Laura Linney Embraces ' Demons'

Inspired by a true story, the new thriller "The Exorcism Of Emily Rose" tells the chilling tale of a priest who is charged with negligent homicide after performing a deadly exorcism on a possessed young woman. Two-time Academy Award nominee Laura Linney stars as the lawyer who defends him.

"One of the things that really interested me about this script was the whole idea of personal demons versus religious demons, and how differently things can be perceived," Linney says in the film production notes.

"The reason I did this movie, and the reason I am proud of how it's turned out is everything you see can be interpreted two different ways," she tells The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "It is asking these questions and not giving any answers whatsoever. As a perfect example, there are these scenes where scary things are happening in the middle of the night and my character wakes up and it's filmed in a beautiful way by our director, and the question is when you look at that, what's happening? Is it spiritual craziness or is she having anxiety attacks?"

The film offers a "very even-handed view of this issue," Linney notes. "Do these things exist, or do they not exist? Is this demonic possession, or is this psychosis? Is there a spiritual world or is there not?"

Fast Facts About Laura Linney:

• Born in New York, N.Y. on Feb. 5, 1964. Daughter of playwright Romulus Linney
• In 1986, majored in theater arts (BFA) at Brown University in Providence, R.I. and attended The Juilliard School in New York, N.Y. majoring in drama in 1989.
• In 1992, she had a small role as a young teacher in "Lorenzo's Oil." The following year, she made an impression as the secretary sleeping with the president in the Ivan Reitman-directed "Dave."
• In 1994, she worked with Steve Martin in "A Simple Twist of Fate," a modernized spin on "Silas Marner," and then landed her first starring roles in the PBS adaptation of "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City."
• In 1995, she was a member of an expedition into the jungles of South America in "Congo." She also appeared on Broadway in a revival of "Holiday."
• In 1997, she landed the co-starring role as the former lover turned courtroom adversary of Richard Gere in "Primal Fear." Also in this year, she portrayed Clint Eastwood's daughter in the political thriller "Absolute Power."
• In 1998, portrayed Meryl, the wife of Jim Carrey's Truman Burbank in the satirical "The Truman Show." She also co-starred opposite Jane Alexander in "Honour" and reprised her signature role of Mary Ann Singleton in the Showtime sequel "Armistead Maupin's More Tales of the City."
• In 2000, in the Sundance hit "You Can Count on Me," Linney played a woman coping with a demanding new boss (Matthew Broderick), raising her 6-year-old son (Rory Culkin) and the return of her prodigal brother (Mark Ruffalo). For her work, she received an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress, as well as several awards and nominations from key critics' organizations.
• She then returned to Broadway in "Uncle Vanya" opposite Derek Jacobi, and later took the part of a lusty campaign manager in the TNT original "Running Mates." Also in 2000, she was Bertha Dorset in the adaptation of "The House of Mirth."
• In 2001, she reprised Mary Ann Singleton in "Armistead Maupin's Further Tales of the City" (Showtime), and worked in actor-turned-director Rob Morrow's Tourette's Syndrome indie "Maze."
• In 2002, she co-starred with Gena Rowlands in "Wild Iris," a Showtime drama about an estranged mother and daughter forced by circumstances to share a home. The latter featured an agonizingly emotional performance that earned Linney an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Lead Actress in a miniseries or a movie.
• She also made an appearance in the HBO biopic "The Laramie Project," which chronicled events in Laramie, Wyo., following the tragic hate killing of gay teen Matthew Shepard. She also played opposite Richard Gere in the thriller "The Mothman Prophecies."
• In 2003, she played a woman involved with a death penalty opponent who suffers a mysterious end in "The Life of David Gale." She reunited with Eastwood when she appeared in the director's highly praised revenge opus "Mystic River," playing Sean Penn's strong-willed second wife. And she worked in writer-director Richard Curtis' romantic comedy "Love Actually."
• In 2004, Linney scored an Emmy for her recurring guest performance as Dr. Frasier Crane's professional matchmaker and love interest on the final season of the hit sit-com "Frasier," while on the big screen she starred opposite Liam Neeson in the role of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey's wife, Clara, in writer-director Bill Condon's praised biopic "Kinsey."
• Next for the actress is the film "The Squid And The Whale," which opens Oct. 5.