“I’m a little bit of a scaredy cat,” actressMichele Dawsonsays in our Zoom interview ahead of the October 14 release ofHalloween Ends. It’s why she, prior to being cast in one of the longest-running andhighest-grossing horror movie franchisesof all time, had never seen any oftheHalloweenmovies. Of course, once she won the role of Nurse Deb in what is gearing up to be Laurie Strode’s (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) last stand against Michael Myers, she “jumped in full-force, and started watching all of them.”
Halloween Endsmarks the last installment of director David Gordon Green’s sequel trilogy that began withHalloweenin 2018, followed byHalloween Killsin 2021. Though 2018’sHalloweenwas effectively the 11th movie in the entire franchise, it served as a direct sequel to the 1978 film of the same name, retcon-ing all the films that came before it. For Green and co-writer Danny McBride, per the former’s 2018 interview withDen of Geek,Halloweenwas a chance to take the franchise back to its roots while offering an evolved story: “The trick was, how do you make itHome Alone, but notHome Alone?” The result was an exciting new direction for the franchise, one thatVarietypraised as “delivering plenty of fresh suspense — and grisly-creative kills — for younger audiences.”
Considering the gore and intensity of the revampedHalloweenfranchise, it’s even more interesting that Dawson, a self-proclaimed “scared-y cat,” would jump at the chance to star in it. She, however, reveals that she didn’t immediately know that the movie she was auditioning for was, in fact, a horror film, let aloneHalloween Ends. “The movie was actually going under a fake name at the time,” Dawson says, describing how she initially submitted herself on a casting website based on the character breakdown that was listed. “I was like, there’s a lot of adjectives here about this character that I really relate to, I feel like this is something I should audition for, [but] I had no earthly idea of anything.”
Working with David Gordon Green
Dawson first met Green during her callback, which took place via a Zoom call. It was here, she says, that she finally understood that she was auditioning for a horror movie, based on the conversation she had with Green about the material she was auditioning with. “I still didn’t know the gravity of it. I still didn’t know it was [Halloween Ends].” Nevertheless, something clicked, and, later, Dawson was offered the role of Nurse Deb. “It wasn’t until I was reading my [script] that it was revealed to me that this wasHalloween Ends. At that moment, I had a little conversation with my agent [and] that’s when the gravity of everything hit me.”
For Dawson, playing Nurse Deb, whom she describes as “duplicitous, unfiltered, and calculating,” was a blast, largely due to Green’s approach as a director. “He’s such a wonderfully communicative director, and it’s all about collaboration,” she says. “I would do something, and that would spark an idea, and then he’d come over and give me an idea of something new to do. We just had so much fun on set, playing with different lines, we improvised some things that were super fun.”
Related:Jamie Lee Curtis Isn’t Saying Never to a Halloween Return in the Future
Performing Her Own Stunts in Halloween Ends
Growing up, Dawson was a gymnast, so being able to “merge my two worlds of my athleticism and physicality into my acting was a dream come true.” Indeed, the actress performed her own stunts inHalloween Ends, an idea that she says came about practically spontaneously. “It was the night before we were supposed to do some things, and I went over to the executive producer and said, hey, I feel like I can do that, I feel pretty comfortable with that, I’d like to do that if that’s okay with you,” she says, carefully avoiding giving anything away. Green ultimately gave Dawson the go-ahead, and soon the actress found herself preparing for stunt work. “I loved being able to see how it all works, being able to physically do that, and be the character that’s, you know, experiencing those things — I just loved the whole experience of it.”
Perhaps the most significant thing Dawson will take away from being onHalloween Endsis a different relationship to the horror genre. Though she initially labeled herself a scared-y cat at the onset of our interview, now, she says she is “so down for horror. Let’s go. I’m ready.” For her, shootingHalloween Endswas equally fun and educational. “I’ve always enjoyed the physicality that you get to [bring] when it’s a horror or thriller or action-type of project. I love that combination. Now that I’ve seen how things are made in the horror genre, I think it’s so fun — I hope to be able to do more in my future.”
Halloween Endsis available in theaters and streaming on Peacock on October 14.
