'The Exorcist’ Took Its Toll On Linda Blair For Decades After The Film's Release

Sep 19, 2023

Linda Blair is a legend in the horror film genre. She came into prominence as a teenager when she starred in William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” in 1973. She was just 14 at the time but became a worldwide star thanks to her portrayal of Regan MacNeil. Blair’s skills didn’t go unnoticed, and she won a Golden Globe as well as an Academy Award nomination for it. 

The role was Blair’s first significant acting performance. She started her career as a child model and appeared in ads for brands that included Ivory Soap and Welch’s Grape Jelly. However, by the time she was 5, Blair grew disillusioned with life before cameras and was ready to step back from acting. 

However, when she got the script for “The Exorcist,” she was drawn to it. When Friedkin saw her, he knew she would be the star of his movie. Blair was selected from over 600 girls auditioning for the role. 

“The Exorcist” was a first of its kind, and its influence has not waned. The film was inspired by actual events in 1949 and based on a film adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s best-selling novel of the same name. It was released to worldwide acclaim and was the first film in the horror genre to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. 

The cult classic starred Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller, and Blair, premised on Regan’s demonic possession. After noticing her daughter’s strange, violent, and erratic behavior, her mother, played by Burstyn, tried to get medical help for Regan but found no solution. She then begged Father Damien Karras to exorcise her daughter after he confirmed that Regan was demon-possessed. 

In 2023, Blair opened up about the impact the movie had on her life.

The movie was controversial and sparked a cultural conversation. It also meant that Blair came under much pressure despite her young age, as many looked to her for explanations about the supernatural and the Catholic Church. However, Blair was ignorant of those realities as she was not raised a Catholic. 

In an interview with Dread Central, the actress explained that she only thought of age-appropriate things when she read the script. 

“I didn’t really think about the religious aspects of the story because it was beyond me at that time,” she said. 

“I was not raised Catholic so I didn’t have any answers, and I certainly didn’t understand a lot of what was happening in the story either,” the actress continued. “We didn’t talk about any of these things – God, the devil, evil – before we started shooting, and I really didn’t ask any questions either; to me it was just a character that was made up from special effects.”

She also disclosed that she often flew to give interviews before hundreds of journalists despite her age. In the instances where she traveled out of the country, and those journalists were foreigners who didn’t speak English, the pressure was worse. 

However, that wasn’t all that Blair and the crew faced. She told Studio 10 that she received several death threats for glorifying Satan. Sometimes, people also harassed her on the streets. 

“I had many people approach me that raised fear in everyone around me,” she revealed. “I was very well protected. The police were hired to live at my house.” 

Blair also had to work in unbelievable conditions. The set was often down to low degrees, and while other people wore protective gear, Blair would wear only a nightgown so that the cameras would catch the clouds that formed when she spoke. Besides that, the harness that was used to strap her often beat her spine when she thrashed around, but she put up with it. 

Other strange happenings affected the movie that made people believe it was cursed. Nine people, all connected to the movie directly or through their relatives, died during and after filming, including Blair’s grandfather. 

Cast member Jack MacGowran, who played Burke Dennings in the film, died after contracting influenza. Vasiliki Maliaros, the actress who played Father Karras’ mother, also died before the movie was released. It was strange because their characters also died in “The Exorcist.”  

The cast and crew of “The Exorcist” also faced other difficulties while shooting. The movie was often delayed because of some mishaps. For instance, the production set burned down after a pigeon flew into a lightbox and knocked it down, causing it to catch fire. The Pazuzu statue, which was also handcrafted, was supposed to be delivered to Iraq but mistakenly got sent to Denmark. 

However, the movie’s most significant impact was on Blair’s career. She became typecast as a victim in subsequent victims until she grew tired and took some nude shots for a magazine. This move backfired, and she was relegated to B movies afterward. 

“The Exorcist” also overshadowed her activism work. The actress has a foundation, the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, that rescues and rehabilitates abused and neglected canines. However, she has gotten used to people overlooking her work to focus on her most famous movie. 

What do you think of Linda Blair’s experiences? Did you watch “The Exorcist?” What did you think of it? Let us know — and pass this along to fans of Linda Blair and “The Exorcist.”