Nicholas Castle (born September 21, 1947 in Kingsport[1][2]) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers in John Carpenter's horror film Halloween (1978).[3][4] He also had a cameo as Myers in Halloween (2018). Castle also co-wrote Escape from New York (1981) with Carpenter.[5] After Halloween, Castle became a director, taking the helm of films such as The Last Starfighter (1984), The Boy Who Could Fly (1986), Dennis the Menace (1993), and Major Payne (1995).[6]
Nick Castle | |
|---|---|
 Castle at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2024 | |
| Born | September 21, 1947 |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1974–present |
Career
editCastle's film credits include Dark Star where he played the beach ball alien, Major Payne, Dennis the Menace, The Last Starfighter, and Connors' War as a director. He wrote the screenplays for the films Escape from New York and Hook. He was the writer and director of the film Tap.
In 1978, he played the iconic starring role of Michael Myers in the classic horror film Halloween, directed by former USC classmate John Carpenter,[7] and was paid 25 dollars a day.[8] Castle's subsequent collaborations with Carpenter included his name being used as one of the main characters' names in The Fog, co-writing the script of Escape From New York, and performing the title song of Big Trouble in Little China as part of the band The Coup De Villes, alongside Carpenter and another friend, writer/director Tommy Lee Wallace. After Halloween, Castle had his directorial debut in Tag: The Assassination Game, followed by taking the helm of films such as The Last Starfighter, The Boy Who Could Fly, Dennis the Menace, and Major Payne.[9]
Castle wrote August Rush, a musical-drama directed by Kirsten Sheridan and starring Freddie Highmore, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Robin Williams, and Keri Russell, which was released in 2007. He also stars as himself in the 2010 documentary Halloween: The Inside Story by Filipino filmmaker Nick Noble.[10]
In 2018, Castle had a cameo as Michael Myers in the direct sequel, Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green, becoming the third actor to play Michael Myers more than once.[11][12] The announcement of Nick Castle's participation was widely reported as his retaking the role of Michael Myers he originated,[13] with stunt performer James Jude Courtney only doing additional work as the character. However, an interview with Courtney revealed that Castle's screentime was minimal and that the great majority of the work under the mask was done by Courtney himself, which led to the question of whether the return of Castle had been misrepresented by the production.[14] While Courtney was involved in every scene featuring Myers, including those of Castle, who was only involved for a minimal amount of filming, which Castle described to the journalists on set as a cameo appearance,[15] Castle reprises his role in one scene with Jamie Lee Curtis and did all of Michael Myers' breathing sounds in post-production.[11][12] Courtney referred to collaborating with Castle as an "honor", while Castle described it as a "passing of the torch".[16]
Castle won a Saturn Award for Best Writing for The Boy Who Could Fly, a Silver Raven (for Delivering Milo), a Grand Prize (for The Last Starfighter), a Bronze Gryphon, and a Gold Medal of the Regional Council.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Film | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | The Resurrection of Broncho Billy | No | Story | Also cinematographer, short |
| 1979 | Skatetown, U.S.A. | No | Yes | |
| 1980 | Pray TV | No | Yes | |
| 1981 | Escape from New York | No | Yes | |
| 1982 | Tag: The Assassination Game | Yes | Yes | Directorial debut |
| 1984 | The Last Starfighter | Yes | No | |
| 1986 | The Boy Who Could Fly | Yes | Yes | |
| 1989 | Tap | Yes | Yes | |
| 1991 | Hook | No | Story | Replaced as director by Steven Speilberg |
| 1993 | Dennis the Menace | Yes | No | |
| 1995 | Major Payne | Yes | No | |
| 1996 | Mr. Wrong | Yes | No | |
| 2001 | Delivering Milo | Yes | No | |
| 2001 | 'Twas the Night | Yes | No | |
| 2004 | The Seat Filler | Yes | No | |
| 2006 | Connors' War | Yes | No | Direct-to-video |
| 2007 | August Rush | No | Yes |
| Acting roles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | Dark Star | Beach Ball Alien | Also camera assistant |
| 1978 | Halloween | Michael Myers / The Shape | |
| 1981 | Escape from New York | Pianist | |
| 1981 | Halloween II | Michael Myers / The Shape | Archive breathing sounds |
| 1986 | The Boy Who Could Fly | The Coupe De Villes | |
| 2018 | Halloween | Michael Myers / The Shape | Cameo and breathing sounds |
| 2019 | In Search of Darkness | Himself | Documentary film |
| 2020 | In Search of Darkness: Part II | Himself | Documentary film |
| 2021 | Halloween Kills | Michael Myers / The Shape | |
| 2022 | Halloween Ends | Michael Myers / Party Dude | Cameo and breathing sounds for Michael Myers / The Shape |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Amazing Stories | Yes | No | Episode: "The 21-Inch Sun" |
| 1988 | Mama's Family | No | Concept | Episode: "Mama's Girls" |
| 1990 | Shangri-La Plaza | Yes | Yes | Also executive producer & composer, TV Pilot |
| 2001 | 'Twas the Night | Yes | No | TV movie |
References
edit- ^ Roberts, Jerry (2009-06-05). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8108-6378-1.
NICK CASTLE b. September 21, 1947, Los Angeles
- ^ "Nick Castle".
- ^ JimmyO (October 25, 2013). "Where In The Horror Are The Now? Nick Castle!". JoBlo.com.
- ^ "Nick Castle". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2008. Archived from the original on May 18, 2008.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (1981-07-10). "Escape From New York". The New York Times.
- ^ Nick Castle casting information at HalloweenMovies.com; last accessed April 19, 2006.
- ^ Prometheus Entertainment, Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest, 2003
- ^ "Behind the Scenes". HalloweenMovies.com. Trancas International Films, Inc. 2001. Archived from the original on December 20, 2006. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ^ Nick Castle casting information at HalloweenMovies.com; last accessed April 19, 2006.
- ^ Barton, Steve (September 7, 2012). "Go Inside The House at the End of the Street and Find a New Featurette". Dread Central.
- ^ a b Keene, Allison (December 20, 2017). "The 'Halloween' Reboot Will Bring Back the Original Michael Myers Actor". Collider.
- ^ a b Miska, Brad (2017-12-20). "Original Shape Actor Playing Michael Myers in 'Halloween' 2018! [Exclusive]". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ Verhoeven, Beatrice (December 20, 2017). "Original Michael Myers Actor to Return to 'Halloween' Franchise". TheWrap. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ Millican, Joshua (March 28, 2018). "Nick Castle is NOT Michael Myers in Blumhouse's "Halloween"? Cameo Only". horrorfreaknews.com. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ Artz, Matt (21 February 2018). "[Interview] Nick Castle Talks Reprising Michael Myers in 'Halloween' 2018". HalloweenDailyNews. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
- ^ Evanson, Landon (September 24, 2018). "BIG GAME JAMES: A 'HALLOWEEN' INTERVIEW WITH JAMES JUDE COURTNEY". Horror Geek Life. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
External links
edit- Nick Castle at IMDb