While you're in the moment of anything that's confusing in your life, you're in the moment, and you have to figure it out. You can go up or down. And I just kept working on the higher road, and trying. I got very involved with medication.

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.

Of all the projects I've worked on, I've never worked with another director like Billy Friedkin. I think he's a genius.

As all my friends said, 'Linda, enjoy this time.' It wasn't enjoyable the first time because they're were too many questions. But I think I've lived a solid life. You can look at who I've been, good, bad or indifferent.

The animals are right here, right in front of us. And how we treat these companions is a test.

I've had people appear in my life that have helped me. I had more fun. I approached it thinking how would Jack Nicholson, "How would he do it?" So that's really what I did was I created this Gremlin character. So now people come up and they say 'Oh The Exorcist!'.. and I'm like "Did you see Repossessed?" They say either no or yes or whatever, and I say look at this, have a laugh, and then go back and look at a masterpiece.

I had no way to have a sense of humor about The Exorcist. I didn't know how. And this enabled me.