Jamie Lee Curtis almost had a shot at the lead role in The Exorcist.
During a December 18 appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the 67-year-old actress revealed that her mother, Janet Leigh, was friends with a producer of the iconic 1973 horror movie.
“[Ray Stark] 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. “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.’”
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The Psycho star, who died in 2004 at age 77, said no, though.
“My mom really wanted me to have — thank God — a childhood,” Curtis explained, and the role ultimately went to Linda Blair, who received a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of possessed tween Regan MacNeil.
As for Curtis, she became a Scream Queen, herself, with the Halloween franchise, playing O.G. Final Girl Laurie Strode.
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“I was told about an audition for a low-budget horror film,” she wrote in a 2002 essay for People. “I was to do the scene where Laurie is on the phone with her friend and then looks out and sees Michael staring at her from her backyard, and she recoils. She looks back — he’s gone.”
Curtis, of course, got the part.
“No one knew that Halloween would become the most successful independent film at that time,” noted the actress, who was only paid $8,000 for the 1978 film. “I still can’t tell you why people like to be scared. I certainly don’t.”
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