The Rance family falls victim to a possession and calls on the help of two priests in Fox’s 10-episode modern reboot of “The Exorcist.” Georgia native Hannah Kasulka stars as the introverted Rance daughter with a secret.
On her character, Casey.
“Casey is the wallflower of the [Rance] family…. Which is me, Brianne Howey [who plays Kat], Geena Davis as our mom, and Alan Ruck as our dad. Casey’s the anchor of the family and kind of the sturdy [one]—doesn’t need much attention, doesn’t have much going on. [There’s] a fun surprise, and I think you’ll come to see that Casey is dealing with her own set of problems that she’s been hiding.”
On reading Backstage.
“I definitely read [Backstage’s] articles. When I first moved to L.A., I just Googled ‘how to find an agent.’ I had no idea. There’s no blueprint for [acting]; everybody’s just figuring it out. So it’s nice to have a little guideline or at least words of advice from people who’ve done it before.”
On improv at UCB.
“[Improv] helps you trust your instincts and be fearless. It definitely helps to not be afraid to go off the page. Especially for auditions, I used to be so afraid I would mess up a word or whatever. You learn that [casting directors] don’t care. If you do go off or change the words a little, for the most part, it’s OK. Just stay in the scene—that’s the most important thing.”
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On adjusting to L.A.
“It took me a solid year to like L.A. and not feel miserable and overwhelmed, and I’ve heard that from a lot of people. Just push through, I think, that first year. It takes some time to meet people that you get along with and to find an acting studio that you like. You’re going to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. It’s that same notion—but just for friends and where you want to live and where you want to do class.”
On acting possessed in the audition.
“There was one scene [in the audition] between me and Brianne, the two sisters, and then there was another that was just for audition purposes that was you being possessed. I think everybody had to do that scene…. The scary thing about it [was] it was so open-ended in the sides. There was a little bit of stage direction, but not too much. It was definitely up for interpretation. That’s what I like about [showrunner] Jeremy [Slater’s] writing: He really trusts the actors. I do hate when you get a scene and it’s spelled out for you. You don’t really get a chance to explore it. But for this, I was, like, ‘Come on, Jeremy—what do you want!?’ There’s no real frame of reference for this kind of stuff.”
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