The incredible conversion of the interpreter of Barabbas during the filming of "The Passion of the Christ"
Commonly actors play diverse roles and do not let the story of the film or the personality of its characters shake them. But with God it's different. You don't talk about God without anything changing, because your word never comes back empty. He takes every action or word on his behalf for the sake of someone or many. With the actor Pietro Sarubbi it took a look of Jesus, played by Jim Caviezel, for his life to turn inside out!
Pietro began living in several countries as early as his adolescence working in circuses, expanding his view of the world and its cultures. But he always had an existential void that did not fill, besides a constant sense of failure, despite the various roles he played in television, film and theater, standing out in comedy and more obscure roles.
His adventurous disposition led him to wander the world in search of his "inner peace" in various ways: he took a vow of silence for a semester in Tibet with Buddhists, meditation in India, martial arts in a Chinese monastery and even lived here in the Amazon, perhaps with the intention of the nature of the forest "talking" to him. But always far from Christianity without the reach of spiritual peace.
One day he was invited by director Mel Gibson to play Barabbas in "The Passion of Christ," much to his great surprise, since he is not religious. Money caught his eye, but not the greatest story mankind has ever known. He even wanted to play Pedro, because the cache was larger, since Barrabás appeared in specific scenes in the film. However, Mel Gibson wanted him to stage the thief, as he knew that he would give him the "monster" that the character was in his real life at that time due to the tortures he went through in prison, leading him to total brutality.
At the moment of the scene in which the crowd calls for the release of Barabbas and the condemnation of Jesus, the actor descends facing the local authorities with an air of disdain and satisfaction, until he passes in front of Jesus, played by Jim Caviezel - already very disfigured with the terrible tortures before the crucifixion, and his eyes crossed:
"It was a big impact. I felt an electric current between us. I saw Jesus himself," commenting on the scene with Jim Caviezel. At that moment he said he found the peace he never found before!
He said that he came to be without breath such the breaking he felt at the moment before the strong and true look that came across In Jesus. The scene was repeated 54 times until it reached the final version, but it was the first that it was deeply impacted, bothering his soul.
That night he couldn't go out with his friends, as they always did after filming, and he became restless and afraid, leading him to start research on Jesus Christ. Pietro converted to Catholicism, recounting his experience to the whole world, even releasing a book about his explosive conversion during the filming of the film. Surely his miraculous conversion may have already converted many people around the world with his testimony. Help you also spread this fascinating conversion!
Pietro reports that in conversion with a real encounter with Christ, you no longer go to Mass because you have to go, but go because you want to go! But your daughter once said she didn't want to receive her catechist who didn't want to receive First Communion.... Asked why, she naively replied: because it must be bitter, my father always cries when communiting!
Jim Caviezel's life story playing Jesus Christ was also widely impacted, but we'll report it in another post! Pietro also says that there were numerous conversions during filming, as well as appearances and miracles. But Mel Gibson at the time asked them not to report to the media so that the messages of the Holy Spirit to those people did not take an air of publicity from the film.
References:
COM SHALOM. A conversão de Barrabás
FAMÍLIA CRISTÃ. «Com este filme, descobri a pertença total a Cristo»
COMUNHÃO. Ator que viveu Barrabás lança livro sobre sua conversão