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Jamie Lee Curtis is well known for playing Halloween’s Laurie Strode, one of the greatest horror characters ever. But before that, she may have played another iconic horror character where she would have had to spider crawl, vomit, curse, and levitate under devil possession. Yes, Curtis could have starred in The Exorcist, and she talks about being fortunate that her mother closed the door on that audition as a kid.
Before battling Michael Myers, Jamie Lee Curtis’ very first IMDB credit was at about 18 years old on an 1977 episode of Quincy, M.E. The Freaky Friday actress revealed on The Drew Barrymore Show that she could have been a child star after being offered a shot at one of the best horror films of all time, and why she didn’t take it:
Ray Stark, who was the producer of The Exorcist, was a very good friend of my mother’s. And 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.’
You may not know that the famous parents of the My Girl actress are actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. The Psycho actress herself didn’t have an early start in acting, but still had a successful career for over five decades. With many child stars dealing with hardships at such a young age, it was likely a good call that Leigh chose to protect her daughter from entering an intense industry too early in life.
Even though Jamie Lee Curtis didn’t become a major child star when her mom stopped her from auditioning for The Exorcist, the talented actress got real about having no resentment towards that missed opportunity. She went on to explain why, with her reasoning relating to Drew Barrymore’s own childhood upbringing:
My mom really wanted me to have, thank God, a childhood, which I understand you didn’t get. You didn’t get that option. And people didn’t step in and say, ‘No, [Drew] will have a childhood, she will have protection.’
That’s very true, as Drew Barrymore was a child with so much personality at a young age in films like E.T. and Firestarter before she was a teen. The Scream star had a history with drugs during her early career with little protection from her family, but the Trading Places actress made sure to compliment Barrymore for the positive effect she’s continued to have with her guests and where she is now in her life.
So, The Exorcist may not have gotten Jamie Lee Curtis on the map, but she ultimately took after her mother among the greatest horror scream queens by playing Laurie Strode in the Halloween movies. She was 19 years old playing the Final Girl role, and her adult acting career has continued to flourish, filled with transformative performances and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar under her belt now.
I would say Janet Leigh made a great call not having her daughter audition for The Exorcist. Not only because Linda Blair was outstanding as Regan, but also for shielding her from the struggles child stars go through. Curtis’ career may have happened later, but it’s far from over today.
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