BeforeFleabagcreatorPhoebe Waller-Bridgegifted the unworthy people of this world withthe life-altering Hot Priest(I thank God every day forAndrew Scott), there wasThe Exorcist. DirectorWilliam Friedkin’s meticulous masterpiece of psychological horror hinges upon its characters. The first 40 minutes constitute a character study and every nightmare-inducing,audience-fainting spectaclethat follows only matters because Friedkin devised an intimate emotional canvas upon which to splatter-paint pea-soup vomit and160-degree head twists. But examining such conscientious craftsmanship is for another piece. I exist to sing the praises of one Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller), the original A+ hottie in priest garb and whose legacy deserves to return to the limelight in all its tortured sad boy glory. Respect your cinematic elders!
RELATED:‘The Exorcist: Believer’: Release Date, Cast, Plot, and Everything We Know So Far
A Different Actor Almost Played Father Karras in ‘The Exorcist'
It is a truth universally acknowledged that priests always bring sexual tension even if it’s not explicitly addressed. Sorry, I don’t make the rules; I just pass the facts along like Moses and the Ten Commandments. With his black wardrobe and that unspoken celibacy commitment, Karras automatically counts as forbidden fruit. He may not be “traditionally good-looking” compared to the studio-enforced standards of every fresh-faced Marvel star with rippling muscles, but that’s in Karras’s favor. Not only does he rock weariness to perfection, that indelible sense of having seen and felt some s**t, but this is an average dude you’d meet in confession andfeel an appropriate level of Catholic guiltabout wanting to make out with. Bless me, Father, for I have sinned by asking if you want to recreateFleabagand cozy up in the confession booth. This man of the cloth keeps his conducting of liturgical readings interesting.
If you don’t believe me, William Friedkin agreed, albeit in a roundabout way.During pre-productionforThe Exorcist,Friedkin and Warner Bros. hiredStacy Keachto play Karras, an experienced Shakespearean theater actor with many stage and screen awards under his belt. Then Friedkin caught a play from debut playwright and actor Jason Miller. “He had an interesting look,” Friedkin enthused in his autobiographyThe Friedkin Connection. “I felt some need to meet with him.” After readingThe Exorcistnovel byWilliam Peter Blatty, Miller told Friedkin “[Karras] is me.” Despite Keach’s casting, Friedkin agreed to a screen test with Miller at the actor’s insistence. According to Friedkin, “The camera loved his dark good looks, haunted eyes, quiet intensity, and low, compassionate voice. […] The fact that he had a Jesuit education and had studied for the priesthood sealed the deal for me.” Although reluctant to do so, Warner Bros. “paid off” Stacy Keach’s contract to make way for Miller. “Jason Miller is going to explode in this part,” Friedkin vowed.
As modern audiences know, history was made. Miller scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor forThe Exorcistwhile his break-out 1972 playThat Championship Seasontook home both the Drama Pulitzer Prize and the 1973 Tony Award for Best Play. (Sir, save some awards for the rest of us!) Father Damien Karras isn’t a character one soon forgets even among a cast of household names that were former unknowns beforeThe Exorcistinduced a cultural firestorm.
Fittingly for the material, Damien’s a good old self-tormenting Catholic boy.The Exorcist’s leading manis neck-deep in a spiritual crisis and receives the worst wake-up call in history. Said crisis allows the already reserved, soft-spoken Damien to be moody, introverted, and angsty. He’s a psychiatrist for the Catholic priests at Georgetown University, and he arguably has empathy fatigue: emotional exhaustion from absorbing others' problems. Damien’s afraid he’s lost his faith and declares himself “unfit,” asking for a transfer to be closer to his elderly mother. Not only is this impulse recognizably human for those of a shared or similar faith, but Karras goes so far as to mope deep into his beer cups. Maybe that existential crisis can extend to his celibacy vow? Asking for a friend.
Tragically, Karras’s mother (Vasiliki Maliaros) passes away, which leaves him further incapacitated by drunken, messy grief. He regrets not being by his mother’s side when she died, plus the unspoken guilt of failing to provide her with a more comfortable life. As a Jesuit, a clerical order explicitly devoted to acts of selfless service, that moral defeat must hit extra deep. Damien has nightmares and mourns with a mop of black hair and soulful brown eyes as endless as a shadow-obscured well.Ellen Burstyn’s Chris MacNeil, who’s encountered Damien in passing, remarks “He’s very intense-looking.” Astute observation, madame actress. He’s a tired boy in need of a hug.
Underneath Karras’s angst is the big brain of a psychiatrist. He’s also prone to snark when poked; his reaction to the idea of an exorcism boils down to “lol, sure, Jan.” Despite his disbelief and simmering personal trauma, he’s kind, polite, and attentive to the distraught Chris and even lets her cry on his shoulder — admittedly, with the distinct air of “what is affection.” I may not be stricken with a demon-possessed child, but I’d like an order of a sexy priest to console me during my frequent times of trouble.
What’s Hotter Than a Priest Kicking a Demon’s Butt?
Father Karras’s severity returns with the full-tilt frenzy of a NASCAR driver once he meets the possessed Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair). His interrogation approach is carefully pointed, assessing the situation for flaws and truth alike. As a skilled psychological tormenter, Pazuzu (the voices ofMercedes McCambridgeandRon Faber), the demon haunting Regan,proves its existence pretty unequivocallyjust to mess with Damien’s head. He’s utterly out of his depth, and the sad puppy dog looks intensify. Nevertheless, after feeling shell-shocked and staring into the middle distance with his hand in his rumpled hair, Karras decides he’s bold enough to dance with the literal devil in the pale moonlight after all.
Karras regains his faith through a self-sacrificial act in a perfect character arc tied up in a bloody little bow. He’s resolved beyond measure that Regan, a little girl robbed of her innocence, won’t die hopeless, alone, and suffering as his mother did. He won’t stand for another tragedy he could have prevented. No longer feeling lost and incompetent, Karras’s righteous rage helps him pull one over on Pazuzu (kick his butt!), tricking the demon into possessing him and leaving Regan free. One would thinkany human would instantly lose control over themselves; not Karras. He holds onto his humanity long enough to fling himself out Regan’s window to die on those famous steps, thereby ensuring that goodness triumphs over evil. Heart-breaking “no, my baby boy!” tragedy aside, it’s the culmination of his journey and the boiling point of the priestly lust melting pot. Hell, Jason Miller got an Oscar nomination. It wasn’t for Sexiest Supporting Actor, but what further proof do you need?
