suffering, Caviezel gave a moving performance that even the film's critics admired... though not enough to nominate him for a Best Actor Oscar. While that snub had to sting (albeit not as much as an errant whipping), the film being embraced by the faithful was certainly more important to the devout Catholic Caviezel.