Jamie Lee Curtis recently opened up about a childhood moment that, in hindsight, she believes spared her from entering the film industry too early. Speaking on The Drew Barrymore Show, the actor shared how her mother, screen legend Janet Leigh, once turned down an opportunity for her to audition for the iconic horror film The Exorcist when Curtis was just 12 years old.

Curtis revealed that a producer working on the adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s novel had approached her mother after noticing her at a social gathering. “He 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, she said she was “probably 12” and described herself as “cute”, “kind of sassy”, and full of personality. “I’m sure he saw me at a party and was like, ‘Oh, she’d be funny,’” she added.

Despite the interest, Leigh immediately declined. “And my mother said, ‘No,’” Curtis said, noting that the decision stayed with her over the years. Reflecting on it now, she understands her mother’s intent. “My mom really wanted me to have, thank God, a childhood,” Curtis explained, addressing host Drew Barrymore, who herself began acting at the age of seven. “Which I understand you didn’t get. You didn’t get that option.”

The role Curtis nearly auditioned for eventually went to Linda Blair, whose performance in The Exorcist earned her an Academy Award nomination in 1974 and became one of the most talked-about child performances in film history.

Ironically, Curtis would later become one of the most recognisable faces in the horror genre, though on her own terms. She broke out with John Carpenter’s Halloween in 1978 at the age of 19, a role that cemented her status as a scream queen. She went on to star in films such as The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train, and most recently reprised her iconic role as Laurie Strode in Halloween Ends in 2022.