Original Michael Myers Actor Recalls His Most Memorable Encounter With ‘Halloween’ Fans

Nick Castle performed a majority of Michael Myers’ masked scenes in 1978’s Halloween, resulting in the character becoming one of the most famous movie villains of all time. In the 40 years since the film, Castle has had countless memorable encounters with fans, though the experience he was most surprised by came when fans flocked the premiere of a film he co-wrote to get his autograph.

“I’ve had so many really, really positive hellos with fans all over the place. It’s almost impossible to single something out,” Castle shared with ComicBook.com. “The first time I actually ever realized that there was a fan base and a dollar sign over my head was somewhere in the mid-2000s. I co-wrote a screenplay for August Rush, it’s called. I went to New York for the premiere, and I stepped off the plane, and there were people there waiting for me to sign an autograph, and I said, ‘How do they know I’m coming?’ And it was for Michael Myers.”

Castle regularly collaborated with filmmaker John Carpenter early in his career, ultimately going on to make many of his own films, including The Last Starfighter, The Boy Who Could Fly, and Major Payne. Despite his minimal involvement with the Halloween franchise, fans still pursued the actor, likely due to having eluded conventions over the years.

“That’s the first time it ever happened, and I’ve been being chased by those people ever since,” Castle added. “So that’s something that you don’t necessarily bargain for, but it’s something that jumps out.”

While Castle’s time on the set of the original film helped establish the physical presence of the villain, he previously admitted that the only reason he was on set was to get an up-close look at how movies were made.

“My only reason for being on the set was to kind of demystify the directing experience for me, because John was a pal, they were shooting the majority of this near my house, really, and he said, ‘Well, why don’t you just be the guy walking around in the mask and you’ll be here the whole time?’” Castle shared with ComicBook.com.

Last year’s Halloween sequel saw the actor’s return to the series, putting on the mask for a brief scene in which Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) saw Michael Myers for the first time since their encounter in 1978. Castle also provided the audio of Myers’ breathing throughout the film.

Halloween is out now on Digital HD and hits 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on January 15th.

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