What was your initial experience with the original Halloween? Were you a fan of the series at all?
James Jude Courtney: I was always an avid film fan, and I made my own films with my dad’s camera. My brothers and I would spend time in theaters watching different films, but I was an undergrad in North Carolina when the original came out. I can’t even remember my date but I remember the film though. I knew it was a game-changer.
There were two movies that gave me that feeling and the other was Rocky. I knew that there was something unique about what John Carpenter did, and there was no denying it. I saw the rest of the series and some of them were better than others. I grew up on horror though and watched a lot of the classics with my dad, so there’s definitely a place in my heart for the genre.
Aside from Nick Castle, was there another performance of the character that stands out for you?
James Jude Courtney: Not really. I watched the first one again to capture the essence of what Nick Castle had created. It was more of a spiritual process. I reached in and allowed it to take me into my movement. I used no intellectualization and no method acting. I studied with Stella Adler and I do get methodical with other things, but this was a different process. I watched Nick and the second one because I know Nick Rosenthal and Nancy Stephens, and I really do appreciate what Dick Warlock did. I think that he looked to Nick and mirrored what he did quite well.
Speaking of Nick Castle, when he was on the set what was your interaction like?
James Jude Courtney: He came in to do one scene and I was already locked and loaded by the time he showed up. We spent a lot 0f time together because he’s just an awesome person. He’s funny as hell, self-deprecating, and just a creative genius. We had a blast together and did a ton of press together. We’re still great friends and still talk on the phone.
I remember when they asked me if he could do a cameo, and I said, “Absolutely! Let’s go for it and have some fun.” He’s in the scene where Laurie encounters “The Shape.” The first half is Nick, and the second was me for when they needed to do a dangerous stunt. It was beautiful, and Nick got to pass the proverbial torch, so it was very special.
I had read somewhere that you had received lessons from a formal killer, is that true?
James Jude Courtney: Oh yeah! There was a guy who I’d met through a friend that had just gotten out of prison for tax evasion. He was a made man, part of the family, and a professional killer. When he was in a safe house he was in South Carolina and wanted to make a movie about his life story and lived with me for like half a year. It was intense, and I had boxes of tapes of interviews. I once did a movie called The Hitlist with Jeff Fahey, and I brought this guy to the screening where he told me, “That’s not how you kill people.”
He was a martial artist, as am I, so we were already playing around with swords and stuff. He really taught me how to be a killer and a predator. There’s no catchy dialogue or mugging for the camera, and I definitely brought that to the character.
When you slipped on the mask for the first time, did you automatically feel like Michael?
James Jude Courtney: I was already in the space because we were working on the incredible tracking shot. Christopher Nelson showed up on the practical set with two masks and David, Danny and Ryan went into another room. My tank as it were was already eighty percent filled, but when Chris put the mask on me, man, my tank felt full. It was so powerful and you could feel it from everyone in the room. Everyone just stopped and the circle felt complete.
