How many Omen actors have also been in Bible movies?
The list includes such names as Gregory Peck, David Warner, Barbara Hershey, Leo McKern, Lance Henriksen, Sonia Braga, Bill Nighy, David Thewlis, Lew Ayres, and Michael Gambon.
Where The Exorcist goes, The Omen follows.
Consider: the two horror franchises both began in the 1970s, and they have both gone for long stretches without new films. And yet, every time there’s a new Exorcist movie, it isn’t long before there’s a new Omen movie:
The Exorcist comes out in 1973; The Omen comes out in 1976.
The Exorcist gets a sequel in 1977; The Omen gets two sequels in 1978 and 1981.
The Exorcist gets another sequel in 1990; The Omen gets another sequel in 1991.
The Exorcist gets two prequels in 2004 and 2005; The Omen gets a remake in 2006.
The Exorcist gets a new sequel in 2023; The Omen gets a prequel in 2024.
Both franchises have also had TV spin-offs—both of which premiered in 2016—but in that case, The Omen came first, by six months, with a series called Damien.
In any case: as with movies, so with lists. When The Exorcist: Believer came out last fall, I made a list of all the actors from the Exorcist franchise who have also appeared in Bible movies; and now that The First Omen is out on home video, I figured I’d make a list of all the Omen actors who have appeared in Bible movies, too.
The Omen franchise has a number of interesting connections to Bible films—not least because it is all about the birth and growth of the Antichrist, and the characters in these films tend to quote the Bible a lot. Jesus himself even appears in the third film, The Final Conflict, which ends with the Second Coming:
Beyond that, the original Omen starred Gregory Peck, who happened to play King David in 1951’s David and Bathsheba—one of the first movies of the Bible genre’s golden age—and there have been Bible-movie veterans and future Bible-movie stars in every Omen-themed sequel, prequel, remake, and spin-off since.
So, let’s get to the new gallery. A few quick points, first:
As before, I limited my search to the credited actors, and I did not investigate any of the actors who were listed at the IMDb as “uncredited”.
The “Bible films” featured here are films and TV shows that adapt biblical narratives. This includes fictitious stories that take place in the ancient world and have some biblical plot points, like the animated version of Ben-Hur, as well as films that put biblical stories in modern settings, like the TV series Kings.
Films that allegorize biblical characters (e.g. Greaser’s Palace), films that put biblical characters in modern settings after the events of the Bible (e.g. The Shack), and films about people who make Bible movies (e.g. Good Morning Babylon, Hail Caesar!) all go in the ‘Honourable Mentions’ list.
A few interesting patterns and coincidences:
Three actors have played Father Spiletto, the priest who gets Robert Thorn (the Gregory Peck character in the original film) to adopt the infant Antichrist, and every single one of them has some Bible-movie experience.
At least two other characters, the photographer Keith Jennings and the archaeologist Carl Bugenhagen, have also been played by multiple actors who have Bible-movie experience.
The only Bible-movie veteran I know of who has appeared in both the Omen franchise and the Exorcist franchise is the late Scott Wilson, whose credits include The Passover Plot (1976), The Exorcist III (1990), and the TV series Damien (2016).
The Omen actor with the most Bible-movie experience, by far, is Robert Rietty, who played a monk in the original Omen and worked on no fewer than eleven Bible films between 1947 and 1977—most of which are fairly obscure. I have seen only the last three films that he worked on, and in one, he only provided his voice, so only two of those films are represented by screen captures here.
The Bible movies with the most Omen actors are Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003), which have three such actors each.
And now, to the gallery itself!
The movies
The Omen (1976)
Gregory Peck (Robert Thorn) played King David in David and Bathsheba (1951).
David Warner (Keith Jennings) played Eliezer in In the Beginning (2000); he also played Senator Falco in Masada (1981), which isn’t biblical but does take place in first-century Judea.
Leo McKern (Carl Bugenhagen) played Herod in The Nativity (1978); he also played Noah in Noah (1960), which I have not been able to see.
Patrick Troughton (Father Brennan) played Paul in Paul of Tarsus (1960), which I have not been able to see aside from a few clips; he also played Jesus in The Hill (1959) and Judas in The True Mistery of the Passion (1960), and he played Lucifer in a non-biblical setting in The Terrible Choice (1960), none of which I have been able to see.
Martin Benson (Father Spiletto) played a Pharisee in Jesus of Nazareth (1977).
Freda Dowie (Nun) played Mary in The Wakefield Shepherd’s Play (1961), which I have not been able to see.
Anthony Nicholls (Dr Becker) played Pontius Pilate in the episode ‘The News on Good Friday’ in About Religion (1960), which I have not been able to see. The episode imagined how modern-day television would have reported the death of Jesus.
Roy Boyd (Reporter) voiced various uncredited roles in Moses the Lawgiver (1974).
Robert Rietty (Monk) played the Pharaoh in Joseph and His Brethren (1961) and Abraham’s Steward in The Bible: In the Beginning… (1966), and he lent his voice to various roles in Jesus of Nazareth (1977); he also played a Bandit in Tobias and the Angel (1947), Herod’s Herald in The Coventry Nativity Play (1947), Jacob in A Man’s House (1949), Herod’s Herald in the remake of The Coventry Nativity Play (1949), Kaspar in A Time to Be Born (1952), Abner in The Prodigal Son (1953), Seth in Away in a Manger (1954), and a Scribe in Jesus of Nazareth (1956), none of which I have been able to see.
Damien: Omen II (1978)
Robert Foxworth (Paul Buher) played Peter in Peter and Paul (1981).
Lance Henriksen (Sergeant Neff) played Cyrus in The Book of Daniel (2013).
Lew Ayres (Bill Atherton) played Noah in Greatest Heroes of the Bible (1978).1
Fritz Ford (Murray) played an Angel in The Old Testament Scriptures (1958).
Elizabeth Shepherd (Joan Hart) played Hegai in The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther (1979), which I have not been able to see.
The Final Conflict aka Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)
Sam Neill (Damien Thorn) played Josephus in The Dovekeepers (2015), which isn’t biblical but does take place in first-century Judea—plus, of course, the writings of the real Josephus have been an invaluable resource for historical-Jesus scholars.
Tony Vogel (Brother Antonio) played Andrew in Jesus of Nazareth (1977), First Temple Guard in The Day Christ Died (1981), Aquila in A.D. Anno Domini (1985), and a Farmer in The Bible Collection: Jesus (1999).
Arnold Diamond (Astronomer) played the Princeps Senatus in A.D. Anno Domini (1985).
Hugh Moxey (George, the Manservant) played a Centurion in He That Should Come (1948), a Nativity-themed TV-movie that I have not been able to see.
Omen IV: The Awakening (1991)
Madison Mason (Dr Hastings) played Jesus in Neither Are We Enemies (1970), which I have not been able to see; he also played Congressman Dodd in Evan Almighty (2007), a comedy about a modern politician who is told to build an ark like Noah.
Duncan Fraser (Father Mattson) voiced Messala and several other characters in Ben-Hur (2003).
Tom Heaton (North Carolina M.D.) had an uncredited role as a Roman soldier in The Nativity (1978), but I have not been able to identify which one he was.
The Omen (2006)
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick (Damien Thorn) played Corey in Kings (2009), a series that sets the story of Saul and David in an alternate version of the present day.
David Thewlis (Keith Jennings) voiced Judas Iscariot in The Miracle Maker (1999).
Michael Gambon (Carl Bugenhagen) played King Hanun in The Bible Collection: Samson and Delilah (1996); he also narrated Hail, Caesar! (2016), which is a movie about the making of a Bible movie.
Giovanni Lombardo Radice (Father Spiletto) played Herod in The Bible Collection: Paul (2000).
Reggie Austin (Tom Portman) played Stephen, Mark, Nero and others in Acts the 3-Man Show (2012).
Richard Rees (Psychiatrist Hugh Greer) played Pharaoh Seti I in In the Beginning (2000).
Federico Pacifici (Rome Cab Driver) played Hur in The Bible Collection: Moses (1995); he also played one of seven anonymous Elders who are listed in the credits for The Passion of the Christ (2004), but I have not been able to identify which one he was.
The First Omen (2024)
Bill Nighy (Cardinal Lawrence) voiced Belshazzar in Testament: The Bible in Animation (1996).
Anton Alexander (Father Spiletto) played the Runner in King David (1985), Hirah in The Bible Collection: Joseph (1995), and Dathan in Exodus: Gods & Kings (2014).
Sonia Braga (Sister Silva) played Zipporah in The Bible Collection: Moses (1995).
Tawfeek Barhom (Father Gabriel) played James in Mary Magdalene (2018); he is also reportedly playing John in The Way of the Wind, which is still in post-production.
Mario Opinato (Doctor) played Tigellinus in Imperium: Nero (2004) and Balbus in Paul, Apostle of Christ (2018); he is also reportedly playing the Centurion at Golgotha in The Way of the Wind, which is still in post-production, and he reportedly had an uncredited role as a Labourer in Risen (2016), though I have not been able to identify him (in the version of the screenplay that I have, a couple of Labourers appear in a scene that was deleted from the actual movie, so maybe he was one of those guys). He also played James in Mary (2005), which is about an actress who plays Mary Magdalene.
The TV shows
The Omen (1995)
Garry Chalk (Security Chief) voiced the General in The Ten Commandments (2007); he has also voiced various characters in The Beginner’s Bible: Joseph and His Brothers (1996), At Jesus’ Side (2008), and Superbook (2012-2018), none of which I have seen.
Damien (2016)
Barbara Hershey (Ann Rutledge) played Mary Magdalene in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and Sarah in The Bible Collection: Abraham (1993).
Scott Wilson (John Lyons) played Judah, aka Judas Iscariot, in The Passover Plot (1976).
Michael Therriault (Patrick) played an Elder Rabbi in Joseph and Mary (2016) and Theodus in The Apostle Peter: Redemption (2016).
Daniel Kash (Captain McGarry) played Simon Peter in The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003) and the High Priest in Joseph and Mary (2016).
Joe Doyle (Charles Powell) played Judas Iscariot in Killing Jesus (2015).
Salvatore Antonio (Jesus #2 / Mr Smigel) played Judas (Not Iscariot) in The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003).
Gregory Meyers (Officer Bobby) played one of the anonymous Disciples in The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003).2
Honourable mentions
The Omen actors who have played allegorical Bible characters
Alan Arbus (Pasarian in Damien: Omen II) played Jesse, a sort of allegorical version of Jesus, in Greaser’s Palace (1972); he also provided the voice of Jesus in The World of Don Camillo (1983), an Italian comedy set in the present day.
The Omen actors who have played people making Bible movies
Charles Dance (Father Harris in The First Omen) played D.W. Griffith in Good Morning Babylon (1987), a movie about the making of Intolerance (1916); he also narrated the docudrama series Testament: The Story of Moses (2024).
As noted above, Mario Opinato (the Doctor in The First Omen) played James in Mary (2005), which is about an actress who plays Mary Magdalene.
The Omen actors who have appeared in Bible-adjacent films
Several actors with The Omen experience have appeared in films and TV shows that feature biblical characters or have some sort of tenuous connection to the Bible but are not adaptations of biblical stories, per se.
I dieci comandamenti aka The Ten Commandments (1945) is an Italian film with ten episodes illustrating the moral lessons of the titular commandments.
Rossano Brazzi (Father De Carlo in The Final Conflict) played a character who is not identified on the film’s IMDb page.
Whistle Down the Wind (1962) is a British film about children who somehow come to believe that a fugitive hiding in a barn is actually Jesus Christ.
Norman Bird (Dr Philmore in The Final Conflict) played Eddie.
The World of Don Camillo (1983) is an Italian comedy set in the present day.
As noted above, Alan Arbus (Pasarian in Damien: Omen II) provided the voice of Jesus.
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force (2002) is an end-times movie set after the Rapture; one of its main characters is the Antichrist, just like in the Omen movies!
Lubomir Mykytiuk (Father Bernardo in the Damien series) played Rabbi Tsion Ben Judah.
David Ferry (Marlo Heaney in the Damien series) played a Commentator.
Evan Almighty (2007) is a comedy about a modern politician who is told by God to build an ark just like Noah did.
As noted above, Madison Mason (Dr Hastings in Omen IV: The Awakening) played Congressman Dodd.
The Ten (2007) is an American comedy with ten episodes, all set in the present day, based on the Ten Commandments.
Liev Schreiber (Robert Thorn in the 2006 movie) played Ray Johnson, a police detective who covets his neighbour’s CT scan machine.
Hail, Caesar! (2016) is partly about the making of a Bible movie in the 1950s.
As noted above, Michael Gambon (Carl Bugenhagen in the 2006 movie) narrated this film.
The Shack (2017) is about a man in the present day who meets the three Persons of the Trinity, including God the Son, i.e. Jesus.
David Longworth (Cowboy in the 1995 TV pilot) played an Older Camper.
Drive (2021) is a TV-movie about a man who receives premonitions.
Juan Carlos Velis (Father Frank Esparza in the Damien series) played Jesus.
And, I think that about covers it. Did I miss any actors? If so, please let me know!
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Past Bible-movie/franchise overlap galleries:
Star Wars | Harry Potter | Downton Abbey | Indiana Jones | The Exorcist | Labyrinth + Willow | Dune
An amusing tie-in: Damien: Omen II marked a reunion of sorts for Lew Ayres and Robert Foxworth, who previously co-starred in The Questor Tapes (1974), a TV-movie about a robot (Foxworth) who goes looking for his creator (Ayres). The two characters in that film eventually meet inside Mount Ararat, the mountain where Noah’s Ark landed… and that was just a few years before Ayres played Noah himself in Greatest Heroes of the Bible.
Like the other gospels, John’s gospel says Jesus had twelve core disciples (John 6:70), but unlike the other gospels, it tells us only some of their names: Simon Peter, Andrew, Philip, Nathanael, Thomas, Judas Iscariot, Judas (Not Iscariot), and “the sons of Zebedee” i.e. James and John. The remaining core disciples are never named in John’s gospel, so The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John doesn’t give them names either, not even in the credits.
It is somewhat difficult to find images of Gregory Meyers, who has only two credits at the IMDb besides the two depicted here; and it’s impossible to get a good look at his face in Damien, his appearance is so brief and badly-lit. So instead of trying to figure out which specific anonymous disciple he played in The Gospel of John, I’m just posting a shot of Jesus and all of his disciples from the first sequence in which we see them all together.