In the 1978 Halloween, actor Nick Castle helped bring the murderous Michael Myers to our screens. But while the performer was given a cameo behind the mask for the 2018 movie of the same name, the lion’s share of the silent killer’s scenes went to franchise newcomer James Jude Courtney.
In fact, David Gordon Green’s film even offers us a fleeting glimpse of Courtney’s face in an early scene, complete with the scar on his eye that was left after the character’s first encounter with Laurie Strode. And though Blumhouse’s Halloween refrained from giving you the full view of Michael’s visage, this recently shared set photo below lets you see who was hiding underneath the familiar mask for this latest installment.
The new flick sees the inevitable reunion between Laurie and her old assailant, but when the cameras weren’t rolling, actress Jamie Lee Curtis reportedly wanted little to do with her co-star, with Courtney recently recalling how the pair never spoke during filming in order to maintain the onscreen tension.
But while Courtney didn’t fraternize much with Curtis, he did spend a fair amount of time with a real-life hitman, who taught him how to be a convincing killer. As the actor mentioned a few weeks ago, he spent a period living with an assassin, who offered him a few pointers which he took to the role:
“There’s a stealth efficiency to the way an actual trained killer works. Movies tend to dilute that quality with dramatic pauses and dialogue, which a true predator would never waste time doing. That efficiency is what I took to the part of Michael Myers.”
With Halloween currently dominating at the box office, it’s clear that a sequel is on its way, but while writer Danny McBride has mentioned that he’s already discussing plans for a follow-up, it remains unclear whether Courtney intends to lend his intimidating presence to the franchise once more.
