Father Lankester Merrin is a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to Theoph ...

in the 1971 novel ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty, based on The Exorcist (novel), his 1971 novel. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller (play ...

'' and one of the main protagonists in its 1973 film adaptation. He figures prominently in several of its prequel and sequel films. In addition to his role as a priest, Merrin is an accomplished archaeologist.

In the novel

Merrin, an elderly Irish

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

on an

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

dig in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, finds images of the demon

Pazuzu In ancient Mesopotamian religion, Pazuzu () is a demonic deity who was well known to the Babylonians and Assyrians throughout the first millennium BCE. He is shown with "a rather canine face with abnormally bulging eyes, a scaly body, a snake-h ...

and subsequently experiences other unusual phenomena. He had previously faced the demon many years before during an exorcism in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The find sparks a premonition that he will battle the demon again in a distant land. Merrin does not appear again until much later in the novel, when he joins the protagonist, Father

Damien Karras Father Damien "Demis" Karras, Jesuits, SJ, is a fictional Character (arts), character from the 1971 novel ''The Exorcist (novel), The Exorcist'', its 1983 sequel ''Legion (Blatty novel), Legion'', one of the main protagonists in the 1973 film ''Th ...

, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, to exorcise the demon from the body of a young girl (

Regan MacNeil Regan Teresa MacNeil (born April 6, 1959) is a fictional character in the 1971 novel '' The Exorcist'' and one of the supporting characters in its 1973 film adaptation and the 1977 film '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'', while being one of the mai ...

). Merrin, who has a

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

for which he takes

nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG) (alternative spelling nitroglycerine), also known as trinitroglycerol (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless or pale yellow, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by ...

, dies during the ritual, leaving the inexperienced Karras to complete the exorcism himself. Merrin is loosely based on the British archaeologist

Gerald Lankester Harding Gerald Lankester Harding CBE (8 December 1901 – 11 February 1979) was a British archaeologist who was the director of the Department of Antiquities of Jordan from 1936 to 1956. His tenure spanned the period in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were ...

, though in the film he is played by

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

with a noticeably Irish accent. This was later parodied by

James Woods James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is an American actor. Known for fast-talking, intense roles on screen and stage, he has received numerous accolades, including three Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for t ...

in the film ''

Scary Movie 2 ''Scary Movie 2'' is a 2001 American parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It is the sequel to '' Scary Movie'' and the second installment in the ''Scary Movie'' film series. The film stars Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Shawn Wayans and ...

''.

In the films

Merrin's depiction in the 1973 film ''

'' is faithful to the novel. The character of Merrin reappears in the sequel '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977), in extended flashbacks detailing an exorcism he performed in Africa following the Second World War. He is portrayed in both films by

. The studio wanted

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

for the role of Father Merrin, but director

William Friedkin William David Friedkin (; August 29, 1935 – August 7, 2023) was an American film, television and opera director, producer, and screenwriter who was closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in doc ...

immediately vetoed this by stating it would become a "Brando movie". The character was featured again in both prequel films, '' Exorcist: The Beginning'' and '' Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist''. Both films revisit Merrin's experiences in Africa immediately prior to his first exorcism, but each presents a different version of the events and neither agrees with the events as presented in ''Exorcist II''. He is played in both films by

Stellan Skarsgård Stellan John Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2003), ''Melancholia' ...

Other adaptations

In the 2014 BBC Radio dramatisation, Merrin is voiced by

Ian McDiarmid Ian McDiarmid ( ; born 11 August 1944) is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen. Making his stage debut in ''Hamlet'' in 1972, McDiarmid joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974, and has since starred in a number of Shakespeare's ...

References

External links

Max von Sydow as Father Lankester Merrin in the 1973 film ''The Exorcist''
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Stellan Skarsgård as Father Lankester Merrin in the 2004 film ''Exorcist: The Beginning''
at

The Exorcist characters Characters in American novels of the 20th century Fictional characters from Washington, D.C. Fictional Christian priests Fictional Irish people Fictional exorcists Literary characters introduced in 1971 Male horror film characters {{novel-char-stub

In the novel

In the films

Other adaptations

See also

References

External links