Jamie Lee Curtis' Mom Wouldn't Let Her Audition For The Best Horror Movie Ever

Jamie Lee Curtis was bitten by the acting bug at an early age. This was likely because both her mother, Janet Leigh, and her father, Tony Curtis, were notable Hollywood movie stars in the 1950s and 1960s. Curtis attended school as usual throughout her childhood, but was clearly keen to get involved with acting. Though she did briefly go to college, she dropped out after just one semester to pursue acting full-time. Her first TV appearances came in 1977 when she turned up in episodes of shows like "Quincy, M.E.," "Columbo," and "The Love Boat." She was about 18 at the time. Curtis' film debut, as all horror fans can tell you, came in 1978 when she played teenage babysitter Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's classic "Halloween." 

Curtis and Leigh wouldn't work together until 1998 when both of them had scenes together in the sixth "Halloween" sequel "Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later." 

Of course, Curtis knew all about the ins and outs of film auditions from her mom, and likely caught wind of various high-profile 1970s movies long before the general public did. One can easily picture the Leigh household covered with trade magazines like Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, and the young Jamie rifling through the audition announcements. Indeed, Curtis told a story recently on "The Drew Barrymore Show" about how a Hollywood producer called up Janet Leigh, sometime in the very early 1970s, about the production of William Friedkin's forthcoming film "The Exorcist." The producer wanted Curtis, then only about 12 or 13, to play Regan MacNeil, the young girl who becomes possessed by a demonic entity. Leigh turned down the role on Curtis' behalf, however — and Curtis was ultimately grateful for it.

Leigh, it should be noted, didn't necessarily refuse "The Exorcist" because of its horror elements. After all, she had appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" a decade earlier, and is still admired for her performance to this day. No one could have predicted at the time that "The Exorcist" would eventually become a giant hit, and also one of the most respected films of all time. The real reason, at least as Curtis recalled, was that Leigh wanted to keep young Jamie out of the Hollywood game, allowing her to have an actual childhood, free of professional concerns or the overwhelming beat-down of the public eye. 

Curtis also didn't know exactly why some producer would be calling their house asking her to act in a movie. Curtis hadn't done any professional acting, and only vaguely remembered the producer — a man named Ray Stark — being at their house once. As Curtis recalled: 

"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.'"

But Leigh said no; her daughter would not become a child actor, as that wasn't the most savory lifestyle. Curtis' interviewer, Drew Barrymore, could back up this idea, as she herself was a child actor and struggled with substance abuse at an early age.

Curtis, along with the general public, got to watch Barrymore grow up in the spotlight, and she commented on the differences in their experiences: 

"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.'"

Barrymore, luckily, survived with aplomb and continued to thrive in the world of acting. Actress Linda Blair, who was ultimately cast as Regan MacNeil in "The Exorcist," also had a long career after playing the part. For better or worse, Curtis waited until she was almost 20 to begin starring in movies. However, she has no resentment. Indeed, she seems to be very fond of horror movies in general, and of the "Halloween" movies in particular. In the 1970s and 1980s, she also appeared in slashers like "Prom Night" and "Terror Train," and she has appeared in eight of the 13 "Halloween" movies (if you count a voice cameo in "Halloween III: Season of the Witch"). 

Curtis also noted once, back in 2021, that she would be perfectly happy to appear in a late-stage "Exorcist" sequel. She did admit that, when the movie finally came out in 1973, she was deeply freaked out by it, to the point of being teased by her friends. But after eventually becoming a horror icon herself, Curtis now has every right to star in another horror classic. 

Sadly, it looks like the next planned "Exorcist" movie, one that director David Gordon Green was to call "Exorcist: Deceiver," has been put on hiatus. Curtis, though, an Oscar-winning actress, may still be standing by in case another "Exorcist" comes to pass.