There was a golden retriever who saved countless lives on September 11 by going back in to find people. His companion was in a wheelchair. He got him out and kept going back in to save others.

People always joke that 'dog' spells 'god' backwards. They should consider that it might be the higher power coming down to see just how well they do, what kind of people they are. The animals are right here, right in front of us. And how we treat these companions is a test.

It's a masterpiece [The Exorcist]. This is an honor. I know you may not think so, but it really is. How many movies in our lifetime? This is an honor.

Warner Brothers had to hire [a stunt double] and no one thought a child could do this. Billy Friedkin came to me before we were filming [The Exorcist] and said "if you do not do all of this film, the film will be a joke." It's why they stripped the makeup down to the bare minimum, a piece on my chin, piece across my mouth that disfigured my mouth. You have scars here. Take away my eyebrows. It was my real hair. Shampoo was put in it that dried.

People need to understand; I may have been very innocent. Didn't understand the devil. Didn't understand any of that. You can only push a child so far. You have laws; number one. And number two; I had been doing this so long, I could say now that I don't want to do something. But after a certain while, they knew when they had pushed their luck with me, and that it was time to, you know, maybe back off.

I think that if I'd not made the movie, I might be a veterinarian in Connecticut. I would probably be married with some children. That's probably the way it would be. But because of the film [the Exorcist], I don't have a normal life by somebody else's standards.

Modeling was pretty difficult back then. I did not find the business something that I had an interest in. I wanted to be a veterinarian.