Entertainment
Halloween Kills’ Anthony Michael Hall recalls ‘bloody’ first meeting with ‘wonderful’ Jamie Lee Curtis on set
Anthony Michael Hall stars as Tommy in sequel Halloween Kills (Picture: FilmMagic)
Halloween Kills actor Anthony Michael Hall had a pretty funny encounter with Jamie Lee Curtis when they met for the first time on set of the new sequel.
Hall, best known for starring in the Breakfast Club, has joined the legendary horror franchise playing the grown-up version of Tommy, the youngster who escaped Michael Myers’ clutches in the original 1978 Halloween.
It sounds like the actor was thrown in at the deep end when he met the franchise’s most iconic stars, Curtis, who was ready to give him a bloody welcome.
Recalling their first meeting, Hall told Metro.co.uk: ‘I met her as a kid in the 80s when I was a little boy, and she was really cool then.
‘When I saw her on-set the first time in Willington, North Carolina, the way it was scheduled she started a week or two into production. I was standing by and she was shooting a scene at the Haddonfield hospital, I was lost in my thoughts between takes and all of a sudden I see these two bloody hands appear before my face, and she was like waving her bloody hands.
‘She was already on a stretcher in the aftermath of the last film where it picks up. So the first image I have of Jamie Lee on-set was these two bloodied hands, fake blood, and I could see between the fingers that it was Jamie Lee.
Praising the scream queen, Hall continued: ‘She was awesome, gave me a big hug and welcomed me to the franchise and I have to say that she’s really a stand-out person.
‘Not just as an actress but as a person, she really cares about people… and has grown as a person in her life over the course of her career. As a wife, a mother and a creative she’s a wonderful lady.
‘I saw that on the set, she was very maternal in spirit with the cast and the crew, very loving and cracking jokes making everybody feel comfortable.
‘She was a real pleasure to work with and to work for. She was a great boss and as an actress, she was very giving and can turn it off and on like a faucet, she’s so experienced as an actress it’s like a second nature thing for her.
‘Great to watch and to work with.’
Hall was ‘honoured’ to join the Halloween family and admitted he didn’t find it too ‘daunting’ playing Tommy, who is one of the series’ most-loved characters despite only appearing in the first movie.
Halloween Kills is out this Friday (Picture:Universal Pictures)
Sharing his thoughts on the popularity of the Halloween franchise, the actor said: ‘I think it’s the opposition of good versus evil, whether you’re watching a Marvel film or an old Western, I think that is tried and true.
‘So you have that staple built into the franchise and also, I think just the fascination with the idea of the boogeyman and the embodiment of evil. He’s a stalker, he’s a stalker, all those things but actually we know very little about him or what his motivations are.
‘So all those things create a confluence of really interesting elements that make the movie and the franchise beloved. The hero’s the villain in this case, just like they love seeing Laurie fight him.’
He added: ‘The performances are amazing, Jamie Lee was fantastic, so was Judy [Greer] and Andi [Matichak], they’re really in sync those ladies and they do a great job supporting each other both on and off camera.
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‘It was just one of those experiences where it was a great filmmaker, wonderful crew that was totally right there in the trenches making it happen and then a bunch of really fantastic actors that all had a history with each other.
‘There was such good energy on set because everybody wants to make a good film. I’m just so honoured to be part of it.’
Halloween Kills hits cinemas on Friday.
