Jamie Lee Curtis Reflects on Her Mother’s Decision to Keep Her from Auditioning for ‘The Exorcist’ at 12
Five years before Jamie Lee Curtis gained recognition in Halloween, she was considered for a pivotal role in another iconic horror film.
Curtis recently shared that her late mother, Janet Leigh, turned down an audition for the then-12-year-old Curtis to play the young possessed Regan MacNeil in the 1973 film The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin and adapted from William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel. The opportunity arose when producer Ray Stark, a family friend, suggested Curtis audition for the role.
“He called my mom and said, ‘Hey, I’m producing the movie of the book The Exorcist. Will you let Jamie audition for it?’” Curtis recalled on The Drew Barrymore Show. “And at the time I was probably 12 and, like, cute and kind of sassy and I had some personality, and I’m sure he saw me at a party and was like, ‘Oh, she’d be funny.’ And my mother said, ‘No.’”
The actress noted that Barrymore, unlike her, did not experience the same protective environment as a child actor. Curtis reflected, “My mom really wanted me to have — thank God — a childhood, which I understand you didn’t get.”
Ultimately, Linda Blair was cast as Regan in The Exorcist, later reprising her role in the 1977 sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic, and even humorously referencing the franchise in the 1990 parody Repossessed.
Linda Blair in ‘The Exorcist’
Everett Collection
The Exorcist franchise has expanded significantly, with six films released over the years and a 2016-2017 series on Fox. Upcoming projects include a reboot led by Scarlett Johansson, written and directed by Mike Flanagan and produced by Blumhouse-Atomic Monster.
