Ellen Burstyn explains why she said yes for 'The Exorcist' sequel after 50 years

American actress Ellen Burstyn, who is the current co-president of the Actors Studio with Al Pacino, recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and revealed why she agreed to return to 'The Exorcist' for a sequel after almost 50 years. She also shared how joining the Actors Studio changed the course of her career

Burstyn told The Hollywood Reporter, "I had a career already. I hadn’t really studied acting. The first time I auditioned for a play [in 1957], it was for a lead on Broadway and I got the part and I thought, 'Oh, well this is pretty easy, I can do this'."

The actress added, "And then as time went on, I noticed that there were some actors who seemed to know something I didn’t know, like Marlon Brando and Jimmy Dean and Paul Newman and Geraldine Page and Kim Stanley. I knew they were all members of the Actors Studio, and had studied with Lee Strasberg, so I decided I would go find out what they knew that I didn’t know."

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While explaining why she finally said yes to an 'Exorcist' sequel, the actress said, "You know, what happened was I’ve turned down many versions of The Exorcist 2. I’ve said no every time. This time they offered me a whole bunch of money and I still said no. And then they surprised me and they came back and said, 'We doubled the offer.' I said, 'OK, let me think about this.'"

"The next thought that came to mind was, 'I feel like the devil is asking my price'. And the next thought that came to mind was, 'My price is a scholarship program for talented students at our master’s degree program at Pace University. That’s my price.' So I then went back and upped their up and ended up getting what I want. And I’ve got a scholarship program for young actors,"Burstyn shared with pride and a huge smile.

So, fans can finally rejoice because the actress has confirmed that the sequel will drop next year, on the 50th anniversary ofthe original 'The Exorcist'.