Since 2018's film acts as a direct sequel to the original 1978 film, the filmmakers took the liberty of ignoring or reversing canon from its predecessors. That included the relationship between Laurie and Michael. Halloween (2018) even references the idea that people believe they are siblings when Laurie's granddaughter, Allyson, converses about it with one of her friends. While explaining the events that led to her grandmother's trauma, one of her friends asks about Laurie being Michael's sister. Allyson replies, "No. That's just a bit that some people made up to make them feel better, I think." In honor of Halloween, the holiday, and Halloween Kills, the latest installment of the franchise released earlier this year, Esquire spoke with nine of the men who have portrayed Michael Myers over the years. Most of them were stuntmen handed the role by happenstance. Some studied the lives of infamous serial killers for inspiration for the role, while others went in a decidedly different direction, studying the philosophies of Eastern Asia to inhabit the role fully and without judgement. We didn’t model Michael Myers after Frankenstein or any classic horror character. I put no pretty much zero thought into playing the role. I asked John, “What do you want out of this walk?” And he would say, “Just walk.” How 'The Buccaneers' Crafted Josie Totah and Mia Threapleton’s "Joyful" Queer Romance: "Never Even a Discussion"

Joy Behar Calls On Will Smith To "Get In The Ring" With Jada Pinkett Smith On 'The View': "He Sits There And Takes It" Many fans have told me, “ Halloween was the first time I was ever scared in a movie.” That would turn a lot of people off, but that’s the fun of liking horror movies—you’re kind of a rebel, an outsider. There’s a camaraderie to it. You’re part of a special club. Inhuman Durability: Michael possesses immense durability, making him seemingly impossible to kill, capable of withstanding hits from cars going at high speeds, large explosions, gunshots, acids, and other blows to his body while he is still able to walk it off (generally after a short rest period of around a few seconds to a few minutes).

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I eventually went to one and the attention from fans was overwhelming. I had no idea Halloween was so popular. I also learned I couldn’t bring the memorabilia with me to fan appearances. They nearly ripped the costume to shreds. People wanted a piece of it (literally). Weapon Proficiency: Michael is proficient in handling any type of object that he can use as weapons against his victims. His main weapon is a chef's knife that he uses to butcher his victims. You see my face in Halloween for only three seconds, but I’m the only face of Michael Myers. And it wasn’t because I did anything brilliant. I got the role because they had a small budget, I was cheap and John Carpenter liked my face.

I’ve had multiple people ask me to autograph their body in marker so they could get it tattooed on them. I always caution them against it, but there are people who love Halloween so much they want my writing permanently on their bodies. He was portrayed by James Jude Courtney while wearing the mask and unmasked in the Halloween 2018, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends. Stream It Or Skip It: 'My Christmas Hero' on GAF, Where A Military Man Helps A Doctor Find Family History and Lasting LoveSo when I got the role, I honestly did not know what a big deal it was. But that worked in my favor because I went on set with no preconceived notions. I didn’t get in my own head about it. I got to figure out how to play Michael Myers on my own. Stream It Or Skip It: 'A Nearly Normal Family' On Netflix, Where A Family's Secrets Come Out When The Daughter Is Accused Of Murder I used basic mindfulness concepts. I tried to let go of any preconceived idea and just be empty, which was difficult because Michael Myers had been around for 40 years at this point. To perform him, you can’t look from the outside in. You have to just feel it.

Rawn was the stunt coordinator on the film, and he told me that the script was different from other Halloween movies. It called for a guy with serious acting chops; not just a stuntman.Don Shanks, who played Michael Myers in one of the sequels, and I met on the set of Married With Children in 1997. “Why don’t you come to the conventions with the rest of us?” he said. I had no idea what he was talking about. Stream It Or Skip It: 'Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up' on Hallmark, in Which Reality Star New Neighbors Ignite A Festive Feud I called upon my spiritual work to inhabit the role. I’ve done lots of shamanic work — doing peyote with a North American shaman, ayahuasca with a shaman in South American and ibogaine with a shaman in Africa. The director told me, “I want you to walk like wood through water.” I thought of being rigid but fluid. You’re a force opposing water, so you have to be rigid enough to stand up against it, but fluid enough to move with it. I kept that in mind playing the character.

Halloween's opening scene — in which the violent murder of Michael's older sister, Judith, plays out visually from Michael's perspective — made cinematic history. When the movie came out in 1978, it was unheard of to film a profoundly unsettling, graphic murder from a first-person perspective. Its effects were unparalleled, though, as putting the audience in the shoes of a heartless murderer forced them to empathize with him. Yet, as bone-chilling as the scene was, it was the reveal of who committed the murder that left moviegoers gasping. A gentleman I worked with on the TV show CHIPS called me and said there was a movie coming to Salt Lake City and asked if I was available to meet with the director about doing stunts. I was 21 when I got the role, and it was my first acting gig. I was living in North Hollywood, sleeping on a couch at my buddy’s place and doing the starving actor thing. I had no idea it would be anywhere as successful as it was. I thought it was a clever enough notion to do a horror film set on Halloween called Halloween, and I thought John was a talented enough filmmaker, but this was an indie movie with a small budget and short film schedule. John wrote the film score in three days; now it’s iconic. The movie was lightning in a bottle.

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In the first two Halloween films, Michael's iconic white mask was in reality a Captain Kirk mask, repainted and with its features removed. The mask itself was derived from a cast of William Shatner's face done for the 1975 horror film The Devil's Rain. I wasn’t that excited about the role, though. I had been working as an actor and stuntman for several years at that point, long enough to feel jaded about the entertainment industry. I don’t know how many times I’ve been up for parts and told it was gonna happen, only to have it fall through.