The sad tale of how the real Michael Myers lost his mask from the original 'Halloween'
You know that wise piece of advice about not lending out books if you ever want them back? The same applies, apparently, to horror props.
Or at least that was the case for Nick Castle, the man behind Michael Myers, aka the Shape, in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic Halloween.
“I did have the original mask, when the movie was finished,” Castle, 71, told Yahoo Entertainment (watch above) ahead of the release of the new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. “Until [producer] Deborah Hill came back when they were about to do the second one [1981’s Halloween II] and said, ‘We can’t figure out how to do the mask the way it was done originally. Can we borrow your mask?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ Last time I saw it.”
If you know your horror-film history then you know the way that mask was originally made was by spray-painting a cheap Captain Kirk/William Shatner latex mask white and altering the eye holes and hair.
It’s a mystery where the mask ended up. “[It’s] unfortunate,” Castle said. “There were [two or three] masks made, and one someone found and over time it really deteriorated and there’s nothing there anymore.”
Castle, who was cast on a whim by his old USC film-school friend Carpenter, said returning to the role was never really a consideration (Castle was replaced in Part II by Dick Warlock). Castle was a filmmaker, not an actor, and he was preparing to make his directorial debut with Tag: The Assassination Game (1982), a thriller that marked the feature film debut of future Terminator star Linda Hamilton. Castle later directed films like The Last Starfighter (1984), The Boy Who Could Fly (1984), Dennis the Menace (1993), and Major Payne (1995).
Castle does briefly return in the upcoming Halloween, a sequel to the original that ignores the events of all other sequels and remakes. While Castle provides the sounds of Michael’s breathing and appears once underneath the mask, he credits actor James Jude Courtney for carrying most of the load.
Still, we hope he holds onto a mask this time.
The Halloween 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack is available Tuesday; the new Halloween hits theaters Oct. 19.
Watch the trailer:
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