AssetID: 55355268
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: Jamie Lee Curtis grateful her mother refused to let her audition for The Exorcist
Caption: Jamie Lee Curtis is thankful that her mother Janet Leigh wouldn't let her audition for the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist. During a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the Freaky Friday actress recalled that a producer on William Friedkin's classic horror called up the Psycho star and asked if her 12-year-old would try out for the role of the possessed girl Regan. However, Leigh declined the opportunity for her young daughter, who would later make her movie debut at the age of 19 in another horror classic - 1978's Halloween. ”He called my mom and said, 'Hey, I'm producing the movie of the book The Exorcist. Will you let Jamie audition for it?' 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.'" In hindsight, Curtis is grateful that her mother protected her childhood and stopped her from becoming a star too young. ”My mom really wanted me to have, thank God, a childhood, which I understand you didn't get," she said to Barrymore, who made her acting debut in 1982's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial when she was seven years old. ”You didn't get that option. People didn't step in and say, 'No, she will have a childhood. She will have protection.’" The role of Regan MacNeil ultimately went to Linda Blair, who starred alongside Ellen Burstyn and Max von Sydow. She reprised the role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic and made a brief appearance in 2023's The Exorcist: Believer. Meanwhile, Curtis has played her debut movie character, Laurie Strode, several times since 1978. She most recently appeared in the reboot trilogy of Halloween, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends, released between 2018 and 2022. Instructions: THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT
Keywords: Jamie Lee Curtis,Janet Leigh,Drew Barrymore,Audition,The Exorcist,Role,Child,Daughter,Actress,Linda Blair,Horror,Classic,Producer,William Friedkin,The Drew Barrymore Show,Halloween,Debut
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