‘Halloween’: William Shatner Claims He Used to Trick or Treat Wearing Michael Myers Mask

William Shatner has been unexpectedly linked with the Halloween franchise for the past 40 years due to the original production using a mask made in his likeness as the visage of the killer. The actor claims that he previously put the villain’s mask to good use to play pranks while trick-or-treating with his children.

“When my kids were younger, and they’d go trick-or-treating, and I would go with them, I’d wear the mask,” Shatner shared with Entertainment Weekly. “If [people] didn’t give them candy, I’d take off the mask, and blow a kiss.”

The independent spirit of the original film meant that art director Tommy Lee Wallace improvised what would become an iconic mask, with original director Carpenter having previously detailed to Entertainment Weekly, “My art director, Tommy Lee Wallace, found the mask up at Bert Wheeler’s Magic Shop on Hollywood Boulevard. It was a Captain Kirk mask.”

The commercially available mask, designed by Don Post Studios, was created using a life cast of Shatner’s face that was created for the film The Devil’s Rain. In the late ’70s, Don Post Studios created Star Trek masks, including one of Captain Kirk from the Devil’s Rain mold, which Wallace ultimately purchased for Halloween.

The screen-used mask is virtually unrecognizable as Shatner, as Wallace distorted the mask beyond recognition and painted it white, adding to the effect of Michael Myers feeling somewhat similar to a human but lacking any actual humanity. Despite the franchise inspiring a line of their own masks, Shatner joked that he hasn’t seen any of the profits.

“All I can tell you is, they found it somewhere in a toy store or somewhere,” Shatner noted. “I don’t have a piece of the film. Maybe you can negotiate it for me!”

Given his connection to the franchise, fans have wondered if a cameo would be possible from the performer in a new film, which producer Malek Akkad thinks is unlikely.

When asked by Halloween Movies about Shatner’s connection to the series earlier this year, Akkad answered, “Not to me directly, and from what I hear he doesn’t really acknowledge it.”

“I think he makes light of it. We actually have one of the original impressions of Shatner in our office in L.A., so obviously we’re really grateful to him, and in certain ways we’ve tried to reach out to him [to] maybe do an appearance,” Akkad detailed. “Lord know he’s busy enough with Star Trek stuff… but you never know.”

The new Halloween is in theaters now.

Do you think Shatner really trick-or-treated in the mask or was merely making a joke? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!

[H/T Entertainment Weekly]