Saturday AM Update: Refresh for more analysis and chart There’s something interesting here with the overperformance of Universal/Blumhouse/Miramax’s Halloween Kills: the pic, while well ahead of its mid $30Ms-$40M projection, is arguably the highest opening we’ve seen during the pandemic for a theatrical-day-and-date, non-transactional title with $50.16M, the 10th highest for October. This doesn’t include Disney+ Premier fare whereby those subscribers have to fork over an additional $29.99 to watch a title. And all of this bodes well for Warner Bros. and Legendary’s domestic launch of Dune next weekend, also on HBO Max, as a great opening could raise that pic’s profile heading into Oscar season. The big opening here is also a testament to Universal’s big marketing machine to open this film. The pic was blasted through the media conglom’s Symphony program, meaning it’s blitzed throughout all the Comcast NBCUniversal ancillaries, thus creating a situation where tracking was extremely hot well before the move was made to go date and date with this Blumhouse/Miramax sequel.

BY SAM STONE

In the small town of Haddonfield, evil will rise again for the eagerly anticipated slasher sequel Halloween Kills. Young Tommy Doyle is no longer sitting on the sidelines when Michael Myers carves a new rampage through his hometown. Portrayed by fan-favorite actor Anthony Michael Hall, Tommy organizes the people of Haddonfield to track down and kill The Shape for good as the holiday carnage quickly and gruesomely escalates. For Hall, the opportunity to join a major franchise in such a prominent role was a genuine thrill, and he praised filmmaker David Gordon Green and the rest of the cast and crew for creating such a creatively rewarding environment.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Hall opened up about joining the Halloween franchise as Tommy and reflected on some of his biggest projects from his extensive career, including working with Christopher Nolan on The Dark Knight, Tim Burton on Edward Scissorhands and John Hughes on a number of classic films. He also teased his role in the upcoming Netflix original film Trigger Warning, where he appears opposite Jessica Alba.

CBR: If Halloween was about confronting and overcoming trauma, Halloween Kills is about trauma affecting an entire community, and your character is right at the heart of that. How was it getting the role of Tommy Doyle for this?

Anthony Michael Hall: Honestly, I was over the moon! The way that it happened was I have a great management company called Untitled Entertainment, and Mitch Mason and Jason Weinberg are my reps… They set this up and I requested to meet David [Gordon Green] from the outset of this. The reason why is I wanted to get a sense of his objectives and to get to know the guy and he was a great guy. I really enjoyed the meeting. That happened back in August 2019 and I was really happy to make that introduction and had a great time speaking with him, and I did my screen test after that.

We talked for about an hour and I got a good sense of how he worked and he couldn’t have been cooler, showing up in a Bob Seger t-shirt and knowing the bartender in hotel lobby bar on a first name basis; he’s just such a nice, affable guy, really easygoing and fun. We had a great talk for about an hour together, I thanked him and went about my way and did my screen test within a week after that and was just so excited when I got this part.

I had never been a part of a franchise, with the exception of The Dark Knight, where I had a really solid role but a small one. To be plugged into this universe is an amazing thing and I’m really pumped about it. What’s funny is, with the delay because of the pandemic, is that it gave me an extra year and I’m YouTube looking for inspiration and researching things and I’ve been plugging into all these reaction videos. Whether it was the test screenings from last year or people getting to see the trailers, I was avidly scouring the internet looking for input to see what people thought of the film. [laughs]

It’s a really unique and wonderful thing and huge to be a part of this. It means the world to me. I’ve never been a part of such a big film and one that is so highly anticipated by international audiences. The fact that there’s a real appetite and anticipation for the film makes it that much more fun because we all know what David did here. He did a phenomenal job and this film is really a thrill ride and I’m just over the moon about it because I know that we made a great film that is really audience-friendly in this context. [laughs]

This is a juicy part, Tommy is the exposed, raw nerve of the film and a lot of what happens in the movie is informed by what he does. How did you approach the role with that in mind?

Hall: Even if you’re playing the villain, you can’t villainize him in your mind. So one of the things I got from David immediately, though he didn’t use this word, was that Tommy was a hero fighting for good. I want to say this to put this in context, for all my fellow actors, he gives us the same arc. What this screenplay does from Scott Teems, Danny McBride and David is they effortlessly thread those characters from the original film to the 2018 version and [Halloween Kills] picks up whether the other one left off. I think that’s a really remarkable thing about David, particularly as a filmmaker because he does that so effortlessly. He reintroduces these characters and we all love them but, to be fair to my fellow actors, we all share that arc.

We go from being victims to being survivors, unifying and becoming fighters and we’re all countering this dark force, fighting for good. I never looked at it like we were trying to be some mindless mob — just the opposite: I think everyone is clear-cut in what they’re doing, unifying as friends and neighbors saying they’re not going to take this anymore. I think Haddonfield really embodies what Peter Finch said in Network about being sick and tired and not going to take it anymore and rise up and fight for good.

The pedigree behind Halloween Kills is impressive, with both John Carpenter as an executive producer along with Jamie Lee Curtis, who is front and center. How was it having that on set?

Hall: It was amazing! I never got to meet Mr. Carpenter and will hopefully meet him at the premiere, but our brilliant team leaders Jason Blum, Jamie Lee, David and Danny were able to join forces with Mr. Carpenter. He’s done this incredible, new soundtrack that also harkens back to the original. All the departments on the films, like cinematographer Michael Simmonds or Christopher Nelson, who created the mask, there’s a real sense of community on set. David and Danny have this core group of great men and women on their crew and many have worked with them for fifteen years on all their shows, so they have a real nice shorthand.

That’s what I plugged into immediately, enjoying that in those quiet moments, all these great, creative talents were with us: David, Danny, the cinematographer, camera and VFX and all these great actors I got to work with. Jamie Lee is awesome and has a great spirit about her, really caring for people, and it shines through when you work with her. Andi Matichak and Judy Greer are just natural, great actresses but also have a lot of charm interpersonally as was Kyle Richards. We had a great experience and it was a relatively short shoot at only about six weeks, shot back in September through October of 2019.

Since you invoked Batman, I have to ask: Your character in The Dark Knight gets to share screen time with both Batman and the Joker and how was it being on set with Heath Ledger while he was in his full getup as the Joker?

Hall: He was in the zone, he really was; he was brilliant. When I delve back into that in my memories, I asked Chris Nolan some questions — I’ve gotten to work with some great writer-directors like Tim Burton and John, and Chris Nolan is up there, as is David — one things Chris said was that right away he knew Christian Bale was the right guy for Batman. I’m a huge Christian Bale fan and I was a fan of Heath’s before going into this film.

I was very impressed to see his level of focus and concentration. Two points of inspiration for Heath as the Joker were Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols and Malcolm McDowell’s performance in A Clockwork Orange. In the film, when the Joker is in jail, the way Nolan shoots and positions it, with his head down and tilted with that thousand-mile stare, these details became something I was aware of even on days when I wasn’t on set.

I found it incredible to work with Nolan. He’s brilliant and there’d always be a small group of people following him around like he was the Pied Piper in between setups because he had such a grasp, technically, in his filmmaking, and such a great director with actors that he really carves out time to have those one-on-one conversations to really cultivate the character together. He was great to work with.

Watching Heath was inspiring, he was in the zone when we made this film and when I think back, Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors and I got to hang out with him along with Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal. We were all swept up in the fun of that. I felt that to greater extent with Halloween Kills because you’re a part of something that audiences love and adds a real energy to the crew and the work.

In talking about John Hughes, you got to work with him at the height of his ubiquity so early in your own career and on multiple projects. What were some of the biggest lessons you got from him with your career?

Hall: One of the things I’ve told almost everyone when I talk about John is the sense of collaboration and joy. He was laughing all the time and David does as well; I really have to draw parallels, not just because I’m promoting [Halloween Kills], but he really did remind me of Hughes in a lot of ways. The way John was, we were always conspiring together and we would shoot scenes as they were written for three or four takes and then digress and we would play and come up with stuff where I’d improv and we’d come up with plenty. He created an environment where that was okay and he did it for the other actors as well.

The joy that he would work with, always laughing and conspiring and in conversation with one of us behind-the-scenes between takes, figuring out ways to improve upon a scene, embellish and make it better and funnier. That would be my first takeaway with John. That’s a great thing that I learned, that idea that no matter how talented you think you are, it’s always a collaboration when you’re a film or TV show. It literally takes a village to make any good project, so I think that sense of working humility, where he was able to take ideas from everybody.

To draw that same line with David Gordon Green, he’s a natural writer and director and auteur and John had all those natural qualities that David had as well, that ability to be collaborative, genuinely care and be in discussion, not just with your crew but that it’s an ongoing relationship you’re cultivating with him.

You also just wrapped a really prominent part in the upcoming film Trigger Warning. Is there anything you can share about that?

Hall: I’ve worked with some female directors but not enough yet, to be honest. There’s a wonderful woman named Mouly Surya from Indonesia and she made a great film a couple years ago called Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, which is just an incredible film and very much inspired by [Clint] Eastwood and [Sergio] Leone, shot like a Western in the classic way.

This woman undergoes a harrowing experience and, like Kill Bill, she just starts kicking ass. [laughs] She’s a very talented filmmaker. It was great meeting her and she was kind enough to cast me in this film. The other great thing is we had Zoe White, who shot The Handmaid’s Tale, a really brilliant cinematographer and coupled with Thunder Road Pictures, which did the John Wick films. They have access to a stunt team called the 87eleven who are just phenomenal, they do all the stunts, fight work and planning.

I’ve never worked with a team that was so prepared and I’m excited about that film. Jessica [Alba] is amazing and I kind of play a villain, but Jessica is the hero and this a great opportunity and could be a franchise for her. I was really impressed by her. She was really nice and easygoing to work with and can go from effortlessly mothering her kids on set to taking care of stuff with her huge company and then flies right into direct these action sequences. She knows her stuff when it comes to kicking ass and wears multiple hats on set. We just finished filming that in Santa Fe and that was a lot of fun too.

When you’re taking on these more antagonistic roles and playing in horror, what is the appeal in getting to paint with the darker colors in the canvas of your performance?

Hall: When I was a kid, I loved Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken and all these great, iconic actors. Those guys were a big influence on me in particular because I noticed they seemed to have more fun playing villains. There’s something to be said about that, that it’s really a lot of fun when you’re playing a villain because you can extend yourself more and maybe take more chances.

That’s always something I’ve kept in the back of my mind when I’m playing a villain, because another thing that’s very important is remembering to show the humor, that’s also something I learned watching Nicholson and Walken. Sometimes that guy can be even better in a bad movie when he’s playing a villain because he can eat up the scenery. [laughs] You have to have a certain pleasure in playing a villain and want to see the villain have fun. Watching Heath, he was brilliant in that role in a darker performance.

With that in mind, how was it developing your more antagonistic character with Tim Burton for Edward Scissorhands, especially at a time when that was against type for you at that point in your career?

Hall: When I think back to that, I’ve worked with some great auteurs and he’s one of them, like Chris Nolan and David Gordon Green. When I met with Tim Burton for that film, I recall having a conversation with him in an office in Midtown in New York where I was from and he was really cool. The way he looked at me and sat in a chair, with one leg up, looking at me sideways because I had just come off those Hughes films where I was all kinds of scrawny. [laughs] But by then I was a bigger guy, over six feet tall and had worked out a bit and gained some natural weight and it was a very simple and easy transition.

He saw it as a funny thing that I was a sort of bully character in the film. I never asked him but I think he thought it was funny I could do a 180 from those John Hughes films, which I was happy to do! [laughs] Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp are also smaller in stature so I could tower over them a bit and I think that all contributed.

Just to close out, now that Halloween Kills is done and finally ready to open in theaters and on Peacock, what are you most excited about getting to share it with the world?

Hall: I’d like to quote David Gordon Green because I happened to text him a couple weeks back and I hadn’t spoken with him for awhile and he was already in Venice, Italy for the film festival and he goes, “I can’t wait to unleash this movie on the world” I have the same sentiment. The thing that was cool about the delay for this film was the buildup among the fans of this franchise, which at 43 years and counting is so massive and diehard and tell you about every timeline and mask from the eleven previous films. The fact that they’re waiting makes it really exciting because we know that we all contributed to David’s vision and he did such a phenomenal job.

It’s a thrill ride, I’m not overstating that, this movie a rollercoaster that just takes off and keeps going. The convergence of those two things makes it really exciting because I know people are going to love it, especially when you know there’s a hunger for it. I’m super pumped and excited and I’m just on Cloud 9!

Directed and co-written by David Gordon Green, Halloween Kills is in theaters now and streaming on Peacock.

By HEATHER WIXSON
The wait is nearly over, everyone! The return of Michael Myers is officially only a few days away now, with Haddonfield’s most notorious resident set to return in Halloween Kills. David Gordon Green’s sequel arrives in theaters and exclusively on the Peacock streaming app on October 15th, and during a recent press day, Daily Dead had a chance to speak with one of the franchise’s newest cast members, Anthony Michael Hall. Hall is portraying Tommy Wallace in Green’s latest Halloween film, and during our interview, he discussed taking on such a notable character in horror history, his experiences collaborating with his fellow cast members as well as with Green, and what it was like to take on the iconic Michael Myers in Halloween Kills, too.

Look for more on Halloween Kills all this week right here on Daily Dead!

So great to speak with you today, Anthony. First of all, congratulations on making it into the Halloween family.

Anthony Michael Hall: Thank you so much. That’s been a lot of the discussion today. I’m excited. I really am. I’ve never been a part of a franchise and especially such a beloved one, so it’s really cool and I think that the anticipation waiting for this extra year for everybody makes it even more meaningful because we’re all excited for people to see it.

So, the news comes out that they’re going to do Halloween Kills and that they’re bringing back the character, Tommy Doyle. How did this come together that you were able to take on this role? I’m curious how everything fell into place.

Anthony Michael Hall: So basically, it came through my managers. I have a company called Untitled that I work with; they’re fantastic. So Mitch Mason and Jason Weinberg, who represent me, gave me a call, this is like two years ago now. But when it came up, I was thrilled. What I did is I first requested a meeting with David Gordon Green, and they were really nice to comply and set that up. And so basically, I met David Gordon Green at a hotel in Los Sciatica where he stays, and we had a great talk for about an hour. We met at the hotel bar and just had a beer and just talked about the whole experience. I got a sense of his objectives, what he wanted to accomplish with the sequel, and how he likes to work.

We just had a really nice, easygoing conversation. And then from there, I screen tested. I just felt that it would be a very interesting challenge because, in a film like this, it’s not even anti-hero. The villain is the hero in this context because everybody loves Myers. So it’s just that classic fight of good versus evil. I was just so grateful that Jamie Lee [Curtis], David, Danny [McBride], and of course Jason Blum gave me this opportunity because I just really attacked it. I really dug in and really went for it.

All of the original characters that you’ve seen in these films, we all rise up, and we all have this heroic instinct to really combat Michael and to go against him. And so the movie, as you saw, just really feels like a freight train or a rollercoaster. I’m just so proud of it, especially with this additional wait of another year. It gave me extra time to plug into how massive this fan base is, and I was doing everything from watching people that have fan sites on YouTube to reaction videos, to people giving reactions to the trailers, to the test screenings. I was like an avid fan for the last year and a half, waiting like everybody else. So it’s a really thrilling and exciting opportunity and a great time for me because I’m just honored to be a part of it and work with all these great people.

The scene where we meet you is a real showstopper because it cements the trauma of Michael Myers that has lingered over your character for 40 years. There’s anger, there’s a hint of sadness, and there’s the shadow of this kid who went through so much. Can you talk about diving into the psychology of Tommy and creating a character that has had to live with this trauma for all this time?

Anthony Michael Hall: It’s a great question. Fortunately, the way it worked out schedule-wise, films are always typically shot out of sequence, but we were pretty early into the schedule. It was almost as if we were in sequence shooting that scene. One of the things I do as an actor is I make the crew my first audience, and I think with that sequence, we had a great opportunity because I was just all into it. David had chosen this really cool place called The Rusty Nail, and it really sets up the story about us survivors who all get together on Halloween to talk about the things that we’ve endured and how we’ve gone through all this trauma together, and then it just kicks off from there as you saw. The beginning of the movie has so much energy and momentum and David, Danny, and Scott [Teems], the writers, just set it up beautifully.

There are so few films that I can recall in my lifetime that really have that effect where the audience is really going on that journey, and yet, at the same time, they’re telling you a good story. I also think all the departments really came together and you see a lot of great artistry in this film; whether it’s Christopher Nelson or Michael Simmons, our cinematographer, everybody really brought their best work to the table here with this project.

I won’t get into anything too specific because I don’t want to ruin anything for readers, but there is a moment where we get Michael and Tommy in the same space. What was that moment like for you? Did David keep James [Jude Courtney] and Nick [Castle] away from you guys to create that special aura that only Michael has?

Anthony Michael Hall: The truth is I naturally did that myself, and I think that James Jude Courtney had a similar mindset. Chris [Nelson]’s team was very protective of not only just the look of Michael, but also the masks, and all the details. James is a former stuntman, and he does a great job of really embodying his physicality of Michael. But I did give that space to him, and I only wanted to meet him in those scenes. And when we finally do meet, even though it is make-believe, at the same time, you have to create those stakes and make it real for yourself in a way.

By – Caitlin Busch

Halloween (2018) was Laurie Strode’s story, first and foremost. As the reigning queen of the franchise, Jamie Lee Curtis — who’s portrayed Laurie since John Carpenter’s 1978 classic — had the spotlight alongside Judy Greer and Andi Matichak, who played Laurie’s estranged daughter, Karen, and granddaughter, Allyson, respectively. In Halloween Kills, premiering in theaters and on Peacock on Oct. 15, the trio of scream queens-turned-warrior women are only part of an ensemble cast of townies new and old. One of them in particular, Tommy Doyle, is a returning character with a different actor behind the name.

Anthony Michael Hall (War Machine, The Dark Knight) may be new to David Gordon Green’s Halloween sequels, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a lover of the franchise. Over the decades, the character of Tommy Doyle has had several iterations showing how he might have grown up, but Halloween Kills wipes the slate clean. This Tommy is a community leader and a survivor saddled with the curse of knowledge; knowledge of what Michael Myers can do to an unsuspecting town convinced it’s moved beyond those dangers from decades past.

“[David] was giving me this hero role, which is really wonderful,” Hall says. “A lot of it is based on, as Jaime Lee talks about, the trauma of the characters and what the town has gone through. [The creators] opened it up by making it more of an ensemble… effortlessly including these other characters that people loved. It was just great. I don’t want to give anything away, but they did a great job. It really comes to life, and there’s also fair room for everybody.”

Read on for our spoiler-free interview with Hall, and learn more when Halloween Kills premieres in theaters and on Peacock on Oct. 15.

Do you remember the first time that you saw John Carpenter’s Halloween?

I was probably 11 years old, I remember watching it on TV. And I loved it. Honestly, I loved it. But since then, to be very honest, I don’t really follow the genre that much, but this one I’m pumped about. And really I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about a movie. So I’m really looking forward to seeing people react.

You know, I kind of stumbled [into] a lot of people on YouTube every day [while] researching stuff and looking for fun stuff to explore.

And these new sequels obviously rewrite some of those other sequels that people have been so passionate about for years. This is a different story for Tommy in Halloween Kills. What about this version of Tommy is different in your mind from the Tommy that people have gotten to know in other sequels?

I did recently see the version that Paul Rudd did [in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers], and that was obviously a different time frame. So it’s a different universe for the franchise.

But you brought up a great point. I think what’s brilliant about what David Gordon Green and Scott [Teems] and Danny McBride did with the film is they were able to spin it. So they take the original and they reintroduce these characters in the sequel, but also the bigger plan is the trilogy. So it’s all unfolding. So I thought not just for Tommy, but for all the characters, I thought it was brilliant how they created space with these other characters. And it extends to not just the locals that we knew from ’78, but [new characters, too].

David does really cool things. It’s almost Felliniesque kind of stuff, you know? Where you can work with non-actors just like he can work with comedic or dramatic actors or what have you. I found him to be brilliant. He was so cool and so loose, and then also very collaborative throughout the whole process. The best idea can come from anywhere. He also had that spirit, which was really impressive. That kind of humility from someone who was that established is great.

As far as collaboration goes, what specifically stood out to you when you were talking with David Gordon Green or even Jamie Lee Curtis about embodying this role?

I didn’t really discuss it with Jamie Lee. She just — it’s so funny. The quick story is this is how I was introduced: I met her when I was a kid, maybe in the ’80s. I think I was at the premiere of that movie Perfect that she did. I was 15 or 16; she was super cool. So the way I was re-introduced, is all of a sudden I see these bloodied hands appear in front of my face. We’re two weeks into shooting, and so I see these two bloodied hands kind of shaking in my face, I thought it was hilarious. Between the fingers, I could see Jamie Lee’s face, and she was like, “Hi.” Gave me a big hug. She’s just super cool. She’s got a great, very positive maternal spirit about her, and she really loves people. That’s what comes across when you’re around her. Being a big boss on this and having been a part of this from the beginning, having been a part of so much of its success, she’s just humble about it. She’s always deferential to Jason and to David Gordon and John Carpenter and Debra Hill.

Speaking of blood, because we can’t not talk about it with a Halloween movie: Is there anything while shooting this that really stands out to you as being particularly difficult or particularly gory?

No — I think just the opposite. It was almost this spirit of fun. It was Halloween for the crew while we were making the movie, you know what I mean? Every day felt like that. And I think there’s also, you’d be surprised, a great amount of laughter, just because those guys are awesome, and they lead by example. They’re great comedic creators, Danny and David, too. Really funny guys, you know? So to be honest, I saw a lot of John Hughes in here. They [had] just this natural ease about them, and [are] great, gifted writers and great collaborators, but no ego. Just totally fun-loving and that’s incredible too. When I look back on my career, I think that’s the most impressive, because I think about the people that were inspired while working — grateful for the work while doing a good job. You know how it is. Not everybody has that attitude when they go to work.

Does that spirit of collaboration make you want to do more horror films?

I am interested in developing more stuff. I have something that I’m writing, which is interesting — it’s kind of in the supernatural vein, more than all-out horror. But it’s supernatural horror kind of. I think I’m more interested in them now, absolutely.

I think there’s something really fascinating too about this genre where you think about Myers and what he represents to people. It’s the total anti-hero, even though he’s the villain. And that’s what’s fascinating about horror films. In particular these franchises, the Halloween, Jason, you know what I mean, the top three. They have these protagonists that are just hateful criminals. But that’s what people want to see. So it’s so funny when you hear them talk about it, they’re beloved characters.

They’re out here killing people, but folks love to see it and they also want to see the villain killed — but not really.

They’re compelled, right? So that’s really interesting to me. That aspect of what it takes, what these kinds of films do to people. I was doing some research on [what] I’m writing, and looking back at the effects of The Exorcist and how that affected people… or The Blair Witch Project, or other films that are genre, but they take it to another level because there’s also information downloads happening too in those films.

I think with Halloween, this is incredible. The hero is the villain. And like you said, everybody wants to see him killed. It may be in the title, guys!

What was it like seeing, speaking of Michael, seeing him in his full regalia?

I don’t think I’m talking out of school here, I don’t want to break any confidentiality agreements I had, but basically he’s referred to as The Shape, which I think everybody knew, but I didn’t know that going in. So it wasn’t ever like “Myers” on the call sheet. It was more of “The Shape.”

ByCheryl Eddy

David Gordon Green’s Halloween Kills arrives this Friday, and two of its most important characters have a couple of big things in common: they’ve both spent most of their lives haunted by Michael Myers, and they’ve both had just about enough of it. But the similarities mostly end there for Karen (Judy Greer), the daughter of original Halloween heroine Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), and Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall), who was one of the kids Laurie was babysitting that fateful Halloween night back in 1978. io9 spoke to Halloween Kills’ Greer and Hall to find out more.

Though we haven’t seen Tommy since 1978—in this continuity, anyway, but we’ll get to that in a bit—Hall (whose credits include 1980s classics like The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, as well as the Dead Zone TV series and The Dark Knight) told us over video chat he didn’t spend too much time thinking about what the character has been up to over the past 40 years. Instead, he credits “a really great script [where] that was really all kind of embedded and woven into the fabric of the story. That’s really kudos to David and [Green’s co-writers] Danny [McBride] and Scott Teems, because they were able to thread all the characters from the original film through 21018, and the whole universe kind of opens up more. That’s no small feat, and they do it very effortlessly.”

Though Hall wasn’t part of John Carpenter’s original Halloween cast or in the 2018 series reboot, he felt comfortable coming into the role, in part because the film was almost shot in sequence at the beginning of production. “About a week into the movie we shot the scene at the bar, and I think there’s a very powerful turn worth noting—everybody goes from commiserating about being sort of victims and survivors to making a turn and kind of summoning something else within them all, which is this idea of unifying and combating this evil—we’re not victims anymore. Let’s fight, you know?,” he said. “It was very cool to do that early in the film and to get to know Nancy [Stephens] and Kyle [Richards] and some of the actors that were there from the beginning. And I had a great time working with others that were new to it like myself, like Robert Longstreet and others. You’re not always afforded that luxury of kind of shooting in sequence and getting your bearings, and with this, we were able to, which was fun.”

Greer’s character, on the other hand, played a big role in the previous Halloween film. When we first met Karen, she was estranged from Laurie; she definitely didn’t understand or sympathize with her mother’s obsession with Michael Myers. That’s changed, obviously, after what she went through in the 2018 movie, and the Karen we see in Halloween Kills—still reeling from the vicious nightmare she’s just endured, including the death of her husband—is very different. Greer told us over the phone, “I feel like she immediately is on her mom’s side. I mean, that starts toward the end of Halloween, but she really picks up where her mom left off. She believes her mom [now] and she’s ready to fight.”

Seemingly all of Haddonfield is ready to fight in Halloween Kills, as it turns out, with Tommy leading the charge. The film’s growing tension explodes in a hospital scene in which a group of townspeople—furiously fearful that a killing machine has returned to menace their streets once again—believes they’ve spotted Michael Myers roaming the hallway. Though the film was shot in late 2019, the riot and the mood it conveys both feel oddly timely.

“All of those things kind of unfurl what’s happened in our society and across the world with the pandemic and just the sort of divisiveness, a lot of the stuff that we’ve seen as human beings,” Hall said. “It was a strange occurrence how that kind of mirrored the film, because as I know Jamie and David have spoken to, we could not have anticipated that the world got even crazier and kind of reflected and mirrored some of those themes in the film. It was really a very poignant and shocking surprise for all of us. I think it gives even more relevancy to the film in an interesting way. [The choice to resort to violence is] kind of the central conflict, I feel, of the first act—because as you know, there’s that big misdirect where we follow that and it leads us down a dark path, unfortunately, in pursuit of Myers.”

While Tommy jumps into the fray without hesitation, and even though she’s just as traumatized and angry as he is, Karen doesn’t join in. Instead, she tries to calm people down. “She’s a trained psychologist—her background is in therapy and working with people who have issues, helping kids. I think they cut that scene out of the first movie, [but she’s able to] see through the emotion and understands, maybe clinically, about mob mentality. But I think she is just a very measured, careful human being,” Greer said. She also noted that she hopes people do make connections between the movie and current events, especially regarding that scene. “It’s always great when you’re making a genre film and it becomes sort of grounded in reality—when you keep people really human and you keep situations like that, [which] could actually happen, at the forefront of a story.”

Both Tommy and Karen have close ties to Michael Myers, an enigmatic character whose lore has changed throughout the Halloween series but remains fairly stripped-down in Green’s films. “One of the things that I heard David talk about, which was really interesting to me, was that there’s actually a very limited mythology about Myers. We don’t really know what makes him tick,” Hall said. “Just his presence, I think, inspires a lot and people love to see him terrorize. That’s something fascinating, that [horror movie audiences] all have that desire to be scared or to be shocked. Maybe it’s some sort of unconscious way of dealing with death through the darkness or whatever. But that is fascinating to me: unlike other sort of dark characters, there’s a lot that’s not explained about Myers.”

Halloween Kills takes place entirely in Haddonfield and emphasizes repeatedly that one of Michael’s driving forces is his desire to return to his childhood home. “I found myself weirdly sympathizing a little with Michael Myers when I watched this movie and I didn’t like that I felt that way. But there was something more human about him,” Greer said. “And it’s like, what is it that turns a child into a monster? And is that in you already, or do you become that? I don’t know. I think the symbolism of going home is interesting, but I don’t have a major point of view, I guess, about why Michael does [what he does] because I’m still so curious about him.” And not knowing, she said, makes the movie even more frightening. “I think that nothing is scarier [than not knowing]. Everything is scarier. You don’t know what [he’s] hiding. I mean, how can you fight with an unseen enemy or even defend yourself?”

We could not let our chat with Hall end without asking if he’s seen the previous portrayal of Tommy Doyle as an adult—by Paul Rudd in 1995’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, the sixth film in the franchise. While the movie wasn’t all that well-received when it was released, it’s since become something of a cult favorite among horror fans. “I did see it recently—I was glad I waited till after I was done because it was a very interesting take,” Hall said. “I liked that version, too. You know, [Tommy’s] very kind of professorial in it in a way, very interesting—a different take than I had. I was more of a bare-knuckle approach, I guess.”

Halloween Kills opens in theaters and streams on Peacock starting October 15.

The actor opens up about playing Tommy Doyle in the Halloween sequel, taking over the role from Paul Rudd and working with director David Gordon Green. He also reveals John Hughes “toyed around” with the idea of making sequel to The Breakfast Club.

Tom Beasley·Contributor

Anthony Michael Hall has admitted he was “freaked out” by crossing paths with Michael Myers on the set of Halloween Kills, but that this very real fear powered his performance.

The 53-year-old star takes on the role of Tommy Doyle in director David Gordon Green’s slasher sequel, playing a character embodied by child actor Brian Andrews in the 1978 original film and Paul Rudd in the 1995 sequel Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.

“I felt like I was leading the town against him, so you get territorial and you get yourself psyched up,” Hall told Yahoo, discussing how he prepared himself to meet Myers on set.

Read more: Jamie Lee Curtis says Halloween Kills is a masterpiece

James Jude Courtney is credited with playing Myers — aka The Shape — this time around, but 74-year-old original Myers actor Nick Castle also contributed some work to the film.

Hall said the actor behind the role of Michael always had a unique aura on the North Carolina set, even when the cameras weren’t rolling.

He added: “I kind of get a little Method acting when I’m preparing or doing something. So I could be doing any number of things, from listening to Led Zeppelin on the earbuds to stretching or boxing or doing different things to get myself loose.

“But I would always see him on set and it would freak me out — in a good way that would motivate me. We have the great [make-up artist] Chris Nelson and James Jude doing a great job. They have a whole team of guys that just surround him.”

Halloween Kills picks up exactly where 2018’s confusingly titled Halloween left off, with Michael Myers emerging from the flames to which he was condemned by Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).

With Laurie in hospital, Tommy and the residents of Haddonfield form an angry mob with the hope of finally putting the town psychopath down for good.

Hall said: “As an actor, you have to take those circumstances to heart and really believe them before you can make anyone else believe it.

“I just go all-in. I have my own ways of revving myself up and I was doing everything I could to get ready for Myers.”

Read more: Halloween Ends to bring closure to Laurie Strode story

Halloween Kills is finally arriving in cinemas a year late after a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with planned sequel Halloween Ends set to begin production soon.

David Gordon Green, who has helmed the last two movies, will return to complete his trilogy.

Yahoo Movies UK: I wanted to start by congratulating you on the film. It’s such a thrill ride.

Anthony Michael Hall: It really is a ride, that’s how I would describe it too — as a thrill ride, a rollercoaster, a freight train. David is a brilliant filmmaker and we all had such a great time doing it with a fantastic crew. And just to be welcomed into this world, where Jamie is the screen mama. She’s such a great lady. Their energy as the leaders of our team was incredible on set. There were a lot of laughs despite the subject matter and the genre, and we just really enjoyed it. It wasn’t a long shoot, just six weeks, so it went pretty quick.

I was texting with David while he was in Venice with Jamie and he used the perfect verb to describe it. He said “I can’t wait to unleash this movie on the world”. That’s how we all feel. We’re just really excited. Plus, with the additional year we’ve had to wait, all the fans of this franchise are just pumped. We are equally pumped up and excited.

I think as a slasher fan, it gives you what you want. I often like to ask people how much fun these films are to do, being around the practical effects and the blood and the squibs and all of that sort of stuff.

That’s bang on, everyone has a really good time doing it. Christopher Nelson [the make-up artist responsible for Michael’s mask] and his team are brilliant, we had an incredible cinematographer, just a great crew and great actors. It was really nice to see and be part of this reunion even though I wasn’t there for the original. We’re just all so jazzed because we know that the film is great. It really packs a punch and it delivers.

What was your history with this franchise? Were you a fan from the start?

I’m 53 now, so in the late seventies when the movie was made I didn’t see it in theatres. I saw it probably a year or two later on cable, when that was new. I remember all of those POV shots where it’s like you’re in Michael’s point of view stalking through the streets. I remember the soundtrack and all of these primal key elements that Carpenter, as the maestro in this franchise, created.

What’s also amazing is that David has really taken that mantle — him and [co-writers] Danny McBride and Scott Teems — and done an incredible job with the screenplay and the story structure. They were able to thread all those characters from the original film, up through the 2018 one which was a massive hit and reintroduce these people, which also makes room for other characters. So it’s really an incredible thing because it’s also a great ensemble. It’s very classic good versus evil. It’s Laurie versus Michael once again.

I’m just so pumped up. I’ve never been part of a franchise or anything like this. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a movie that anybody was waiting for. Maybe with the exception of The Dark Knight, and if you blinked you missed me. I was on the TV in the background behind Christian Bale and Michael Caine a few times, which was a good place to be by the way. I’m just jazzed. I feel very blessed and very fortunate to be a part of this and I’m just so excited about how the movie turned out.

You have done horror in the past but, when people think of you, they don’t immediately think of horror and scares. Is it a genre you enjoy working in?

I do. I really do. Like you said, there’s a great sense of humour everybody keeps about it too. It’s that classic thing of so many great craftspeople coming together from all of the different departments, but everybody has a good laugh too. We had a lot of night shooting and it wasn’t an expansive schedule, so we had a timeframe to work within. But everybody had a great time.

And I would love to do more of them. Now I’ve worked with Jason Blum and Universal in this capacity. I would love to do more.

You mentioned that it’s Michael versus Laurie, which is such a huge part of the franchise. But I feel like this is more of an ensemble piece and it has a lot to say about mob mentality. Was that something which interested you when you read the script?

It was organic and it was an original idea based on them extending and building out this franchise. I just think the way that the world has gone in the last two years, it just kind of lined up that way. It was in the stars and it’s kind of like the world has mirrored the world we created to some degree, with all of the social issues and upheavals around the world. That was just a matter of irony and it’s weird how that worked out.

But as you said, it really is an ensemble. I feel so blessed that David and Danny and Jason and Jamie gave me this opportunity because it’s really a hero’s role. Tommy is very heroic, as all of the characters are in the film. What happens is that instead of becoming victims or just survivors, they really support each other and make a decision as a town to go after him. It raises those stakes of good versus evil in such a compelling way. and then we’re off to the races. The movie just doesn’t stop. There’s also those appropriate moments where there’s suspense and a good build.

There’s a moment where it’s cutting between Michael and what he’s doing and yourself and the people of Haddonfield and suddenly the hero and villain thing isn’t so clear.

It’s hard to win in a movie where this character is so beloved. You can’t even say he’s an antihero. He’s a villain, he’s the stalker, he’s the boogeyman and all of that. And yet you see such a massive fan base of people who love this character.

Anthony Michael Hall
Anthony Michael Hall
Tom Beasley
Tom Beasley·Contributor
Tue, October 12, 2021, 3:53 AM·12 min read
In this article:

Anthony Michael Hall
Anthony Michael Hall
American actor, producer and director
Watch: Trailer for Halloween Kills

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Anthony Michael Hall has admitted he was “freaked out” by crossing paths with Michael Myers on the set of Halloween Kills, but that this very real fear powered his performance.

The 53-year-old star takes on the role of Tommy Doyle in director David Gordon Green’s slasher sequel, playing a character embodied by child actor Brian Andrews in the 1978 original film and Paul Rudd in the 1995 sequel Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.

“I felt like I was leading the town against him, so you get territorial and you get yourself psyched up,” Hall told Yahoo, discussing how he prepared himself to meet Myers on set.

Read more: Jamie Lee Curtis says Halloween Kills is a masterpiece

James Jude Courtney is credited with playing Myers — aka The Shape — this time around, but 74-year-old original Myers actor Nick Castle also contributed some work to the film.

Hall said the actor behind the role of Michael always had a unique aura on the North Carolina set, even when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Anthony Michael Hall steps into the role of Tommy Doyle in slasher sequel 'Halloween Kills'. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
Anthony Michael Hall steps into the role of Tommy Doyle in slasher sequel ‘Halloween Kills’. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
He added: “I kind of get a little Method acting when I’m preparing or doing something. So I could be doing any number of things, from listening to Led Zeppelin on the earbuds to stretching or boxing or doing different things to get myself loose.

“But I would always see him on set and it would freak me out — in a good way that would motivate me. We have the great [make-up artist] Chris Nelson and James Jude doing a great job. They have a whole team of guys that just surround him.”

Read more: Halloween Kills to have highest body count in the franchise

Halloween Kills picks up exactly where 2018’s confusingly titled Halloween left off, with Michael Myers emerging from the flames to which he was condemned by Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis).

With Laurie in hospital, Tommy and the residents of Haddonfield form an angry mob with the hope of finally putting the town psychopath down for good.

Michael Myers continues his murderous rampage in 'Halloween Kills'. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
Michael Myers continues his murderous rampage in ‘Halloween Kills’. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
Hall said: “As an actor, you have to take those circumstances to heart and really believe them before you can make anyone else believe it.

“I just go all-in. I have my own ways of revving myself up and I was doing everything I could to get ready for Myers.”

Read more: Halloween Ends to bring closure to Laurie Strode story

Halloween Kills is finally arriving in cinemas a year late after a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with planned sequel Halloween Ends set to begin production soon.

David Gordon Green, who has helmed the last two movies, will return to complete his trilogy.

Read our full interview with Anthony Michael Hall, in which he compares Michael Myers to other slasher icons and reveals his pride at being part of a big franchise for the first time…

Franchise legend Nick Castle (left) and James Jude Courtney both portray Michael Myers in 'Halloween Kills'. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
Franchise legend Nick Castle (left) and James Jude Courtney both portray Michael Myers in ‘Halloween Kills’. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
Yahoo Movies UK: I wanted to start by congratulating you on the film. It’s such a thrill ride.

Anthony Michael Hall: It really is a ride, that’s how I would describe it too — as a thrill ride, a rollercoaster, a freight train. David is a brilliant filmmaker and we all had such a great time doing it with a fantastic crew. And just to be welcomed into this world, where Jamie is the screen mama. She’s such a great lady. Their energy as the leaders of our team was incredible on set. There were a lot of laughs despite the subject matter and the genre, and we just really enjoyed it. It wasn’t a long shoot, just six weeks, so it went pretty quick.

I was texting with David while he was in Venice with Jamie and he used the perfect verb to describe it. He said “I can’t wait to unleash this movie on the world”. That’s how we all feel. We’re just really excited. Plus, with the additional year we’ve had to wait, all the fans of this franchise are just pumped. We are equally pumped up and excited.

I think as a slasher fan, it gives you what you want. I often like to ask people how much fun these films are to do, being around the practical effects and the blood and the squibs and all of that sort of stuff.

That’s bang on, everyone has a really good time doing it. Christopher Nelson [the make-up artist responsible for Michael’s mask] and his team are brilliant, we had an incredible cinematographer, just a great crew and great actors. It was really nice to see and be part of this reunion even though I wasn’t there for the original. We’re just all so jazzed because we know that the film is great. It really packs a punch and it delivers.

What was your history with this franchise? Were you a fan from the start?

Michael Myers is on typically murderous form in 'Halloween Kills'. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
Michael Myers is on typically murderous form in ‘Halloween Kills’. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
I’m 53 now, so in the late seventies when the movie was made I didn’t see it in theatres. I saw it probably a year or two later on cable, when that was new. I remember all of those POV shots where it’s like you’re in Michael’s point of view stalking through the streets. I remember the soundtrack and all of these primal key elements that Carpenter, as the maestro in this franchise, created.

What’s also amazing is that David has really taken that mantle — him and [co-writers] Danny McBride and Scott Teems — and done an incredible job with the screenplay and the story structure. They were able to thread all those characters from the original film, up through the 2018 one which was a massive hit and reintroduce these people, which also makes room for other characters. So it’s really an incredible thing because it’s also a great ensemble. It’s very classic good versus evil. It’s Laurie versus Michael once again.

I’m just so pumped up. I’ve never been part of a franchise or anything like this. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a movie that anybody was waiting for. Maybe with the exception of The Dark Knight, and if you blinked you missed me. I was on the TV in the background behind Christian Bale and Michael Caine a few times, which was a good place to be by the way. I’m just jazzed. I feel very blessed and very fortunate to be a part of this and I’m just so excited about how the movie turned out.

You have done horror in the past but, when people think of you, they don’t immediately think of horror and scares. Is it a genre you enjoy working in?

I do. I really do. Like you said, there’s a great sense of humour everybody keeps about it too. It’s that classic thing of so many great craftspeople coming together from all of the different departments, but everybody has a good laugh too. We had a lot of night shooting and it wasn’t an expansive schedule, so we had a timeframe to work within. But everybody had a great time.

David Gordon Green and Anthony Michael Hall talk through a scene on the set of 'Halloween Kills'. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
David Gordon Green and Anthony Michael Hall talk through a scene on the set of ‘Halloween Kills’. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
And I would love to do more of them. Now I’ve worked with Jason Blum and Universal in this capacity. I would love to do more.

You mentioned that it’s Michael versus Laurie, which is such a huge part of the franchise. But I feel like this is more of an ensemble piece and it has a lot to say about mob mentality. Was that something which interested you when you read the script?

It was organic and it was an original idea based on them extending and building out this franchise. I just think the way that the world has gone in the last two years, it just kind of lined up that way. It was in the stars and it’s kind of like the world has mirrored the world we created to some degree, with all of the social issues and upheavals around the world. That was just a matter of irony and it’s weird how that worked out.

But as you said, it really is an ensemble. I feel so blessed that David and Danny and Jason and Jamie gave me this opportunity because it’s really a hero’s role. Tommy is very heroic, as all of the characters are in the film. What happens is that instead of becoming victims or just survivors, they really support each other and make a decision as a town to go after him. It raises those stakes of good versus evil in such a compelling way. and then we’re off to the races. The movie just doesn’t stop. There’s also those appropriate moments where there’s suspense and a good build.

There’s a moment where it’s cutting between Michael and what he’s doing and yourself and the people of Haddonfield and suddenly the hero and villain thing isn’t so clear.

It’s hard to win in a movie where this character is so beloved. You can’t even say he’s an antihero. He’s a villain, he’s the stalker, he’s the boogeyman and all of that. And yet you see such a massive fan base of people who love this character.

Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role of Laurie Strode in 'Halloween Kills', with Judy Greer as her daughter. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role of Laurie Strode in ‘Halloween Kills’, with Judy Greer as her daughter. (Ryan Green/Universal Pictures)
I actually heard David in a recent interview say that there’s actually a very limited mythology around Myers. We don’t know too much about what makes him tick, but it’s just that he’s the human embodiment of darkness and evil. It’s very powerful. So when you juxtapose that with all of these characters that people love coming together in a unified way to combat him. It’s intense. It just propels the film forward I think, and that’s what’s very exciting. I think people who are fans of this franchise will be very satisfied, and hopefully it will attract a lot of new fans too.

You’re coming into a role which has been played by other people. Did you get chance to meet Brian Andrews or Paul Rudd to talk about approaching Tommy?

No I didn’t, but I got a message from David when we were shooting to say that he had a call with Paul Rudd. Paul said some very nice things about me and gave me his blessing from the Vatican. That was very cool. I am a big fan of Paul Rudd and he did a great job with that version he did.

It was just a thrill to be part of something people were really anticipating and waiting for. I’ve been in this business for 45 years this year, and this franchise is 40-plus years old, so it’s an amazing thing. You have this built-in audience of fans who are just hungry for this film. They love Myers, they love Jamie and the Strode women. It’s a dream project for all of these reasons.

What was it like the first time you came face to face with Michael Myers on set, in full costume?

Obviously it’s the land of make-believe. We’re in Wilmington, North Carolina, and we’re making a movie. I felt like I was leading the town against him, so you get territorial and you get yourself psyched up. I kind of get a little Method acting when I’m preparing or doing something. So I could be doing any number of things, from listening to Led Zeppelin on the earbuds to stretching or boxing or doing different things to get myself loose. But I would always see him on set and it would freak me out — in a good way that would motivate me. We have the great Chris Nelson and James Jude Courtney [who plays Michael] doing a great job. They have a whole team of guys that just surround him.

But as an actor, you have to take those circumstances to heart and really believe them before you can make anyone else believe it. I just go all-in. I have my own ways of revving myself up and I was doing everything I could to get ready for Myers.

We spoke about the limited back-story of Michael and you can’t help but compare him to other slasher villains. Are there any other slasher franchises you’d love to be a part of?

On the appearance circuit, I’ve run into [Freddy Krueger actor] Robert Englund. He’s a very nice guy. What a nice gentleman. But I think Myers stands alone. He’s very enigmatic and there’s something so cold and calculating about him.

Tommy mentions in the first film that “you can’t kill the boogeyman”. It’s interesting and ironic that my character in the original film, even as a little boy, unleashes that theme on the world. Michael is someone who fascinates and tantalises audiences in a strange way. In this franchise, he’s the hero even though he’s the villain too. I think in playing Tommy, I knew that I was just diametrically opposed to him and carrying the town on my back as we make this heroic turn to go “time’s up, we’ve got to go after this guy”.

Those classic themes of good versus evil are there. You see it in literature for hundreds of years, you see it in a Western and you see it in a Marvel film.

Halloween Kills will be released exclusively in cinemas in the UK from 15 October.

In the original 1978 horror movie “Halloween,” Jamie Lee Curtis plays a teenage babysitter to a little boy named Tommy Doyle. In the latest incarnation of the franchise, “Halloween Kills,” Tommy Doyle is all grown up and facing down Michael Myers once in again, and he’s played by Anthony Michael Hall.

“It’s really fun being part of a franchise people are anticipating,” said Hall. “The movie starts out with the survivors having a group session in the bar, so it’s directly threaded from ‘78 to the present.”

Hall, who goes by Mike, has been acting since he was a child. He was a staple in films either writer and/or directed by John Hughes in the 1980s, including “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Weird Science.”

Despite the prevalence of reboots at the moment, Hughes’ most famous titles have yet to be re-imagined. “I’m kind of glad, to be honest,” said Hall. “Out of respect for Mr. Hughes (who died in 2009). If he was rebooting them himself and giving them his blessing, that would be one thing. But I think his work is so special, I think it should be left alone. Time will tell, I guess.”When asked about a worst moment in his career, Hall recalled a memory from a time before everything took off for him professionally.

My worst moment …

“There are some raunchier versions I could have responded with here, but also stories about people I’ve worked with, but I don’t really like to disparage people. So I thought of a story, and it’s actually kind of sweet.

“I auditioned for ‘On Golden Pond’ (from 1981 starring Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda) and I went through a series of auditions on the project. And I think what made it unique was working with the director Mark Rydell in the audition phase, he was just really cool about it. There were multiple callbacks and I was just a little kid, like 8 or 9 years old at the time.

“And on the final callback, after my audition, I was sitting there with the other kid actors in the waiting room and Mark Rydell came out and kind of broke the news to me (that the role was going to someone else), but the way he did it was really special. He did it with the love of a father or a grandfather. He was very forthright and honest. It’s like those parents who speak to their kids as adults from a young age. I think he said something to the effect of, ‘Unfortunately we’re going to go in a different direction, but I just wanted you to know that you did such a great job.’ Very gentle and caring.

“It was incredible. I was upset in that moment. I mean, I did want it. Even as a peanut of a kid, I knew how big of an opportunity it was to work with the Fondas (Jane Fonda also has a small role in the film). But at the same time I was very impressed with how he took care of it, in a very nice and caring way. And I wasn’t even really working as a child actor at the time. (Hall had one or two minor screen credits when he auditioned for the film.)

“This was a brand new thing for me. I was raised in New York City, I was the son of a single mom, and I remember I had a seriousness about it. I would leave school and take a bus or train and go to these auditions, and I kind of had this workman ethic even as a little kid. And that project, that was a bummer not to get it. A letdown. But I also thought the way he handled it was cool. That always stuck with me, I thought Rydell was classy and a very nice man about it.

“It taught me respect for the work and that it was a process. That I had to hit the streets and pound the pavement. Even as a kid, on a subconscious level, I think I was making that connection. This was a job and I took it seriously and that was kicking in for me.

“If I looked back at my life and it was a document of all the awkward auditions I did, I mean that would be pretty funny to watch. Because you can feel when it’s not working. You feel off. You don’t care or they don’t care or there’s too many people in the room looking at you like: Show us something (laughs). Just scores of awkward auditions, where you’re in a small room and there’s eight people on folding chairs all pushed to one side of the room, and that can throw you if they start talking among themselves or say little judgy things. You build a thick skin. And what I learned to do is just go right into the scene, that was the easiest way to circumvent that. But I have literally decades of awkward auditions.”

Hall landed “National Lampoon’s Vacation” two years after “One Golden Pond” came out. Did those two years feel like a long time?

“Like career stress? No, that’s a great question. I don’t recall. Hopefully, I just kind of reflexively fell back into being a kid. When I think it got serious for me was after I did the movies for Hughes. It was like: Wow, I have a career. I gotta work at this and treat it with respect. Not to sound funny, but I was like, I want to do this until I’m an old man, so I want to take it seriously and have a long career.

“When I got ‘Vacation,’ it was elation. I’m 53, so growing up in the ‘70s and watching ‘Saturday Night Live’ was a big deal. I really always loved and enjoyed that original cast, so as a kid working with some of these legends on that film was incredible — Chevy Chase and John Candy, Imogene Coca and Brian Doyle Murray. Harold Ramis (the film’s director), he had a lot of the same qualities as John Hughes; two great guys from Chicago.”

Hall was in back-to-back hits as a teenager, what was it like to acclimate to sudden fame?

“That could be a very long answer. I think it took me a while to process what I went through in those three or four years — including my time on ‘SNL’ (he joined the ensemble for the ‘85-’86 season when he was 17) — it was very intense (laughs). But when I look back on it, I’m proud of myself. I realized I met those challenges, even though I made a lot of mistakes as a kid and even into my adulthood, I might add (laughs).”

The takeaway …

“I think that audition for ‘On Golden Pond’ was a hard, tough lesson about showbiz. You’re not always gonna win ‘em. But I also thought it was a lesson in grace from Rydell, too. The fact that he was able to be tender with a little kid.

“But I think on another level, I was learning what the industry expects and demands. So you really always have to earn it.

“I did end up watching ‘On Golden Pond’ when it came out and it wasn’t awkward. It was more like, wow, that became a great film. Maybe I did feel a sting knowing I didn’t get the part, but I don’t think so. I wasn’t so attached to the business of it all, because I was just a little kid.”

Anthony Michael Hall quickly discovered that the cutthroat world of high school is nothing compared to a run-in with Michael Myers. The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles actor will next be seen in Halloween Kills as Tommy Doyle, a character that first appeared in 1978’s Halloween. Tommy was one of the young kids Laurie Strode [Jamie Lee Curtis] babysat the night of Michael’s original killing spree. In that timeline, Paul Rudd portrayed an adult version of that character in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Of course, all the previous sequels were wiped out of existence in the current reboot. Rudd was reportedly asked to reprise the role, but couldn’t mange it due to a scheduling conflict.

Instead, Hall takes up the mantle as grown-up Tommy. He reunites with Laurie to lead the charge and end Michael’s reign of terror… once and for all. Hall recently spoke to SCREAM Magazine about joining the Halloween franchise, weaponizing Tommy and gruesome deaths.

For more on the interview, click here to read.

Anthony Michael Hall is a legend when it comes to the world of coming-of-age films. Just looking at his filmography from his years as a child actor, starring in iconic features such as “National Lampoon’s Vacation,” “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Weird Science” in a three-year period, there’s no denying Hall has made an indelible mark on films. And now, decades later, he’s doing it again, albeit in a decidedly darker atmosphere in “Halloween Kills.”

In this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Anthony Michael Hall joins us to talk about his role as Tommy Doyle in “Halloween Kills,” the highly-anticipated sequel to David Gordon Green’s massive “Halloween” from 2018. Over the course of the interview, it’s clear Hall is jazzed about joining the beloved “Halloween” franchise and doesn’t take any of it for granted.

“This is a very unique situation for me because I’ve never been part of a franchise or even a movie that people are expecting at this level,” Hall said. “I had a small part in ‘The Dark Knight’ years ago, but that’s the only thing that comes close. With [‘Halloween Kills’], I’m just so pumped about it. I’m just really excited, knowing how beloved the franchise is.”

Of course, one of the most interesting aspects of “Halloween Kills,” which finds the whole town of Haddonfield banding together to take on the deadly Michael Myers, is the social and political messages woven throughout the story. And as Hall explained, no one could have seen just how relevant those situations would be in 2021.

“That’s an amazing thing that just developed, that the [current] world just mirrored the world David was creating a couple of years ago,” he said. “COVID and the societal issues that seemingly divided us as a country, and globally, seeing how the world has changed, it’s an amazing occurrence how [the relevance] kinda happened. No one could have anticipated that.”

Towards the end of the interview, Hall reminisces about his decades-long career and the cringe experienced when seeing your formative teen years play out in front of the entire world, especially in some of director John Hughes’ most famous films.

“I refer to the John Hughes films as the ‘Puberty on Film’ trilogy,” Hall joked.