Nick Castle Recalls the First Experience Playing Michael Myers in Original ‘Halloween’

In 1978, Nick Castle starred in John Carpenter’s Halloween as the masked Michael Myers, being credited as “The Shape.” The serial killer would go on to inspire countless nightmares, as well as 10 follow-up films. Looking back, Castle confirmed that there wasn’t much thought going into how to convey the character, other than following director John Carpenter’s specific directions.

“In fact, the first scene I did I totally remember it. John said, ‘Go across the street, walk across the street,’” Castle shared with ComicBook.com. “Okay, so I’m halfway going across the street and I turn back and I go, ‘John, this is the first shot that I’m in. What do you want me to do?’ Kind of like, ‘What’s my motivation?’ He said, ‘Just go over there and walk.’ Whether it was instinctual, whether he saw something in the way I walked, he never told me anything. He just said, ‘Walk.’ Then everything else is literally like a puppeteer. Like, ‘Lean this way. Walk this way. Come in now. Tilt your head.’ Those were things that he brought to the mystery of that character.”

Castle returned to the franchise for the first time since the original to film a cameo for this year’s Halloween, though, when it came to tapping into his original “motivation,” the actor continued to just do as he was told.

“Well, there’s a great short there where the [actor under the mask] becomes a prima donna,” Castle joked about exerting his experience on how to play the character to sequel director David Gordon Green. “‘Tilt my head like that, David.’ No, it was the same thing.”

While the movie was being filmed, there was an emphasis on how Castle came back for the role, as original actress Jamie Lee Curtis was also returning, in addition to Carpenter serving as an executive producer. Castle noted that, while he has a brief cameo, a majority of the masked Michael Myers was played by James Jude Courtney.

“In the new one, I have just a cameo. James Courtney does all the work, and he does a wonderful job,” Castle noted. “He’s a tougher Michael, having grown up I guess in these 40 years. Literally grown up, because he’s about 6’3″, and I was 5’11 1/2″ back then. But the experience was a blast. We had fun. David is a very … not only very talented, but a cool guy.”

Audiences can enjoy Castle’s performance as The Shape in the original Halloween with an all-new 4K restoration, debuting on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack on September 25th. The new Halloween hits theaters on October 19th.

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