Russell Crowe doesn't like horror movies. Why the hell is he playing The Pope's Exorcist ?

Russell Crowe does not like scary movies.

"No, I'm not really a horror film fella," the Oscar winner tells EW. "I like to sleep deeply at nighttime."

Crowe is hoping to give cinemagoers interrupted slumbers with his new film The Pope's Exorcist (in theaters April 14). In this purportedly inspired-by-real-events horror movie, the actor plays Father Gabriele Amorth, the Diocese of Rome's chief exorcist who investigated thousands of possession cases starting in the late '80s. Directed by Julius Avery (Overlord), the film finds Franco Nero's Pontiff sending Amorth to investigate the strange happenings at a Spanish castle which are tormenting an American family, played by Laurel Marsden, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, and, as the clan's matriarch, Doctor Sleep actress Alex Essoe.

Jonathan Hession Russell Crowe in 'The Pope's Exorcist'

So how did the horror movie-disliking Gladiator star wind up starring in one?

"What attracted me to this piece was the character himself," says Crowe of Amorth, who died in 2016 at the age of 91. "He documented the job, and so, from an actor's perspective, that's just a treasure chest, man."

Below, Crowe talks more about The Pope's Exorcist, working with Nero, and his role in the Aaron Taylor-Johnson-starring superhero tale Kraven the Hunter.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Did you enjoy making The Pope's Exorcist? It looked like you were having fun.

RUSSELL CROWE: Well, to a degree. I mean, I really enjoyed where we were staying. We spent most of the shoot in Ireland and a little bit in Rome, so both of those locations were fantastic. The cast was really good company and we socialized a bit off the set as well. The crew were extremely competent and had that very pragmatic, Irish sense of humor. The place is burning down, and the demons are flying everywhere, and they're like [adopts Irish accent] "Ah, look at that."

The whole cast was very connected. We got to have a sort of reading together, which is not always the case these days, even though that sounds insane. But we had a reading together before the movie started and got connected. One of the things with a film like that is, you do have to look after everybody because you're going into some weird places and you've just got to check in with people, that everybody's got their feet on the ground. One of the things we would do on a Sunday afternoon, we'd get together and play tennis, which is the exact opposite of the darkness we were dealing with in our work days.

But when you're doing a movie like this, the hours do start to grind on you. And the circumstances that you're in. I'm doing scenes day after day with that small boy made up to be a demon with these bright red piercing eyes and that will have a certain resonance for you at the end of your work day. [Chuckles] And just things like shooting at nighttime under rain towers and stuff like that. I'm 58 (59 now, having celebrated his birthday on April 7), I'm getting close to being past that sort of carry on.

I'm 55 and I'm going to have to disagree with you on that, Russell.

Well, how many nights under rain towers have you ever shot, Clark?

That's a very good point.

I, you see, was Noah (in Darren Aronofsky's 2014 film of the same name), so I have probably post-traumatic stress disorder when it comes to doing rain tower work at nighttime. [Laughs]

Jonathan Hession Daniel Zovatto and Russell Crowe in 'The Pope's Exorcist'

You got to work with Franco Nero. What was that like?

Oh, it was fantastic, man. Because, Franco Nero, I have been watching his movies for a long, long time. We actually met one time, 'round about the time of the release of L.A. Confidential, I believe. We had a very convivial conversation and agreed it would be great to work together. Cut to however many years later, we finally did.

I had a very funny moment on set with Franco. I'm doing this scene, and I'm playing a priest, Franco Nero is the Pope, we're chatting away, and the scene is a combination of Italian and English. He's having particular trouble with one line. So we're doing this scene, it's a big wide shot, me and him, in this sort of chapel, and he goes into the English, and he messes up one of the lines. He's standing there as the Pope in this chapel with this white light on him going, "Motherf---er! I can't get that f---ing line!" [Laughs uproariously]

What's next for you?

I just finished a movie in Melbourne called Sleeping Dogs that's based on the E.O. Chirovici book The Book of Mirrors. Another one I did last year was called Kraven the Hunter (out Oct. 6). That's one of those Marvel movies. Kraven is the nemesis of Spider-Man and I get to play Kraven's dad, who's a Russian oligarch. I'm actually just about to go on tour with my band and do a little bit of music. It's been quite a number of years since a significant tour and I find in the cycle of time I really need to go back to my roots so to speak. I did a lot of theater, a lot of musical theater, when I was growing up, but my first foray into stage was playing in bands. This tour's going to have some pubs, and some clubs, and some theaters. It's only about 18 dates, or whatever, but I'm very much looking forward to that.

Could you imagine playing Father Amorth again if The Pope's Exorcist is successful?

I don't know, man. I've done lots and lots of movies where the idea is that there'd be a sequel or that people believe there should be a sequel. And as soon as somebody actually says, "Oh, you know, we're thinking about a sequel," I know there's never going to be a sequel. [Laughs] It's like the kiss of death.

The Pope's Exorcist hits theaters April 14. Watch the film's trailer above.

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