In 1978, a then-unknown Nick Castle first gave shape to Michael Myers in John Carpenter's
iconic horror flick Halloween.
Though Castle didn't reprise his role in any of the Halloween sequels or reboots from 1981
to 2009, the horror world was rocked when he donned the mask and coveralls once again
for the 2018 sequel, also titled Halloween.
Here's how Castle became Halloween's Michael Myers, a.k.a.
"The Shape."
Castle explained during an October 2018 appearance on the podcast The Subplot that he sort of
stumbled into playing Michael Myers.
He was friends with John Carpenter for some time before the young director set out to
bring Halloween to the big screen, even appearing in an uncredited cameo in Carpenter's debut
film Dark Star.
When Carpenter went into production on Halloween, Castle asked his buddy if he could hang around
set and watch him work, hoping the experience would "demystify" what directing is really
like, since Castle had aspirations to direct himself.
Rather than just have his pal hang about, though, Carpenter asked him to stand in for
the Myers role.
"He went yeah, why don't you be the guy, then, and put on the mask if you're here and around
anyhow?
He went, 'Okay.'"
As for how Carpenter got his non-actor buddy into the menacing mind of Michael Myers, Castle
noted that there wasn't much direction other than "walk there," or "tilt your head."
"I basically asked the actor question, 'What is my motivation?'
And he said, 'Your motivation is to walk from this point to the endpoint.'"
That "tilt your head" moment has since become a fan-favorite part of Carpenter's original,
so much so that Halloween reboot director David Gordon Green called back to it in the
2018 movie.
Carpenter himself has since clarified his approach to casting Castle in the role and
helping him become Michael Myers, noting his pal's peculiar stride as a key element in
bringing the baddie to life.
He told Entertainment Weekly on October 2018,
"We were buddies in film school, and I knew him, and he just has a grace to him.
And his dad was a choreographer.
I don't know if he learned anything from his father, but he moved in a way that nobody
else moves like."
Castle chimed in, saying,
"What I really did was listen to what John told me to do.
He was really very much puppeteering.
It was John telling me, 'Go fast,' 'Go slow,' 'Tilt your head,' and puppeteering me through
the thing."
In 2017, a video surfaced on Twitter that reportedly showed Castle wearing a Michael
Myers mask while walking on a treadmill.
There's little question that Castle's gait is a big part of what makes Michael Myers,
so it makes sense that most of the actor's pre-production prep work involved ambling
across a treadmill.
Walking in a brooding-yet-purposeful fashion is sort of Myers' thing, outside of offing
unsuspecting teens and trying to get that butcher's knife into Laurie Strode's back,
of course.
Even so, savvy Halloween-heads are often quick to point out the difference in that walk throughout
the Halloween sequels, with some even noticing the difference in Green's latest chapter.
As we've come to find out, actor James Jude Courtney did the vast majority of the walking
and stalking in the 2018 movie, with the head tilt scene in Green's Halloween marking the
only moment in the film where Castle is actually playing the part.
In September 2019, Castle posted another clip of himself creepily walking on his home treadmill
with his Michael Myers mask covering his face.
The video was meant to tease that he's preparing to become the Shape again for 2020's Halloween
Kills and 2021's Halloween Ends.
Both Castle and Courtney are scheduled to appear as Michael Myers in those films, and
the second of the two sequels is said to put an official end to the Michael Myers/Laurie
Strode storyline.
Jamie Lee Curtis is seemingly retiring the role that made her a scream queen.
"Happy Halloween, Michael."
For Castle's part, it appears he's taking to heart what may be his final turns behind
the eerie mask.
If the hilarious Twitter post is any indication, the actor is doing his best to get into, ahem,
shape, and maybe doing a bit more walking this go-around.
Castle will return to action when Halloween Kills makes its premiere on October 16, 2020.
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