How old was Linda Blair when she filmed The Exorcist?

How The Exorcist Transformed Linda Blair Forever - IMDb. When "The Exorcist" was released in 1973, Linda Blair was just 14 years old. Though the film generated a considerable amount of controversy, the young actress blew audiences away with her haunting performance as possessed preteen Regan MacNeil.
Takedown request View complete answer on imdb.com

How old was Linda Blair when she was in The Exorcist movie?

Summary. Linda Blair was 14 years old when she played the possessed child in The Exorcist, receiving critical praise and backlash. Blair reprised her role as Regan MacNeil in Exorcist II: The Heretic at 18 years old, despite the film being a commercial flop.
Takedown request View complete answer on screenrant.com

How did they make Linda Blair levitate in The Exorcist?

For the levitation scene, we created an illusion the way a magician does-we tricked the eyes. Linda was in a bodysuit underneath her nightgown, and there were lots of monofilaments attached to the gown holding her up. She only weighed around 80 pounds at the time.
Takedown request View complete answer on dga.org

Why didn't Linda Blair return to The Exorcist?

Linda Blair. The Exorcist: Believer is the first film in a planned trilogy. The actress reveals she would be happy to reprise the role of Regan, but that she is currently too busy with her non-profit, the Linda Blair WorldHeart Foundation, which is dedicated to rescuing and rehoming abused or abandoned animals.
Takedown request View complete answer on ew.com

How old was Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist?

Character. Regan MacNeil is a 12-year-old girl and the daughter of actress Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn). Regan is caught between her mother's grueling working schedule and the fact that her parents are in the process of an acrimonious divorce (her father is in Europe and is not seen in the film).
Takedown request View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org

The Exorcist: Behind-the-Scenes Stories From Linda Blair (Flashback)

How old was the girl in The Exorcist in 1973?

When "The Exorcist" was released in 1973, Linda Blair was just 14 years old. Though the film generated a considerable amount of controversy, the young actress blew audiences away with her haunting performance as possessed preteen Regan MacNeil.
Takedown request View complete answer on imdb.com

Who played the 12 year old girl in The Exorcist?

Linda Blair. In 1973's The Exorcist, Blair starred as Regan, a 12-year-old girl, who is possessed by an ancient demon after playing with a Ouija board, opposite Ellen Burstyn, who portrayed her mother, Chris MacNeil.
Takedown request View complete answer on people.com

Did Linda Blair suffer after The Exorcist?

Watching the film back now, and the violence of her thrashing and jerking, it is little wonder that Blair suffered a spinal injury. A fracture in her back developed into scoliosis, leaving her in chronic pain for years.
Takedown request View complete answer on independent.co.uk

Why was the stair scene removed from The Exorcist?

The Exorcist spider walk scene, initially deleted from the film's release, was restored later, delighting fans who consider it a favorite sequence. Director William Friedkin felt the scene was a big special effect too early in the story, but later reinserted the scene using CGI to erase wires.
Takedown request View complete answer on imdb.com

Who turned down The Exorcist?

Friedkin was the top choice of the author of the book, William Peter Blatty, who thought the director's experience in documentaries and the “documentary realism” of THE FRENCH CONNECTION would apply well. The studio didn't agree, but their choices (Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Penn and Mike Nichols) all turned it down.
Takedown request View complete answer on outlawvern.com

Why was the room cold in The Exorcist?

To make Regan's room cold enough so her breath would be visible, four air conditioners were used to bring the temperature on set down as low as 40 degrees below zero, according to the documentary "The Fear of God."
Takedown request View complete answer on theweek.com

Is The Exorcist based on a true story?

While its sensationalized depiction of demonic possession has all but defined this type of narrative in the popular imagination, the material itself is loosely based on a real-life case from 1949, where Father William Bowdern performed a series of exorcisms on a 14-year-old boy.
Takedown request View complete answer on college.ucla.edu

Was Linda Blair nominated for an Oscar for The Exorcist?

Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn on the set of The Exorcist. Burstyn, 90, nabbed an Oscar nomination alongside director William Friedkin, Jason Miller for Best Supporting Actor, and Blair for Best Supporting Actress. It won for Best Screenplay and Best Sound.
Takedown request View complete answer on people.com

Where was The Exorcist filmed?

The Exorcist was filmed in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., the city of Mosul, Iraq, as well as in the site of ancient Hatra, south of Mosul. Many interior scenes were filmed in New York City.
Takedown request View complete answer on latlong.net

What happened on the set of The Exorcist?

Crew members thought that technical difficulties and the actors' injuries were caused by a haunting. Even before The Exorcist began filming, strange problems would arise on the set. A catastrophic and costly fire ignited. One of the actors died shortly after filming.
Takedown request View complete answer on syfy.com

How old was Linda Blair in Exorcist 2?

Linda Blair was 17-years old when she signed on to star in Exorcist II: The Heretic. The young actress was nominated for an Academy Award for her work on the first film and won a Golden Globe, so returning to the fold to work with John Boorman and Richard Burton at that time was an easy decision.
Takedown request View complete answer on movieweb.com

Which Exorcist movie was banned?

Although there was positive reception, clearly, a lot of fiasco too was involved at the release of The Exorcist. And as a result of this, the film's home sales were illegal in the U.K. for quite a few years. Even further, the trailer of the movie was pulled from screening in the American theaters.
Takedown request View complete answer on movieweb.com

Is The Exorcist banned in the United States?

In 1998, the 25th anniversary of the films release, the BBFC finally lifted the ban on home sales of the movie and the board even permitted uncut video/DVD release of the film, though it came with an 18 rating. The trailer remained banned in the United States.
Takedown request View complete answer on scotsman.com

What is the scariest scene in The Exorcist?

The Exorcist is a horror masterpiece that traumatizes audiences with explicit and realistic scenes, causing people to faint and vomit. The scariest scene in The Exorcist is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment during Father Karras's first meeting with the possessed Regan, which is filled with intent and scope.
Takedown request View complete answer on collider.com

Was Regan abused in The Exorcist?

Regan is the most obvious victim of torture and abuse in her own home. But Chris, too, is imprisoned in her own home, being tortured. Furniture is thrown at her, she's hit, she's pushed, she's thrown. She's forced to commit sexual acts with her own child.
Takedown request View complete answer on publicbooks.org

Who did Linda Blair marry?

Linda Blair Macwithey, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Linen Macwithey of White Stone and Glenburnie, N. Y.. was married to Timothy Gamier Baldwin, son of Mr.
Takedown request View complete answer on nytimes.com

Will Linda Blair be in New Exorcist?

The OG possessed girl was close at hand to coach the film's young leads through their demonic duties. Back in July, we learned that while Linda Blair does not star in The Exorcist: Believer, she did serve as a technical advisor on the upcoming horror reboot (hitting theaters everywhere October 6).
Takedown request View complete answer on nbc.com

Who was the real child in The Exorcist?

In December 2021, The Skeptical Inquirer reported the purported true identity of Roland Doe/Robbie Mannheim as Ronald Edwin Hunkeler (June 1, 1935 – May 10, 2020).
Takedown request View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org

Did Linda Blair make an appearance in Exorcist Believer?

Linda Blair made a surprise cameo in The Exorcist: Believer, returning to the franchise that launched her career. Blair became a consultant on the film to ensure the young stars were taken care of and didn't experience what she went through during the original film.
Takedown request View complete answer on movieweb.com

Who is the serial killer in Exorcist?

Paul Bateson (born August 24, 1940) is an American convicted murderer and former radiographer. He appeared as a radiologic technologist in a scene from the 1973 horror film The Exorcist, which was inspired when the film's director, William Friedkin, watched him perform a cerebral angiography the previous year.
Takedown request View complete answer on en.wikipedia.org