Linda Blair plays a demonically possessed schoolgirl named Regan McNeil in William Friedkin’s 1973 picture “The Exorcist,” who smacks a priest and uses foul language, vomiting on command and throwing a man out of a window.
It is incredible that a 14-year-old actress like Linda Blair was involved in such a role because the content was obviously inappropriate for younger audiences.
A whole generation was profoundly impacted by Linda Blair’s iconic portrayal of a foul-mouthed, diseased, and scary figure fifty years ago. In “The Exorcist: Believer,” the first picture in a $400 million trilogy that follows the story from William Friedkin’s legendary movie, two teenage actors are now attempting to have a similar impact.
As seen by their recent remake of John Carpenter’s cherished Halloween series into a trilogy of films, director David Gordon Green and production firm Blumhouse have a history of effectively reviving franchises.
How a Teenager Linda Blair did the Possessed role
Linda Blair has given up her career in show business at the age of 64 and is devoted to animal protection. She complained on Twitter in 2021 that she had not gotten any invitations to take part in the revival. “As of now, there has not been any discussion about me participating or reprising my role,” the actress tweeted.
But since then, a few things have changed. Blair eventually became involved with the project as a consultant, charged with assisting its young actresses, Lidya Jewett (16) and Olivia O’Neill (15), as they negotiate the challenging psychological implications of playing evil.
Around 2,000 females had gone through auditions when William Friedkin took on the task of adapting William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel from 1971 for the big screen. At this point, Linda Blair and her mother arrived at the location without an appointment or any referrals.
Friedkin later referred to her as a magical discovery and said that she was a gift from the movie gods. She not only had the ideal appearance—rosy cheeks and a button nose—but she also showed a surprising capacity for handling the complex and difficult subject matter of the screenplay.
When Linda Blair entered Friedkin’s audition space that day, she had little past acting experience. She was familiar with the entertainment business, though. Blair had previously made an appearance in advertisements at the age of five for goods like Ivory Soap, Welch’s Grape Jelly, and Carefree Gum.
She was cast in the daytime soap opera “Hidden Faces” in 1968, but her main love was horses, and she had aspirations of becoming a veterinarian. Then came “The Exorcist,” a movie that would profoundly affect her life in both positive and negative ways.
The making of The Exorcist movie is a horror in itself
Nearly as well-known as the movie “The Exorcist” itself is its production, which was full of many strange occurrences.
Tragically, numerous cast members and their relatives lost away while the movie was being made, including Linda Blair’s grandfather. When an electrical fire that was started by a pigeon flying into a lightbox ruined the set, the shoot had to be put on hold.
These events may be viewed as a string of unlucky events or possibly something more nefarious, depending on who you ask. A priest was once brought in to do an exorcism on the site. Linda Blair, the movie’s star, undoubtedly encountered upsetting and serious difficulties throughout filming.
Bringing William Peter Blatty’s horrifying vision to life required a lot of hard labor in an era when CGI was frequently used. Eileen Dietz, Linda Blair’s stunt double, was supposed to handle the most difficult portions, but she only made an appearance for less than 20 seconds. Blair was required to take up the responsibility for these difficult passages by director William Friedkin.
Blair recalled Friedkin warning her before shooting that the movie would not be taken seriously if she did not perform every scene. A cold zero degrees Fahrenheit was maintained in the bedroom where she spent the majority of her time on set so that anyone entering would conjure up a spooky mist.
