It's hard to believe that Jack Nicholson was up for the part as Father Karras. Hard to imagine his saying "Here's Johnny;" or "Here's Satan;" or "Here's Lucifer," etc. Eventually the role of Karras went to Jason Miller. Who?
It was this background [ the infamous still for the movie ] that attracted Exorcist director William Friedkin to the idea of casting Miller in the role of Father Karras, following seeing the actor in the Broadway production of the Miller-penned play That Championship Season.
"My picture's in the program and there's a whole lot of stuff about Jesuit schools in Championship Season and he had a hunch," Miller recalled. "He said 'Do you want to go on a screen test?' I thought I was dreaming. I went out and did a screen test and the rest is history."
Miller faced some stiff competition for the role. Warner Brothers, the studio bankrolling the film, was pushing for an actor with star power for the role. Jack Nicholson and Ryan O'Neill had already tested for the role of Father Karras. But the fact that Miller wasn't a big film star ultimately played to his advantage.
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