It's a difficult job bringing to life a hulking monster like Halloween's Michael Myers. That’s especially true when you learn about some of the experiences the actor who brought him to life in John Carpenter’s Halloween, horror legend Nick Castle, went through. Presenting the formidable physical presence of The Shape that would hunt down Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode for one fateful night in 1978, Castle apparently had some pretty horrible moments while filming that iconic genre classic. And recently Castle detailed "the worst part"of filming the iconic classic.
The one moment that Castle was particularly not fond of is, surprisingly, the rainy night that starts the action within Halloween’s insidious plot. Apparently, according to his discussion with the hosts of The Thing with Two Heads' video podcast, Nick Castle did his own stunts in the scene involving Michael’s big escape from Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. As he recalled that decision, the regret of doing so came through in the following thoughts:
I wish I would have let the stunt guy do the first scene where it's in the rain and I'm jumping up on the car so I didn't have to freeze to death. That was horrible. The worst part of the show, for me, because it was like 40-something degrees that night and it was late and they put on the hoses and there's no warm water coming out of the hose. Those big-ass hoses. And when those drops came down on me, through the gown, it was like knives. It was horrendous And then, of course, [director] John [Carpenter] had to go, 'Take two.'
It may not sound like too taxing of a scenario, but if you’re out in the middle of the night, wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown like Nick Castle was, the slightest breeze could chill you to the bone. If you’re curious which classic Halloween scene Castle is talking about, or if you just want to relive a chilling piece of horror history, you can watch it in the clip from the film we’ll provide below. If you’re in a hurry to see the stunt, skip to 02:36, but I highly recommend letting the whole moment play out in its entirety.
Learning from his past, and more than likely due to the time that’s passed in-between playing Michael Myers in 1978’s Halloween and his return to key aspects of the 2018 legacyquel’s resurrection of the man himself, Nick Castle is definitely not doing the stunts he used to. Yet his presence, and his assistance, in bringing Haddonfield’s prodigal son to life for contemporary moviegoers has been most assuredly felt in the recent release. I'm all the more excited for his return in Halloween Kills as well.
Here’s hoping it’s not so rainy when he stalks into theaters for that particular film on October 15, 2021, which will lead to the ominously titled Halloween Ends rounding out this new trilogy on October 14, 2022. Take a look at what else is still planning to hit theaters this year with our full schedule.
