MovieChat Forums > The Exorcist III (1990) Discussion > Actor who plays the coroner

Actor who plays the coroner

posted 9 years ago by Edward_de_Vere
5 replies | jump to latest

What is the name of the actor who played the coroner (the one showing Kinderman how to operate the bone amputation shears)? I know that I've seen that actor before in various bit roles, I just can't place him.

There are several doctors listed in the credits, other than Dr. Temple (Scott Wilson), I'm not sure which is which (the profile photos don't seem to match either).

[–] bastasch8647 9 years ago

Sorry, I don't have the answer, but I, too would like to identify him. Also I've been trying to read his name tag for years, but with no success...

[–] Edward_de_Vere 9 years ago

Looking over the credits, the most likely candidate is Clifford David, who is listed as "Dr. Bruno." The other credited Drs are Freedman (the hospital director) and of course Dr. Temple.

The profile photo doesn't look much like the coroner as I remember him, but if you take a couple of decades of age into account it's probably him.

[–] bastasch8647 9 years ago

Interesting...thanks for the info. The following link confirms your conclusion -

https://lockerdome.com/6945406077646401/6945406245418566

[–] DreTam2000 9 years ago

I watched this movie years before reading the book. When I finally read the book, I envisioned this actor as Dr. Amfortas the entire time. So after reading the book, I thought back to this doctor character in the film, and I figured this was Blatty channeling that character through this particular actor in the film, despite the fact that Amfortas never directly has a role in the film like he does in the book.

They even made that doctor character's personality awkwardly stiff at times, and curiously so, almost as if to toss a false suspicion at us, as murder mysteries often do.

I guess I was wrong.

I'm not a control freak, I just like things my way

[–] Edward_de_Vere 9 years ago

I watched this movie years before reading the book. When I finally read the book, I envisioned this actor as Dr. Amfortas the entire time. So after reading the book, I thought back to this doctor character in the film, and I figured this was Blatty channeling that character through this particular actor in the film, despite the fact that Amfortas never directly has a role in the film like he does in the book.

I think that the film's Dr. Temple is actually a composite of the novel's Temple and Amfortas. The movie's Temple is neurotic, superstitious, and ultimately suicidal - like Amfortas. We don't get much of the cocky, smug narcissism of the novel's Temple, except for the self-portrait.

When reading the novel, I always pictured Nicol Williamson as Amfortas. It would have been a better use for his talents than a tacked-on, thankless cameo as Father Morning, and Williamson had the right strange, troubled look about him for the part.