Jack Nicholson Was Rejected From An Oscar-Winning Horror Movie For A Hilarious Reason

Paramount

Father Karras, the lead priest in William Friedkin's 1973 horror film "The Exorcist," was played by actor and playwright Jason Miller. At the time, Miller had just won a Pulitzer Prize for writing his play "That Championship Season," and by the time he was cast in "The Exorcist," he had also landed a Tony for the same work. He didn't have any screen credits prior to "The Exorcist," but he enjoyed a notable screen career after that. Indeed, the movie was a huge hit that brought him worldwide attention and landed him an Oscar nod for his performance.

Miller was an unexpected choice to play Father Karras, however, as several A-list actors were also considered for the role. Screenwriter William Peter Blatty, who also wrote the novel "The Exorcist" was based on, had actually hired Stacy Keach to portray Father Karras in 1972. But Friedkin overruled him when he saw Miller's audition with his co-star Ellen Burstyn. The two had great chemistry. Moreover, Miller had more palpable Roman Catholic bona-fides, having been raised in Catholic schools. As a result, Warner Bros. bought out Keach's contract, and Miller was hired in his place.

Among the other actors in the running to play Father Karras was the legendary Paul Newman. With Newman being a massive star, one might think that WB would insist on his involvement in the picture. As it turns out, though, Jack Nicholson was also intensely interested in the role. Indeed, the actor petitioned rather hard to play Father Karras, to the point where he started stalking Friedkin in restaurants. Back in 2013, at the Dallas International Film Festival, Friedkin revealed the restaurant conversation he had with Nicholson and recalled quite well what he said to the actor. Specifically, Friedkin told Nicholson that, well, he simply wasn't priestly.

Warner Bros.

During his appearance at the Dallas International Film Festival, Friedkin was asked if Miller was his first choice to play Father Karras, and the director replied that, no, he very much wasn't. He then recalled:

"There were many actors who wanted to play that part. Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson. I remember Jack Nicholson coming to see me in a restaurant where I was having lunch with Ellen Burstyn after I'd cast her. And he had worked with her. And he said, [Nicholson voice] 'Come on, man, you're not going to consider me for this?' I said, 'Jack, if you show in a priest collar, the whole audience is going to go up. You're not going to be accepted in a priest collar.'"

Nicholson and Burstyn had recently worked together on Bob Rafelson's 1972 film "The King of Marvin Gardens," so they knew they would get along well. Nicholson had also achieved fame playing intense characters in smaller dramas like "Easy Rider" and, in particular, "Five Easy Pieces." He may have been too intense, indeed, to play Father Karras, hence Friedkin's comment that the whole audience would go up (that is: react poorly). Nicholson never played a clergyman in his career, it should be noted, although he portrayed several monsters or demonic figures (as he did in "The Witches of Eastwick" and "Wolf").

Keach, meanwhile, may have lost out on "The Exorcist," but he shifted over to playing a different holy figure in 1973's "Luther," a film in which he played Martin Luther, the head of the Protestant Reformation. He was rejected by the fictional priesthood, only to fictionally protest the Catholic Church. There's a cute little poetry in that.