Nick Castle, who played The Shape in John Carpenter’s original Halloween, and James Jude Courtney, who plays Michael Myers in the current trilogy, are good friends in real life. Carpenter’s original masterpiece came out in 1978, two years before the slasher genre would explode in popularity in the ‘80s. Castle played the actor under the mask for most of the movie, while Tony Moran played the character for the brief scene where Laurie pulls Michael's mask off. Will Sandin was technically the first actor to ever play Michael Myers, appearing in the first scene of the movie to kill his sister Judith.
While Castle may be the most well-known actor to play Michael Myers, he certainly isn’t the only one. Despite Halloween II picking up directly after the events of its predecessor, Castle was recast as Michael Myers with Dick Warlock after Castle decided to focus more on his directing career. Several other actors would then play the Shape between 1988 to 2018 with Courtney now playing the iconic killer. Courtney began his career in the late ‘80s doing stunts and acting in smaller projects throughout the ‘90s. The actor had a role in one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1998, and 20 years later, he was up on the big screen in one of the most popular horror franchises to date.
During a panel at Flashback Weekend in Chicago, Courtney talked about how he approached the character of Michael Myers and his thoughts on Castle. Courtney didn’t talk to Castle about the role at all when he was first hired. In fact, he didn’t even meet Castle until after he had begun shooting. That being said, the two have become great friends over the last few years. Courtney’s full comment on Castle can be read below:
“We are really good friends. We call each other on the phone. I live in the east coast he lives in the west coast. Anytime I get to California I go hang out with Nick. It’s almost like I’ve known him for 50 years, you know what I mean? It’s like one of those things. He’s such a good guy. The man has no ego, and if you look at his filmography and what he’s accomplished in his life, he’s just so talented.”
David Gordon Green’s 2018 Halloween retconned every sequel before it and did a great job of honoring Carpenter’s classic. The film contains multiple callbacks to the original and even brought Castle back to play the Shape after 40 years. Castle recorded all of the ADR in Halloween for Michael Myers' breathing and has a brief scene with Laurie Strode. Castle can be spotted as Michael Myers in the scene where Laurie Strode first sees Michael. Laurie takes a shot at Michael but doesn't realize she is shooting at his reflection in a mirror. Castle plays Michael in the reflection before Laurie shoots her gun, and the next shot reverts back to Courtney as the glass shatters. Castle has also filmed a cameo in Halloween Kills, but the actor has expressed concern that his one scene might be cut.
The one thing that makes Green’s Halloween stand out from the rest is the support he and Blumhouse are getting from the people involved in the original. Curtis plays a huge role in Halloween and Halloween Kills, which is a vast improvement from her last appearance in Halloween: Resurrection where she was killed off within the first few minutes of the movie. Carpenter has also been incredibly supportive of the new trilogy, composing the score for all three movies. 2018’s Halloween needed a new actor to perform the physical stunts that a Castle may not have been able to perform in his 70s. Castle clearly doesn’t have any animosity towards Courtney for replacing him, and it’s heartening to know that the two Michael Myers actors get along so well offset.
Source: Flashback Weekend
