MOVIE NEWS – Fifty-two years ago, one of the scariest films ever made almost featured a future “final girl” who would go on to redefine the horror genre. Jamie Lee Curtis narrowly avoided a role many believe would have been far too intense for a child actor, yet destiny still turned her into a defining figure of cinematic horror.
Jamie Lee Curtis is now inseparable from the horror genre, but her career could have taken a very different path. Appearing recently on The Drew Barrymore Show, the actress revealed that as a child, she was nearly cast in the 1974 horror landmark The Exorcist. Looking back, Curtis admits she is grateful that the opportunity never materialized.
Curtis became a horror icon in 1978 at just 19 years old when she played Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s Halloween. However, years earlier, she came close to entering the genre through a far darker and more psychologically demanding project.
Directed by William Friedkin and based on William Peter Blatty’s novel, The Exorcist starred Max von Sydow, Ellen Burstyn, and a young Linda Blair as the possessed Regan. While Blair’s performance made her famous, it also exposed her to an experience that few children could process safely. She later appeared in a direct sequel and the ill-fated reboot The Exorcist: Believer.
Curtis explained that one of the film’s producers contacted her mother, Psycho star Janet Leigh, asking whether her daughter could audition for the role of Regan. Curtis was around 12 at the time, lively and confident, but Leigh refused outright.
“He called my mom and said, ‘I’m producing The Exorcist. Will you let Jamie audition?’ I was probably 12, cute, and kind of sassy. My mom just said no,” Curtis recalled.
According to Curtis, Leigh was determined to protect her daughter’s childhood. “My mom wanted me to have a childhood, which I’m very thankful for,” she told Barrymore.
The Exorcist remains widely regarded as one of the most terrifying films ever made, and the demands placed on Blair’s character were extreme. Curtis avoided that ordeal, but when she eventually entered Hollywood, horror seemed unwilling to let her go.
The concept of the horror “final girl” existed long before Curtis, but Laurie Strode elevated the trope to a new level. Surviving Michael Myers made her as iconic as the killer himself, with multiple returns even after the character was once written off.
While not the first final girl, Curtis became the template for countless successors in franchises like Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and even modern titles like Terrifier. Had she played Regan, her career might have unfolded differently, but she ultimately left an even deeper mark on horror history than many ever expected.
Source: MovieWeb
