Having appeared in commercials and soaps from age 5, Linda Blair became famous in 1973’s “The Exorcist,” made when she was 14. Now 45, she looks back on the experience with mixed emotions.
“Everyone thought I understood the concept and what it was about, but, in fact, it was a horribly difficult journey,” she says. “It was exciting, but a big struggle for a child actor, and nothing could prepare me for the image.”
She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance, but the 1977 sequel “Exorcist II: The Heretic” proved less rewarding.
“It was the most difficult film I ever did, and it wasn’t what we’d signed to do,” she says. “But I did get to work with Richard Burton.”
In the years since, Blair has made teen dramas and comedies. She spoofed her horror background in 1990’s “Repossessed,” and in 1997 her image was in Times Square, complete with spinning head, when she appeared in “Grease” on Broadway.
The actress is now throwing her energy into indie and TV films, her nonprofit animal-rights venture, the Worldheart Foundation, and a documentary she’s directing.
While she’s philosophical about her demonic debut, she isn’t pleased that ads for “Exorcist: The Beginning” use images of her as the young Regan.
“It’s misleading,” she says. “I’m not in the film. … And “The Exorcist’ still affects people’s perceptions of me.”
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