Why did Ellen Burstyn return to The Exorcist?

Fifty years after playing Chris MacNeil, the legendary actor was intrigued by the idea of what the character has been up to in the meantime. In Believer, we learn she wrote a book (A Mother’s Explanation: From Possession to Now) detailing her harrowing experiences in Georgetown; it was a best-seller, but it led to decades of estrangement with her daughter, Regan. Chris’ expertise in exorcism rituals across different faiths makes her a valuable resource for the main characters in Believer who’re dealing with their own demons—and in the movie’s final moments, she reunites with Regan (Linda Blair, returning to the series for the first time since 1977’s The Exorcist II: The Heretic).

But beyond revisiting one of her most iconic characters, and the chance to work with Blair again, Burstyn had a very good reason for agreeing to do Believer: according to the Hollywood Reporter, it came down to cause that’s very close to her heart: the Actors Studio Drama School. “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,” the Oscar winner told the trade. “And then they surprised me and they came back and said, ‘We doubled the offer.’ I said, ‘OK, let me think about this.’ I thought, ‘That’s a lot of money. Let me think about it.” 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.”