10 Horror Actors Forced Into Roles They Never Wanted

The Exorcist was a star-making role for child actress Linda Blair. Her turn as the possessed Regan terrified audiences everywhere and helped the film become the classic it is today. Naturally, Hollywood wanted more of this, hence the sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic.

Now, both Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn refused to reprise their roles for this follow-up, feeling that a sequel was a terrible idea. The former, however, eventually relented upon receiving a script she deemed worthy of the original. Blair would later sign on to the film but would regret that decision due to the screenplay undergoing numerous rewrites. By the time she realized how much of a mess the script was, the actress could no longer back out due to her contractual obligation.

If being forced to do The Heretic was bad enough, Blair was also put on the side of a skyscraper without the use of a stunt double during one of the film's sequences. So, not only was she forced to be part of a terrible sequel, but she also had to risk her life to film it.

Understandably, Blair would later call the film "the biggest disappointment in [her] career".