Ben Daniels on The Exorcist: "He Has No Fear — and That's Liberating"

Ben Daniels said it plainly: "The thing that I have loved the most about Marcus — and something I've never played before — is someone that has no fear…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

On December 15, 2016, FOX hosted a press conference call with Ben Daniels — Father Marcus on The Exorcist — ahead of the Season 1 finale airing the following night at 9:00 p.m. on FOX. Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNaughton was among the journalists on the call and asked two questions.

As a gay man, do you think it adds or takes away to your portrayal of a Catholic priest?

I think there are lots of gay Catholic priests, and I think the thing about Marcus is we're still not sure of his sexuality. It's The Exorcist, so he could be gay. He could be bi. We know he's not straight, but I just played him as who he was in the script rather than thinking about my own sexuality in reference to Catholicism, if that makes sense.

In the original production of The Exorcist, a few Jesuit priests served as consultants, and one commented that he did so because the film showed the true nature of evil. Do you think the series conveys that same message?

I know that the writers consulted with the Catholic Church throughout the writing process, so I think that would be more of a question for them. I think it does address issues of what is good and what is evil and how murky those lines are between them. The lines very often get blurred, and I think the TV show does very much explore that.

On what drew him to Father Marcus:

The thing that I have loved the most about Marcus — and something I've never played before — is someone that has no fear. I know he has a little bit of doubt that creeps in, but it's really kind of liberating to be able to explore that area. I particularly enjoyed that, and it's something I've not played before.

On building Marcus's backstory and inner fire:

It's always very important to me to have a really active backstory. Jeremy Slater, the creator, had told me just before one audition that they had a scene where Marcus as a young boy — an orphan — is put into a room with a 90-year-old possessed naked woman. He's told he can't come out until he cures her, and he cures her. My thoughts were: he's either an incredibly angelic holy child, which didn't seem to fit with who he is in the pilot where he pulls the gun, or he's filled with such anger and rage that God works through him and uses that as a weapon to fight demonic forces. I worked out a backstory where his father kills his mother in front of him. I thought that would give him the required rage to generate that fire.

On his most satisfying scene:

In episode two when he very first opens up to Tomas — it's toward the end of the episode and it's like a four-minute monologue. It really set the tone for who Marcus is and where he comes from. It was a real surprise to see that angry, aggressive man open up and reveal this broken man that he actually is. I really thought the writers captured everything we'd talked about so beautifully.

On playing a man of faith as a non-religious person:

I had to take a leap of faith because I'm not a religious man. When I was doing my initial research I met with a priest for about two and a half hours and chatted about what God meant to him. God means a lot of things to a lot of different people, so when you play a character you just scour the script for clues as to who they are and what they believe in. Father Marcus believed in God. He has seen God's face at the age of 12, and so you just believe. You don't sit in judgment of who your character is and what they believe. You wholeheartedly take it on board and play that.

On LGBTQ representation in television:

I don't think there are still enough LGBTQ characters on TV, and I like it when it's less of an issue-based thing. Were The Exorcist to continue, I think it would be interesting to see where that goes especially as far as Marcus is concerned. The show I loved the most was Six Feet Under — the sexuality of the characters in that was who they were as people rather than their sexuality being the driving force of the drama. I think it's getting better, but there could be more.

On filming in Chicago:

I love Chicago. I think it's an amazing city and it was just a perfect backdrop for the show. It just has this energy that is really unique — really creative. You see it in the music, in the theater, and even the food is fantastically creative there. It really reminds me a lot of London in the '80s. There's just this quite aggressive energy, and I don't mean that in a negative way. I found the people fantastic there, and there's huge wealth butted up against huge poverty that sort of explodes in this very creative way. It's a really special city.

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