Jamie Lee Curtis is thankful her mother said “no” to a role in 1973’s horror classic The Exorcist as a kid.
In a recent chat with Drew Barrymore on her talk show, The Drew Barrymore Show, the now 67-year-old actress recalled how she landed a role in the horror movie through her mom, Leigh’s friend, who was a producer of the film.
“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,” Curtis told Barrymore.
“And my mother said, ‘No,'” she revealed.
Curtis added that she is grateful for her mom for saving her childhood, “My mom really wanted me to have — thank God — a childhood, which I understand you didn’t get. You didn’t get that option,” she noted.
“And people didn’t step in and say, ‘No, [Drew] will have a childhood, she will have protection,’ ” Curtis said as she took a moment to compliment Barrymore on how she shows care to her guest on the show.
It is pertinent to mention that Curtis is the daughter of famous parents, as her mother Leigh was an actress and her father, Tony Curtis, was also an actor.