Halloween: The Actress Who Almost Played Laurie Strode – Screen Rant

John Carpenter almost cast a different actress in the role of Laurie Strode in Halloween. The iconic character ultimately went to Jamie Lee Curtis.

John Carpenters Halloween was cast with many of his friends and previous work associates. While Jamie Lee Curtis was ultimately cast as iconic final girl Laurie Strode, the films protagonist, she was not the directors first choice.

The casting for Carpenters classic horror film could have turned out very differently had fate not stepped in and flipped the script. The directors first choice for the character of Dr. Sam Loomis was Hammer horror star Christopher Lee who had flat out turned the role down; this was a decision that the actor would later openly regret. Also approached was Lees costar in several Hammer films, Peter Cushing. The esteemed actor, who was just coming off the success of Star Wars, also turned down the part of Loomis. Donald Pleasence, who wasnt taken with the role either, did it partly because his daughter was a fan of Carpenters Assault on Precinct 13.

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The screenplay for Halloween, co-written by Debra Hill, featured characters that were expressly created with certain actors in mind. Both Nancy Loomis and Charles Cyphers had appeared in Assault,and were both given roles, Annie and her father Sheriff Brackett respectively, tailored for their personalities. Carpenter was an admirer of Brian DePalmas Carrie and wanted P.J. Soles, who had played bad girl Norma in the hit 1976 film, to play Lynda. However, for the lead role of teenager Laurie Strode, which has now become an iconic older character, fate once again played a part in the casting. Both Carpenter and Hill saw several actresses, but one was already top of mind for the director.

The revered filmmaker has revealed that during the early stages of casting, there was one performer on his radar for Laurie. Anne Lockhart, daughter of actress June Lockhart, had appeared in a few films and was becoming increasingly visible on television. In the late 1970s she was making guest appearances on such hit shows as Happy Days and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. Though Lockhart herself has no recollection of being approached about the role, she evidently had schedule conflicts and was unable to audition. This proved to be an ideal circumstance for another actress who also had a famous mom and numerous television credits.

After being impressed with Jamie Lee Curtis, Hill mentioned to Carpenter that casting the daughter of Janet Leigh in a film that owed a great debt to Psycho might not be such a bad idea. Though the first choices for the two leads fell through, the inclusion of both Pleasence and Curtis in Halloween helped to create a horror classic. Lockhart would go on to star as a regular on Battlestar Galactica and continue to appear in high profile TV shows throughout her long acting career. In the past couple of decades she has also become a prolific voiceover artist, with dozens of roles in animated television and film productions.

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Halloween: The Actress Who Almost Played Laurie Strode - Screen Rant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero