We all know the iconic Halloween movie made in 1978, Halloween. In fact, a lot of us will know the story of Michael Myers and the way he grew to be a killer after killing his sister. But who are the actors in Halloween playing these eerie characters?
We’ll take a look at the original Halloween cast, as well as the Halloween 1978 cast then and now. Where are they and what have they featured in since? All that good stuff is right here.
So let’s take a good look at the cast from Halloween.
The Story of the Halloween Movie 1978
Before we get into the good stuff on all the stars that played the great characters in Halloween, let’s get a bit of a feel for the story first and then we can see how each actor is fitted for their character.
The story of the movie follows a six year old boy in 1963 called Michael Myers as he brutally murders his 15 year old sister called Judith on the night of Halloween. After this crime, he was locked away and sentenced to 15 years. On October 30th, 1978 however, exactly 15 years after his first victim and whilst he was being transferred to a court date, Michael Myers decided to steal a car and ended up escaping Smith’s Grove (a facility for the criminally insane). He goes back to his hometown in Illinois and his hunt for his next victims begins.
He suddenly becomes fixated on a high school girl named Laurie Strode as well as her friends Lynda and Annie. Whilst he has his eyes on these girls, Sheriff Leigh Brackett and Dr Samuel Loomis are trying to get their eyes on Myers. But, the murderer is always one step ahead of the sheriff and the doctor and so the question is, will he be stopped?
Cast of Halloween 1978 Now
Nick Castle as Michael Myers
Here’s the star of the whole movie, the killer Michael Myers played by no other than Nick Castle. He is an American actor as well as a screenwriter and a film director so he truly is the whole package.
His most well known role was of course his role as Michael Myers in Halloween as well as its sequel. He also brought the role back in the reprise Halloween in 2018 as well as those sequels in 2021 and 2022 so to say his role succeeded is definitely an understatement.
As well as the entire Halloween franchise, Nick Castle also appears in Escape From New York, The Boy Who Could Fly, and Dark Star. But it doesn’t stop there, as he’s a screenwriter too he’s written a lot of movies that have done quite well like Hook (1991) and Escape from LA.
He’s also won a few awards like the Saturn Award for Best Writing for his film The Boy Who Could Fly. He also won a Grand Prize, a Gold Medal from the Regional Council, and a Bronze Gryphon. So, he is quite a decorated man, especially when it comes to screenwriting.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode
Jamie Lee Curtis who was born in 1958 is an American actress as well as a Children’s author and a producer. She appears a lot in the genres of horror and slasher so there’s no wonder that she’s in the 1978 film, Halloween. She appears in lots of other films from different genres too, like Freaky Friday, True Lies, Forever Young, and Escape from New York. She’s been acting since 1977 and hasn’t stopped since.
She married Christopher Guest in 1984 who is a musician, director, comedian, actor, composer, and screenwriter – that sounds like a talented man. Curtis has two children and a good deal of awards to go with them.
She has two Golden Globe awards due to eight nominations, one Academy Award, one BAFTA, and two Screen Actors Guild awards. She has also been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in the past, as well as a Grammy and an Independent Spirit Award which makes her quite a decorated woman.
Charles Cyphers as Sheriff Leigh Brackett
Charles Cyphers was born in 1939 and has been active in the acting community since 1972. He is extremely popular and is known for his roles in Halloween in 1978, Halloween II in 1981, and Halloween Kills in 2021.
His first ever movie was Truck Turner in 1974 and he worked with the creator of Halloween (John Carpenter) for the first time in 1976 in the movie Assault on Precinct 13. In this movie, he played the role of Starker who was one of the police officers shot down by gang members.
After Halloween, he also featured in another one of Carpenter’s movies, The Fog in 1980. He also played the Secretary of State in the 1981 movie Escape from New York, also by John Carpenter. His role as Sheriff Bracket was reprised in the second Halloween as well as the 2021 movie, Halloween Kills.
He’s also appeared in a few television productions such as the role of Hugo Muncy in The Betty White Show. He also featured as a guest star in one episode of Gibbsville in 1976. In recent years, he’s featured in Sliders, Seinfeld, JAG, Any Day Now, and ER.
Kyle Richards as Lindsey Wallace
This American actress, socialite, and television personality plays the role of Lindsey Wallace in this spooky movie and was born in 1969, making her 54 now. She has been acting ever since 1974 and is still active in the industry today. She’s known mostly for her role in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
She married Guraish Aldijufrie in 1988 but then they got a divorce in 1992. She later married Mauricio Umansky in 1996 and they’re still together now. She has 4 kids.
She’s been nominated for lots of different awards throughout her career starting in 1982 for the Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Watcher In The Woods. She was also nominated for the Young Artist Awards in 1982, 1984, and 1985 for her roles in The Watcher In The Woods, This is Kate Bennett, and Down To Earth.
Later on in her career, in 2019, she was nominated for the People’s Choice Awards for her role in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Then in 2022, she was nominated for the MTV Movie and TV Awards for her role in Halloween Kills. Finally, she was nominated once again in 2022 for the People’s Choice Awards for her role in The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
PJ Soles as Lynda van der Klok
Pamela Jayne Soles is an American actress who was born in Germany in 1950. Her film debut happened in 1976 with the film Carrie and then she later played the part of Lynda van der Klok in the 1978 movie Halloween. She’s also well known for her role as Riff Randell in Rock ‘n’ Roll High School in 1979.
She and J Steven Soles (an American singer-songwriter) married in 1973 and divorced in 1975. She later married Dennis Quaid (an American actor) in 1978 and they divorced in 1983. After this, she married Skip Holm (a retired pilot) in 1983 and they divorced in 1998. She has two children, Sky who was born in 1983, and Ashley who was born in 1988.
In 2019, she won the horror icon award at Crimson Screen Horror Film Fest but apart from that, she hasn’t won anything else.
Nancy Kyes as Annie Brackett
Nancy Kyes’s most well known movie is indeed the Halloween movie of 1978 as well as Halloween II (1981) in the role of Annie Brackett. In the stand alone Halloween III movie of 1982, she appears as a different character. But, she’s also in other movies apart from this franchise. She appeared in the movies Assault on Precinct 13 in 1976 and The Fog in 1980 which were all John Carpenter movies. Unfortunately, her acting career was quite brief.
In 1971, she married Stephen A. Loomis but they were divorced in 1976 and then she married Tommy Lee Wallace and they also divorced but had two children.
A fun fact is that even though she was the daughter of the sheriff in the original Halloween, the real age difference between the actors is actually only ten years. She currently works as a sculptor in Los Angeles California.
Donald Pleasence as Samuel Loomis
Donald Pleasence, who died in 1995, was an English actor who began his career in the West End before moving into his screen career where he claimed fame a bit more. In his film career, he played his fair share of supporting characters as well as leads. Some of his most famous movies include The Great Escape (1963), James Bond: You Only Live Twice (1967), THX 1138 (1971), Wake in Fright (1971), and of course Halloween (1978).
He was married to Miriam Raymond in 1941 who he later divorced in 1958. He then married Josephine Crombie in 1959 and that relationship also broke down in 1970. After Crombie, he married Meira Shore in 1970 they also got divorced in 1988 and finally, he married Linda J Kentwood in 1988 until he died in 1995. He had 5 children including Angela who is an English actress and is now 81 years old.
He has won many awards and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance in 1962 for The Caretaker, in 1965 for Poor Bitos, in 1969 for The Man in the Glass Booth, and then in 1972 for Wise Child. He was also chosen to be an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his dedication to acting by Queen Elizabeth the Second in 1994.
Sandy Johnson as Judith Myers
Sandy Johnson isn’t only an American actress but she’s also a model too. In June 1947, she was chosen to be Playboy’s Playmate of the Month and her centerfold was pictured by Mario Casilli which is a pretty big deal.
She doesn’t appear in that many movies but she still has a few. These include Surfer Girls of 1978, Jokes My Folks Never Told Me (1978) where she plays various roles, and Halloween (1978) where she of course plays Judith Myers. In the movie H.O.T.S of 1979, she plays Stephanie and she plays April in Gas Pump Girls in 1979. She also played Judith Myers in Terror in the Aisles in 1984 and appears again in this role in Halloween (2018).
Brian Andrews as Tommy Doyle
Andrews is an American actor who has appeared a lot in different movies and in various television series.
He’s been active in the acting industry since 1978 and is still going now. His most famous role is his role as Tommy Doyle in the original Halloween movie. Lots of people also know him for his roles in The Long Days of Summer, Three O’Clock High, and Great Santini.
His first ever TV role was in the Soap Opera called the Days of Our Lives in 1970 and he appeared as Michael William Horton. Other TV shows Andrews has appeared on are Kung Fu, Quincy, The Bronx Zoo, and Baretta. He appeared on all these TV shows as a guest appearance.
Brian Andrews now lives in Phoenix Arizona and he’s still pursuing his acting career to this day.
Other Actors In This Film Include:
Of course, there are more actors in the film Halloween than we’ve already mentioned so let’s quickly look at a few other important appearances.
- Nancy Stephens as Marion
- John Michael Graham as Bob Simms
- Arthur Malet as the Graveyard Keeper
- Mickey Yablans as Richie Cast;e
- Robert Phalen as Dr Wynn
- Brent Le Page as Lonnie
- Adam Hollander as Keith
- Peter Griffith as Morgan Strode
- Gwen Van Dam as Sanitarium Nurse
- Barry Bernadi as the Dead Mechanic
- Darla Rae as a student
- David Kyle as Steve Haley
- Scour Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode
No matter if you are a scary movie fan or terrified of this movie genre you are sure to have heard of Halloween 1978 and as you can see many of its stars went on to great acting careers while others chose different paths.