Jim Caviezel mocked for ripping off Mel Gibson’s Braveheart in QAnon speech

Actor Jim Caviezel was giving a speech at a QAnon conference in Las Vegas last weekend, but he has been widely mocked for ripping off a speech from the Hollywood movie Braveheart.

The 53-year-old Count of Montecristo actor was speaking at the For God & Country: Patriot Double Down when he gave his speech, which contained lots of religious references but also a couple of lines that appeared to be word-for-word quotations from Braveheart.

In the 1995 movie, Mel Gibson played the role of William Wallace, a 13th-century born Scottish warrior who battled England’s King Edward I for an independent Scottish kingdom.

In one particular scene before a decisive battle, Gibson’s character attempted to raise the morale of his soldiers with a particularly stirring and emotional speech. He roared at the nervous troops: “you can take our lives, but you can never take our freedom. Every man dies. Not every man truly lives.”

And these were the exact lines spoken by Jim Caviezel at the weekend in Las Vegas, as seen in footage posted on Twitter by @pattriottakes.

Jim Caviezel accused of copying Braveheart speech

Caviezel’s speech seemed to receive a similar appreciation from his audience as Gibson’s character had from his warriors. The crowd in Vegas cheered, and someone even echoed the Braveheart scene by shouting “FREEDOM!”

Caviezel continued his speech with a dose of religious fervor; he said: “We must fight for that authentic freedom and live my friends. By God, we must live and with the Holy Spirit as your shield and Christ as your sword may you join Saint Michael and all the other angels in defending God and sending Lucifer and his henchmen straight back to hell where they belong.”

The actor also claimed “a storm is upon us,” which is a reference to a QAnon conspiracy theory that Hollywood and the political establishment are controlled by a satanic, child-killing pedophile cabal. Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey have been accused in these nutty conspiracies.

It’s unclear if Caviezel had asked Gibson if he could use extracts from the speech, but the pair certainly know each other. Caviezel played the role of Jesus Christ in Gibson’s 2004 biblical drama, The Passion of the Christ.

Either way, many were quick to ridicule Caviezel on Twitter.

Jim Caviezel mocked on Twitter for Braveheart speech

One Twitter user joked that “Jim Caviezel’s reboot of Braveheart looks awful.”

Michael Rapaport joked: “He should do the speech Mel Gibson did to his Wife next.”

Evan Onstot wondered if anyone at the conference noticed he’s “ripping off Braveheart.”

Those wishing to compare and contrast Mel Gibson’s movie speech with Caviezels can do so below.

Jim Caviezel had enjoyed a recent revival in celebrity status when he got one of the lead roles in the crime drama Person of Interest; however, the show was canceled after five seasons in 2016.