Why Bishop Lumumba From The Pope's Exorcist Looks So Familiar

Russell Crowe's Father Gabriele Amorth (Russell Crowe) is among both allies and enemies in "The Pope's Exorcist." Unfortunately, the enemies aren't just the demons who possess the poor souls he tries to help, and the allies are relatively scant. Not everyone in the Catholic church hierarchy is pleased that Amorth is able to practice exorcism as freely as he does, and some — namely the spiteful Cardinal Sullivan (Ryan O'Grady) — are even skeptical that demonic possession is, in fact, real. 

One of his allies, however, is Bishop Lumumba, played by Cornell John. Lumumba is not only friendly to Amorth, not only believes in demonic possession, but actively tries to aid him. He's duly rewarded by the film's end with a promotion to Cardinal, after Father Gabriel bests the demon Asmodeus (voiced by Ralph Ineson), of course. 

While the Father Gabriele of "The Pope's Exorcist" is based on a real priest and prolific exorcist of the same name, there's no easily locatable indication of who — if anyone — was the inspiration for Bishop Lumumba. That being said, Cornell John, who plays the good bishop is certainly a recognizable face. Let's take a look at where you may recognize his face from. 

A British actor, Cornell John cut his teeth in British television in the late 1990s and early aughts, including a guest role on the ITV drama "The Knock," and in three episodes of the long-running BBC soap opera "EastEnders." American audiences didn't have many chances to see his work until 2008's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

A sequel to 2005's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," and the second entry into the "Chronicles of Narnia" franchise, "Prince Caspian" was also adapted from the series of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. Like its predecessor, it takes place in Narnia and is filled with a bevy of humans, talking animals, and mythical creatures on either side of the divide between good and evil. One of those good is Glenstorm — played by Cornell John — a centaur who, along with many others, supports the rise of the titular, erstwhile exiled Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) to the throne of Narnia and opposes his corrupt, cruel uncle, King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto). 

Though Glenstorm isn't exactly the leader of the Narnian uprising, he is nonetheless an important figure in leading them in battle. Roger Ebert noted the nobility and charisma with which John portrayed the imposing centaur, even asking why it wasn't Glenstorm — rather than Prince Caspian — leading events. John also voiced Glenstorm in the video game adaptation of the film. 

Many of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Avengers movies — including those centered around Captain America (Chris Evans) — involve a certain amount of diplomatic wrangling. Probably none more so than "Captain America: Civil War," which makes sense given that the whole plot revolves around the United Nations' attempt to bring superheroes under their control, and the divisions this sows between the Avengers themselves. 

What's more, there is also a central role that the nation of Wakanda plays in the film's events. This is one of the first times in the MCU that we meet anyone from Wakanda, including Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther. After his father, King T'Chaka (John Kani), is killed by a bomb blast, T'Challa and the rest of the Wakandan delegation work with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), and others to apprehend Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), as well as the other Avengers who have sided against international oversight. 

Like most diplomatic teams, this Wakandan delegation includes key attachés. The most prominent one — only named in the credits as "attaché" — is seen mostly relaying information to T'Challa or Ayo. And he's played by Cornell John.  

The "Fantastic Beasts" series gives us a glimpse back into the wizarding world well before Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) or any of the crew who take on Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) were a glint in anyone's eye. Some things are different, many things remain the same. One of them is that the British Ministry of Magic, and other wizarding governments, seem to be just as much an imposing bureaucracy as it is in the more modern times of Harry's gang.

In one of the earliest scenes in "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald," Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), needs to have his international travel ban lifted and thus goes before an international tribunal hosted at the Ministry. The tribunal includes an American emissary to the International Confederation of Wizards, Arnold Guzman, played by Cornell John. Guzman is a calm and professional kind of diplomat, fearing (understandably) the global wizarding war that Gellert Grindelwald's (Johnny Depp) has almost certainly unleashed, and is careful to not make any moves that might unduly unsettle the balance of powers. 

Though the tribunal ends up lifting Newt's travel ban, they do so with some pretty big strings attached: find and arrest the severely disturbed Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), who came within a hair's breadth of leveling New York in the previous film.