Paul Rudd’s first movie was 1995’s Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and here’s his audition tape for it and what he thinks of the final movie. The sixth installment in the renowned horror franchise follows Kara Strode (Laurie’s cousin, played by Marianne Hagan), Tommy Doyle (Rudd), and Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence). The film introduces a Druid-like society, called the Cult of Thorn, which is intertwined with the curse that drives Michael Myers to kill and gives him his superhuman abilities. The story sees him return to his native Haddonfield to find and sacrifice his niece Jamie’s (J.C. Brandy) infant son in the name of that curse, and it’s a race against the clock to keep the body count down.
Tommy was 8-years-old when Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) was babysitting him during the murderer’s first, bloody return to his hometown in 1978’s Halloween. The events of that fateful night had a profound effect on young Doyle, and even as an adult, he keeps a close eye on the old Myers house across the street. Rudd’s Tommy seems to be a loner – and a bit socially awkward – but the sequel makes it clear he’s a good guy.
Years after his audition for Tommy Doyle, some highlights from Rudd’s audition tape surfaced online. It’s fun to watch the young actor as he delivers some of the character’s most memorable dialogue in an attempt to get the part. In a 2007 interview with Ain’t It Cool News, there was a rare instance where Rudd spoke on his role in Halloween 6.
“That was the very first movie I’d ever done, and I’m really thrilled that I was able to do it. There was something trippy about working on a Halloween movie and seeing Michael Myers and seeing that face that I’d seen in movies and meet George Wilbur, who played him.”
Despite this, Rudd explained he had concerns after the sequel’s release, especially since it was one of his first film roles.
“[w]hen I first saw Halloween 6, I remember thinking, ‘Oh God, this movie’s not good, and I was really kind of bummed out… I enjoyed making it; I thought it was really, really fun. But then I thought, ‘Oh God, are people going to think I’m a joke? Am I ever going to get work as an actor after this comes out?”
Rudd wasn’t alone in his initial reaction to Halloween 6 and it received a poor critical reception. The sequel also suffered through a famously messy production, which led to sweeping reshoots that resulted in a new, gorier third act. Rudd can at least have bragging rights that in both versions of the sequel, he managed to beat Michael at the end and live.
While Paul Rudd may have initially been disappointed with Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers, he now looks back fondly on it and his role as Tommy. In the same AICN interview, he states that he’s changed his tune and is “…honored to be part of a franchise that has lasted that long, that has that many devotees, and I couldn’t be happier that I can say that my first movie is a Halloween movie.” Rudd was actually approached about reprising the Tommy Doyle role for the upcoming Halloween Kills, but his commitment to another legacy sequel – Ghostbusters: Afterlife – forced him to pass. Anthony Michael Hall will now play the part.
