Nicholas Castle (born September 21, 1947 in

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, ...

) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor. He is known for playing Michael Myers in

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

's horror film ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

'' (1978). He also had a cameo as Myers in ''

'' (2018). Castle also co-wrote ''

Escape from New York ''Escape from New York'' is a 1981 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction action film co-written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald ...

'' (1981) with Carpenter. After ''Halloween'', Castle became a director, taking the helm of films such as ''

The Last Starfighter ''The Last Starfighter'' is a 1984 American space opera film directed by Nick Castle. The film tells the story of Alex Rogan (Lance Guest), a teenager who, after winning the high score in an arcade game that's secretly a simulation test, is rec ...

'' (1984), ''

The Boy Who Could Fly ''The Boy Who Could Fly'' is a 1986 American fantasy drama film written and directed by Nick Castle. It was produced by Lorimar Productions for 20th Century Fox, and released theatrically on August 15, 1986. The film stars Lucy Deakins as 14- ...

'' (1986), '' Dennis the Menace'' (1993), and ''

Major Payne ''Major Payne'' is a 1995 American Military fiction, military comedy film directed by Nick Castle and starring Damon Wayans, who wrote with Dean Lorey and Gary Rosen. The film co-stars Karyn Parsons, Steven Martini, and Michael Ironside. It is a ...

'' (1995).Nick Castle casting information a
HalloweenMovies.com
last accessed April 19, 2006.

Career

Castle's film credits include '' Dark Star'' where he assisted with the production, and played the beach ball alien, ''

'', '' Dennis the Menace'', ''

'', and ''Connors' War'' as a director. He wrote the screenplays for the films ''

'' and ''

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

''. 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 Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

'', directed by former USC classmate

,Prometheus Entertainment, Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest, 2003 and was paid 25 dollars a day. Castle's subsequent collaborations with Carpenter included his name being used as one of the main characters' names in ''

The Fog ''The Fog'' is a 1980 American independent supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and H ...

'', co-writing the script of ''

'', and performing the title song of ''

Big Trouble in Little China ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (also known as ''John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China'') is a 1986 American fantasy action-comedy film directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. The ...

'' as part of the band The Coup De Villes, alongside Carpenter and another friend, writer/director

Tommy Lee Wallace Thomas Lee Wallace (born September 6, 1949) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' and '' Fright Night Part 2'' and also dir ...

. After ''Halloween'', Castle had his directorial debut in '' Tag: The Assassination Game'', followed by taking the helm of films such as ''

'', ''

'', '' Dennis the Menace'', and ''

''. Castle wrote ''

August Rush ''August Rush'' is a 2007 Drama (film and television), musical drama directed by Kirsten Sheridan & produced by Richard Barton Lewis. The screenplay is by Nick Castle and James V. Hart, with a story by Paul Castro and Castle. It involves an 11-ye ...

'', a musical-drama directed by

Kirsten Sheridan Kirsten Sheridan (born 14 July 1976) is an Irish film director and screenwriter. She is best known for co-writing the semi-autobiographical film '' In America'' with her father, director Jim Sheridan, and her sister, Naomi Sheridan, for which s ...

and starring

Freddie Highmore Alfred Thomas Highmore (born 14 February 1992) is an English actor. He is known for his starring roles beginning as a child, in the films '' Finding Neverland'' (2004), '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' (2005), '' Arthur and the Invisibles ...

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002), '' ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

, and

Keri Russell Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is an American actress. She played the title role in the drama series '' Felicity'' (1998–2002), which won her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, and later portrayed El ...

, which was released in 2007. He also stars as himself in the 2010 documentary ''Halloween: The Inside Story'' by Filipino filmmaker Nick Noble. In 2018, Castle had a cameo as Michael Myers in the direct sequel, ''

'', directed by

David Gordon Green David Gordon Green (born April 9, 1975) is an American filmmaker. Green began his career in 1997 and gained fame with the independent film ''George Washington'' (2000). He directed two additional independent dramas, '' All the Real Girls'' (2003 ...

, becoming the third actor to play Michael Myers more than once. The announcement of Nick Castle's participation was widely reported as his retaking the role of Michael Myers he originated, with

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

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. 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 A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

, Castle reprises his role in one scene with

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...

and did all of Michael Myers' breathing sounds in post-production. Courtney referred to collaborating with Castle as an "honor", while Castle described it as a "passing of the torch". Castle won a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...

for Best Writing for ''

'', a Silver Raven (for '' Delivering Milo''), a Grand Prize (for ''

''), a Bronze Gryphon, and a Gold Medal of the Regional Council.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Nick American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American male video game actors American male screenwriters Male actors from Los Angeles Living people Film directors from California USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Screenwriters from Los Angeles 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 1947 births Film directors from Tennessee Film producers from Tennessee American animated film directors American animated film producers