Regan MacNeil

Regan MacNeil

Gender:	Female
Birth:	1961
Portrayed By:	Linda Blair
First Appearance:	The Exorcist

Regan Teresa MacNeil (born 1961) is a fictional character from William Peter Blatty's horror novel and film The Exorcist and its first sequel, Exorcist II: The Heretic. The character was portrayed by actress Linda Blair.

Casting[]

Regan Teresa MacNeil was portrayed by Linda Blair in the 1973 film The Exorcist and its 1977 sequel Exorcist II: The Heretic. Actress/comedian April Winchell claims she was seriously considered for the part of Regan MacNeil until she developed pyelonephritis, which caused her to be hospitalized and ultimately taken out of consideration. Anissa Jones also auditioned for the part, but producers felt her own familiar face, having played Buffy Davis in the recently-cancelled sitcom Family Affair, would confuse and scare fans of both the show and Jones.

Regan MacNeil is a 12-year-old girl and the daughter of actress Chris MacNeil. Regan is caught between her mother's grueling working schedule and the fact that her parents are in the process of splitting up (her father is in Europe and is not seen in the movie).

She is described as shy, even diffident, and it is not within her nature to behave aggressively. She is devoted to her mother, making clay animals as gifts for her and leaving a rose at her place at the kitchen table each morning. Chris is determined to be a good mother, spending all her off days with her. Because she is an atheist, she does not teach Regan about religion, but when Regan has questions about God, Chris tries to answer reassuringly.

Even though Chris knows Regan very well, it takes her some time to realize that Regan's bizarre changes are not neurological. As soon as she accepts the idea of possession, she consults Fr. Karras and begs him to evaluate Regan for an exorcism.