Playing the role of Father Gabriele Amorth – the real-life chief exorcist in which the film is based off – Russell Crowe combines comedy and horror.

The movie is a detailed portrait of a priest who performed more than 100,000 exorcisms for the Vatican in his lifetime.

Crowe told Deborah Knight that during his research for the role, the Vatican allowed him to meet the colleagues and friends of Father Gabriele Amorth.

“I began to believe in him as a person and I wanted to bring as much of his personality to the piece that I could,” Crowe said.

“The purity of his faith, the absolute quality of his belief, combined with his sense of humor is why he could help people.”

The Pope’s Exorcist will be available to watch in cinemas on April 6.

Listen to the EXTENDED interview here:

See more from Deborah Knight here: