Castle’s film credits include Dark Star, in which he portrayed the beach ball alien, Major Payne, Dennis the Menace, The Last Starfighter, and Connors’ War, which he directed. He created the screenplays for the films Escape from New York and Hook. He wrote and directed the film Tap.

In 1978, he was paid $25 per day to play Michael Myers in the legendary horror film Halloween, directed by old USC classmate John Carpenter. Castle’s subsequent collaborations with Carpenter included his name being used as one of the main characters’ names in The Fog, co-writing the script for Escape From New York, and performing the title song of Big Trouble in Little China with Carpenter and another friend, Tommy Lee Wallace, as part of the band The Coup De Villes. Following Halloween, Castle made his directorial debut with Tag: The Assassination Game, before directing The Last Starfighter, The Boy Who Could Fly, Dennis the Menace, and Major Payne.

Similarly, he authored August Rush, a 2007 musical drama directed by Kirsten Sheridan and starring Freddie Highmore, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Robin Williams, and Kersten Russell. Likewise, he also appears as himself in Filipino filmmaker Nick Noble’s 2010 documentary Halloween: The Inside Story. Castle resumed his role as Michael Myers in the 2018 direct sequel, Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green, becoming the third actor to play Michael Myers several times.

Then, the announcement of Nick Castle’s participation was generally reported as him resuming his original role as Michael Myers, with stunt performer James Jude Courtney just completing further work as the character. However, an interview with Courtney showed that Castle’s screentime was modest and that the vast majority of the labor behind the mask was done by Courtney himself, raising the question of whether the production misrepresented Castle’s reappearance.

While Courtney was involved in every scene involving Myers, including those involving Castle, who was only involved for a brief amount of filming, which Castle described to journalists on set as a cameo appearance, Castle reprised his role in one scene with Jamie Lee Curtis and did all of Michael Myers’ breathing sounds in post-production.

Collaboration with Castle was hailed by Courtney as an “honor,” while Castle saw it as a “passing of the torch.” On July 26, 2019, it was reported that Castle will return for certain sequences as Michael Myers in the sequels to the 2018 film, Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022), with James Jude Courtney reprising his role as Myers for the rest of the flicks.

Castle Director and Writer

• The Resurrection of Broncho Billy in 1970
• Skatetown U.S.A. in 1979
• Pray TV in 1980
• Escape from New York in 1981
• Tag: The Assassination Game in 1982
• The Last Starfighter in 1984
• The Boy who could fly in 1986
• Tap in 1989
• Hook in 1991
• Dennis the Menace in 1993
• Major Payne in 1995
• Mr. Wrong in 1996
• Delivering Milo in 2001
• The Seat Filler in 2004
• Connor’s War in 2006
• August Rush in 2007
• Dark Star as Beach Ball Alien in 1974
• Halloween in 1978 as Michael Myers / The Shape
• Escape from New York in 1981 as Pianist
• The Boy who could fly in 1986 in The Coupe De Villes
• Halloween as Michael Myers / The Shape in 2018

Net Worth and Salary