The upcoming Halloween sequel has emphasized that the original actor to perform a majority of Michael Myers‘ masked performance, Nick Castle, is returning to the saga to reprise his role for the first time in 40 years. Given the physical requirements of the role and with Castle being in his 70s, James Jude Courtney ultimately performed a majority of the role. The actor recently recalled the powerful experience of putting on Michael’s mask for the first time.
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“David [Gordon Green], Danny [McBride], Jeff [Fradley], Mike [Simmonds], Rawn [Hutchinson], and myself, we all walked off to a room to the side where nobody could see it, and Chris [Nelson] pulled out the mask, and he said, ‘Okay Jim, let’s put it on and see what it feels like,’” Courtney recalled to Halloween Daily News. “So I walk over and he puts it on me and fastens it in for me, and I was like, ‘Whoa.’ David goes, ‘What does it feel like, Jim?’ I said, (lowers voice to a near-whisper) ‘It’s perfect for killing.’ It was perfect.”
The mask from the original film was used in 1981’s Halloween II, but subsequent films have required a special effects team to attempt to recreate the iconic look.
“And all the sudden, this thing happened to me inside. I had already created the energy, I already knew the space, but man that was like afterburns, dude,” Courtney confessed. “And the love, it’s more than just the beauty of the art that Christopher created when he did the mask, it’s all that knowledge he put into it, and somehow he imbued all the history, the 40 years of history and all the work that all the people have done, and all the fans’ expectations and love. I felt all of that. I will never forget the first time I put that mask on.”
According to the actor, he wasn’t the only one to have a primal response to the prop, as everyone around him also had a gut reaction.
“When I put it on, everybody was just like, ‘Whoa,’” Courtney pointed out. “That’s all they could do was just make some kind of guttural response. There was no, ‘Hey that’s pretty good looking.’ There was none of that. David and everybody was just like ‘Whoa.’”
Fans will be able to see Courtney and the mask in action when the upcoming Halloween sequel hits theaters on October 19.
Are you looking forward to seeing the return of the iconic mask? Let us know in the comments below!
[H/T Halloween Daily News]
