From the night that word broke that Blumhouse Productions had a strong desire to delve into Haddonfield, every aspect of Halloween (2018) has been a gift.
Whether it was Jamie Lee Curtis reprising her role as Laurie Strode, or Nick Castle returning for a cameo, or John Carpenter working on the score, one would be hard pressed to find giddier fans.
But then it was revealed that James Jude Courtney would play The Shape, and one-by-one, images began to surface. Word got around that when Courtney had wrapped his final scene, the cast and crew gave him an ovation. And finally, the trailer dropped.
Halloween fans have long waited for a performer to approach the presence of Nick Castle, and forty years on, that wait may finally be over. James Jude Courtney says that roles such as Michael Myers are in his wheelhouse, and nothing that we’ve seen so far would indicate otherwise.
Horror Geek Life caught up with The Shape this afternoon to talk about embracing the energy of the embodiment of pure evil, and why he can’t describe Jamie Lee Curtis in one word, but when you’re finished reading his responses, we’re confident you’ll feel that James Jude Courtney, too, is a gift.
Horror Geek Life: Let’s start with the reaction from the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it wasn’t just fans, but journalists who possess a deep appreciation and understanding of the Halloween franchise saying things like “they did it, they actually did it.” What’s your reaction when you discover that the passion project where you invested your blood, sweat and tears resonates with the target audience?
James Jude Courtney: It’s a real honor. We knew when we were making the film that it was special, we knew when we signed up for it that it was special with guys like Christopher Nelson and Rawn Hutchinson the stunt coordinator, and these people who were invested anyhow, like Ryan Turek.
I don’t read reviews and I generally don’t even like to watch myself on a monitor when I’m working, but Ryan Freimann, Malek Akkad’s partner over at Trancas International, he’s been calling me and keeping me abreast of the interviews and the responses, and man, I’ve never been so excited about a project that I’ve worked on in my entire career. This is a pinnacle for me, I’m just so stoked.
HGL: When it comes to putting it in real terms and getting into the headspace of Michael Myers, what influences beyond the source material contributed to your mindset and approach in terms of putting your own stamp on this role?
JJC: This was a unique approach for me. I studied with Stella Adler back in the day, I had a private coach in the Royal Academy [of Dramatic Art]. When I work as an actor I use a lot of method, there’s a lot of sense memory, there’s a lot of working out intellectually–what everything means and why things are happening–putting import on every single action and word and nuance, but this was entirely different.
In my philosophy of the world, it’s basically one big information soup, alright? Anything that’s ever been thought of, anything that’s ever been spoken, anything that’s ever been done exists in information in the universe, and it’s referred to as the morphogenetic field. Once one knows how to tap into the morphogenetic field, and I’ve been volunteering for a thing called Family Constellation Therapy for 15 years, where that’s exactly what the process is, tapping into the morphogenetic field to flip up a genetic switch in peoples’ DNA to bring them out of trauma.
So for me, that space is well-worn, and what I realized early on, when I was called to do the audition, was that John Carpenter and Debra Hill had created an incredible, iconic character and a game-changing film. And then Nick Castle came in and made it flesh, he embodied it, and Nick Castle will say that he didn’t do anything, that he just walked. Well, okay, he did, but Nick Castle is a highly creative, highly intuitive individual, I mean look at his body of work, look at his filmography, the dude is through the roof talented.
My job was to–and I’ll tell you the moment I got it–I watched the film again prior to going down for the audition to be put on tape, and there’s a scene where Nick Castle as The Shape is just walking from camera left to camera right in the backyard, just a simple walk, maybe three steps, four steps, but I was watching him and I went “I got it. I got it, I’ve embraced the energy.” So basically what I did was embrace the energy that they had created, and then I allowed it, of course, to morph though my body, and that was the intention.
When David [Gordon] Green had called me after I was cast and we talked about cat-like movements, which is the kind of thing that I did for Kindestod in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I studied my cat for movement. So I would watch my cat Parcival hunt and play, and I just let that influence me, there was absolutely zero intellectualization of my creation of this version of The Shape. I took no notes, I just allowed it to overtake my being. And then on the day when I was working I would breathe into it, I would maintain that energy through each take, and then when I heard “Check the gate” and we were moving on to a new set-up, I would breathe it out and I would become Jim Courtney again.
HGL: From those involved in 1978 to those fresh to the franchise, many talented people in countless roles contributed to this film, but to get Halloween right—to properly follow in the footsteps of the original—The Shape needed to be something special. For everyone to say “You’re the guy,” was there ever a moment where the gravity and responsibility of translating Myers from page to screen hit you? I don’t want to say it was all on your shoulders, but was there a sense of, if everything else works but The Shape doesn’t, the film might fall short?
JJC: (Laughs) That’s a fair question, man. No, not at all. From the moment I did my tape for my first audition until now, it was the most perfect experience of my career. This is my wheelhouse, man. This is what I do, I do physical acting, and I do stunts, and I do characters and I do dialects, it’s just one of those things, when you have enough experience at something and you really enjoy doing it, you don’t get nervous, it makes me calm. And so I had not one nanosecond of stress, anxiety or self-doubt in this process. It was my wheelhouse, man, this is what I was born to do.
And it wasn’t even from an egotistical point of view, I just didn’t think about it. I just showed up and did my job, and I knew that I was hired because David and Ryan and Malek and Rawn Hutchinson, all the guys looked at me and went “He’s the guy,” and I felt like the guy. And I didn’t think about all the other guys who have played it, I didn’t think about Nick Castle.
When David called that first time after I was cast, he said “Hey man, we’re inviting Nick back to do a cameo. Do you mind?” And I was like “No, no, no! Not at all, man. I’m stoked! I’m honored! Are you kidding?! Awesome!” And Nick and I had a great time together, and he never talked to me once about how to play The Shape or how to move. It was just as the Arabs says, maktub, it was meant to be.
HGL: As we just alluded to, you’ve described Halloween (2018) as a collaboration of talent, so from the first time you pulled on the mask through the final take, how critical was Christopher Nelson’s design and your interaction with him to this film?
JJC: Let me tell you something, man. Christopher Nelson and I co-created that. We won’t get into percentages or pieces of the pie or anything, but it started when we met in California. I live on the east coast, so I flew out to California to have a life mask made, Chris and I sat down together and I realized that this guy, what a rare and exceptional talent he is, and what a rare and exceptional human being. I really admire and genuinely enjoy my friendship with Christopher Nelson.
We did the work, and then he came out and when I put the mask on for the first time, and I had already embodied the energy, I knew what it was, but man, when I put that mask on? Dude, it was that missing piece to the fullness of what The Shape is. And Chris was with me constantly, at the beginning of every day, morning or night, whatever it was, I showed up at his trailer and he always played, intuitively, the right music — David Bowie, jazz, The Ramones — whatever it was, it was perfect for the day.
And then we would have conversations sometimes about horror films, sometimes about life, sometimes about art, sometimes about music, but we had very deep conversations and they always set the tone for day. And then when I was out working, Christopher was always with me, and because I’m in the mask and because he wanted to mask to be absolutely represented perfectly and lit perfectly and move perfectly, he would give me little reminders like “Chin down,” he would adjust the mask, so he was constantly with me. What an honor it was to co-create that character with Christopher Nelson. I think he’s the frickin’ bomb.
HGL: Nick Castle is revered for his performance as Michael Myers, so what runs through your mind when he refers to you as “Big Game James?”
JJC: (Laughs) Let me tell you, man, that guy has no freaking ego. They were trying to throw this stuff on him like “Nick is The Shape and James is his stunt double” and Nick was like, “F that, man. Nah, you’re the man. You’re doin’ it, and you’re doing a great job at it.” And we were just having a great time together.
Again, when you’ve done the work that Nick Castle has done you don’t need credit for something you haven’t done, you don’t need to play reindeer games. He is an iconic filmmaker, and like any great man, he’s humble and he serves something greater than himself, and he’s always quick to give credit where credit is due.
Nick and I talk on the phone often. I’ve got a friend for life, and I could never have done what I did if it hadn’t have been for Nick Castle, hands down.
HGL: In an interview with Halloween Daily News, you said the script “takes Michael Myers to a natural place of what The Shape is really capable of.” We excitedly imagine the grace of Castle and brutality of Tyler Mane, but can you elaborate on that quote for us?
JJC: (Sighs) No, I can’t talk too much about the story, and I can’t talk too much (chuckles) about the characters in those terms, but I can say that if you think about the space between 1978 and now and what could happen with an extraordinary energy that is The Shape, this is not a being that you can simply in terms. So if you were to take an exceptional being and place it in an environment where he has time to do a lot of inner work, because the place I went to to create this character is a place beyond duality, it’s a place beyond light and dark, it’s a place beyond judgment, so when you’re free of those things you’re free to really manifest.
HGL: Jamie Lee Curtis certainly appears to be balls-to-the-wall and channeling Dr. Loomis in this picture. What one word encapsulates her performance?
JJC: (Exhales) Wow. I mean, the superlatives are infinite. Jamie Lee Curtis is bad to the bone, dude. I can’t give you one word because she is a consummate professional, profoundly generous, deep, knowledgeable, clear, I mean she is just one of the most extraordinary women I’ve ever met. And in the area of #MeToo, I would admonish all women, especially young women to get to know Jamie Lee Curtis because this woman is the manifestation of what women are becoming — empowered, intelligent, compassionate, passionate, and just bad to the bone, man.
HGL: Legends like Castle and Curtis and John Carpenter were present for parts of the shoot, but let’s talk about Debra Hill. Though she wasn’t there physically, could you feel her influence during the process?
JJC: Oh sure, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, she’s such an important part of it, and I was really disappointed that I didn’t get to meet her, but that’s the way it goes. But absolutely. Absolutely.
HGL: Kevin Peter Hall once said, “When people want big and a performance to go along with that big, I’m the one they call.” You’ve talked about artistry within horror, and as someone who has such a clear appreciation for the genre, and like Castle or Kane Hodder or Bolaji Badejo has the experience of being behind the mask, talk about the challenge and artistry of fulfilling a critical role where speaking and facial expression are removed from the equation.
JJC: It could definitely be considered a challenge, but for me, it was at the nexus of what I do. There’s a great old character actor named Ted Knight on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and when I first moved out to L.A. I was a tour guide and I only had to wait on tables for a couple of years, but I ended up waiting on Ted Knight one day. He’s in his mid-sixties and he shows up with this beautiful 25-year old girl, nobody else is in the restaurant and he’s like “Hey, sit down. Have a glass of wine with me,” and I’m like “I can’t, ” and he goes “Well, stand here. You’re gonna talk to me.”
He said, “You’re an actor, right?” I said “Yeah, how’d you know?” And he goes “I can tell by the way you talk, by the way you carry yourself” He offered lot of advice, and one of the pieces of advice that he gave me that I practiced, I practiced a lot, was he said “Emulate. Emulate people. And when you emulate them, don’t do it visually, like he walks with this gait or he moves his head this way, take the essence of them and feel them inside you, and let that dictate how you emulate.”
I’ve practiced that through the years and in essence, that is a simplified version of how I approached this character.
HGL: What does Will Patton bring to the table?
JJC: Oh man, first of all, look at the dude’s resume. And he’s a great guy, he’s fun to work with and again, he’s a consummate professional, I mean, he shows up dude. I have to say, the casting of this film, across the board was amazing, they did an amazing job. It was just an honor to work with Will, and Will, like the rest of us, really wanted to be there, he was stoked to be there. So when you get that kind of talent and they really want to be there, Will definitely takes up space, man. He definitely takes up space on the screen.
HGL: He’s definitely a scene-eater, that’s for sure.
JJC: (Laughs)
HGL: I’m sure you’ve seen The Mothman Prophecies, and that was supposed to star Richard Gere and Laura Linney, but Will Patton owns every second he’s on screen in that film. He’s fantastic.
JJC: Oh yeah. It’s his internal magnetism, and it’s genuine. I mean, he’s a great guy to sit and have a drink with because you an see that light in his eye, you know what I mean? It’s always there. It’s real, it’s genuine. Like Jimmy Cagney said, “Acting is really standing on two feet and telling the truth,” and I think that’s what fine actors like Jamie and Will Patton and Judy Greer and Andi Matichak — good God, man — this woman is a young Jamie Lee Curtis. So when you have people that have talent, and then you sit with them personally and you get to know them it’s like, “Of course you’re successful at this. How could you not be? You’re an amazing human being.”
HGL: We know you can’t give away anything specific, but do you have a tantalizing nugget to offer that will drive fans insane between now and October 19?
JJC: (Laughs) Oh, man! Dang, that’s a hard one, buddy. (Pauses) Wow. I would just say, guess where Nick and I intersect.
HGL: Finally, Jamie Lee Curtis says Halloween (2018) will “scare the shit out of everybody,” but how would you describe it?
JJC: If you listen to John Carpenter’s original score, I think it’s one of the most masterful scores in film because what it does is go straight to the amygdala, straight to that part of the human brain that black, white, reptilian, all about fear. And there is nothing blocking it, it goes right to the amygdala, and I think what they’ve accomplished here with this beautiful script and every talented person who worked on it, I think they have fleshed out an amazing way to give complete homage to the story and to the original creators, original cast and crew.
And with contemporary filmmaking, the aspects of who we are as a species right now, we’re different than we were in 1978, we’re a different people–we look different, we speak differently, we have different attitudes–so I think what they’ve done so brilliantly, and I’m so honored to be a part of this, they have not remade something, but they have gone on a natural progression at every level, and I think that is a tremendous accomplishment.
Halloween (2018) opens in theatres nationwide on October 19.
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