

Pleasence worked in film, television, and theater from the 1950s to the 1990s, with roles in notable projects such as The Great Escape (1963), George Lucas' feature directorial debut THX-1138 (1971), The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985). Halloween's most seasoned cast member had already enjoyed a decades-long career when he took on the role of Dr. Additionally, in David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy, Castle shared Michael Myers duty with stunt performer James Jude Courtney, and recorded all of the killer's iconic breathing himself. He also wrote Escape From New York (1981) with Carpenter, penned the screenplay for the music drama August Rush (2007), and has a story credit on Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991). He directed films like the sci-fi cult classic The Last Starfighter (1984), the family comedy Dennis the Menace (1993), and the Damon Wayans vehicle Major Payne (1995). Castle had no intention of pursuing an acting career - he was an aspiring filmmaker himself - but Carpenter has said that he liked Castle's physique and gait, so he put him in the mask.Ĭastle didn't act much outside of Halloween, but he did go on to have a successful career in Hollywood as a director and screenwriter. Castle met Carpenter while they were both studying cinema at USC, and played a balloon-like alien in his debut film, Dark Star (1974). Many performers have worn the mask of Michael Myers over the years, but Nick Castle is the one who started it all.

When she's not acting, she writes children's books, records podcasts, and plays World of Warcraft.

She received a lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival in 2021, and she's set to appear in two major films in 2023: Disney's Haunted Mansion and Lionsgate's Borderlands.
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Experiencing something of a later-career renaissance, she starred on the horror-comedy series Scream Queens, headlined a new trilogy of highly successful Halloween sequels, and turned in beloved supporting performances in high-profile ensemble films like Knives Out (2019) and Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), receiving an Oscar nomination for the latter. Her most prominent mid-career highlights like A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Freaky Friday (2003) demonstrated her stellar comedic talents, but she also excelled in action movies like Blue Steel (1990) and True Lies (1994) - and, of course, she came back for two more Halloweens around the turn of the century.Ĭurtis took a step back from acting for a spell in the late-2000s and early-2010s to prioritize her family, though she still made several on-screen appearances in voiceovers and small supporting roles in films such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) and Veronica Mars (2014).

She would continue to work steadily across multiple genres for the next couple of decades. Soon after, however, her supporting performance in Trading Places (1983) introduced her to mainstream audiences unfamiliar with her horror projects. After her breakout success as Laurie Strode in Halloween, Jamie Lee Curtis cemented her title of "scream queen" by continuing to work in horror films for a few years, including Prom Night (1980), Terror Train (1980), and John Carpenter's The Fog (1980), and also returned to Haddonfield for Halloween II (1981). The film's young lead went on to become its most recognizable alumnus by a considerable margin.
