Shock rocker Marilyn Manson has stretched his acting wings once more to appear on the HBO limited series The New Pope, which has nothing to do with the band Ghost, and instead is the follow-up to 2016's The Young Pope in which Jude Law played a rebellious, sexy version of the Catholic church leader. This latest incarnation features quirky actor John Malkovich in the lead role, and his one-on-one scene with Manson veers from sincere to funny and back again with wonderful subtlety and humor.
In the clip above, the duo are seated inside what appears to be the pope's Vatican home, opulently decorated in true Catholic style, and the scene begins with Malkovich flipping through photos of Manson's on-screen nephew. A short conversation later, Manson realizes this new pope is not Law's rule-breaking Pope Pius XIII, but instead Malkovich's own John Paul III.
Malkovich seems only slightly bothered at the mistake, and the two discuss Manson's habitual drug use and studio work. Both actors sustain the collared hilarity of the scene, never breaking character even as Manson seemingly oversteps his role as a follower to suggest Malkovich go visit the former pope as he lay in a coma elswhere.
The New Pope has three episodes left to air, two of which will make their debut on HBO on January 31st. See local listings for details.
