In a twist of fate that led to a legendary career, Jamie Lee Curtis could only audition for John Carpenter's Halloween after being fired from her first major acting job. Jamie Lee Curtis began her acting career in 1977 as a 19-year-old contract actor for Universal Studios. Her early roles included walk-on TV cameo roles on the Quincy M.E., The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, and Columbo. However, it was the biggest disappointment in her early career that led to her biggest break.
Jamie Lee Curtis' first starring role was in the 1977 television series Operation Petticoat, from which she was fired. In a career retrospective video for Vanity Fair, Curtis explained: "I had done a TV series that I had been fired from and thought for sure my career, which was just brand new, was now going to be over. And had I not been fired from Operation Petticoat, I would not have been available to audition for Halloween. Operation Petticoat was cancelled, I think, two weeks after its second season, and obviously Halloween has given me my entire creative life." Getting the lead role in Halloween was a lucky break for Curtis, as playing Laurie Strode was the defining role of her career, establishing Jamie Lee Curtis as the original scream queen.
Jamie Lee Curtis' Casting Story Makes Halloween Even More Special
Jamie Lee Curtis' story of how she ended up being cast in Halloween is the perfect example of how serendipitous circumstances can lead to an actor's big break. Halloween also ended up being a memorable shooting experience for the actor, with her praising the methodology of shooting the movie with a small crew of guerrilla filmmakers, two trucks, and a Winnebago. Curtis tried to recreate this experience for herself in her later career, so it's no surprise that she decided to return to the Halloween series as Laurie Strode for David Gordon Green's reboot.
Why Halloween Needed Jamie Lee Curtis
In the interview, Curtis talks about the three Halloween roles she was able to audition for: the smart-aleck Annie, the cheerleader Linda, and the young virgin Laurie. Jamie Lee Curtis thought she would make an excellent smart-aleck, and was actually a cheerleader in reality, but John Carpenter instead cast Curtis as Laurie. This ended up being the best casting decision for Halloween since she portrayed her character as a conventional yet resourceful young woman, helping to cement Laurie Strode's legacy as the first final girl, which would become a significant trope of the slasher films to come.
While getting fired from Operation Petticoat could have killed Jamie Lee Curtis' acting career before it truly started, it ended up leading to her most significant break. Being cast in Halloween helped turn Jamie Lee Curtis into a household name as a scream queen. Alternatively, Jamie Lee Curtis' performance as the final girl Laurie Strode helped make Halloween the influential horror hit it became. There are so many stories like this in Hollywood, but Jamie Lee Curtis' is one of the most iconic.