Edgar Ramirez calls the experience of working on the Screen Gems supernatural thriller Deliver Us From Evil both liberating and beautiful, two descriptive terms that seem unusual when describing playing a priest who performs exorcisms. On the red carpet with his Deliver Us From Evil director Scott Derrickson and co-stars Eric Bana, Olivia Munn, and Joel McHale, Ramirez explained how he felt about being a part of the film based on NY police officer Ralph Sarchie’s book.
Deliver Us From Evil opens in theaters on July 2, 2014.
Edgar Ramirez Interview
What kind of research did you do to get into the role?
Edgar Ramirez: “Well, this character is based on a combination of two characters – a Catholic Bishop and a Catholic priest that helped Ralph Sarchie through the investigation and the solving of the cases upon which the movie is based. Regardless of how real or not the character is, it is always a reinterpretation. You don’t imitate life when you portray a character; you create something new. Of course, there are certain aspects that you need to respect, but then you have to let go and let your director’s and writer’s imagination just fly. That’s what we did.”
This seems like a stressful story to tell, dealing with the supernatural and dealing with the real people behind the story. How much weight was on your shoulders, and how did that affect you personally?
Edgar Ramirez: “It does affect you. We’re dealing with heavy issues here, with heavy energy here, and as an actor you need to stay open. You need to give your emotions, your entire being needs to be at the service of the character. And definitely that has an affect on you.
It was not a walk in the clouds. I’m the exorcist in the movie, I had the privilege to play that part. It was scary. It was scary, it was heavy, you know? But it was also very liberating. In order to devote your life – I’m talking about an exorcist – to help people through such a horrible experience of believing or being possessed by an evil force, that requires a huge amount of compassion and understanding and empathy because in the end regardless of whether this suffering comes from an ill mind or an ill imagination or it comes from an evil force – an exterior evil force – these people go through a lot of pain and it’s a horrible suffering.
It was very interesting to me to explore that compassion, that empathy. That’s why I find it so liberating. It was beautiful.”
It changed you afterwards?
Edgar Ramirez: “For sure, because I walked into this with an open mind and I walked out with a broader open mind.”
