Ghostface holding up a very pointy knife with his right hand in Scream
Halloween wasn't the first slasher, but John Carpenter's 1978 movie about a masked boogeyman named Michael Myers set off the wave that dominated the 80s. Suddenly, silent madmen with a mask covering their faces were everywhere, led by Jason Voorhees and the Friday the 13th franchise.
Wes Craven was right there too with A Nightmare on Elm Street, and in 1996, after the slasher fad had long died, Craven brought it back with Scream, a meta horror film with nods to Halloween and horror's past. Ghostface is a different kind of masked killer, with very little in common with Michael Myers, but only one man, a stuntman named Chris Durand, has the distinction of playing both. Chris Durand Is Ghostface During a Scene With Sarah Michelle Gellar in 'Scream 2' Robert Englund is a horror legend due to his role as Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. With his face shown and voice heard, fans wanted the actor back every time. Slashers are often different because, with a mask over their face and no lines to say, any stuntman can play the bad guy. Most sequels to Halloween, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and the like have had multiple actors in the role, sometimes in the same movie! A few men have actually had the distinction of playing more than one slasher icon on film. Did you know Tom Morta has been Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface? Similarly, only one person has played Myers and Ghostface. The answer to that trivia question is Chris Durand. In a 2022 interview with Scream Thrillogy, Durand explained his background as"a rocker climber and a martial artist" and how that led to a career as a stuntman. He has done stunts in everything from The Crow to Westworld, but 1997's Scream 2 and 1998's Halloween: H20 are his two most notable roles. Related 'Scream 7' Ultimately Fails Because It Disrespects the 30-Year-Old Horror Franchise Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega deserved better. Posts 1 By Shawn Van Horn Although several actors play Ghostface in Scream 2, Durand dons the mask and robe for one of the most crucial scenes, "chasing Sarah Michelle Gellar through the house and killing her, plus some other bits." Durand also played Sidney Prescott's boyfriend, Derek , for the cross-lowering scene in the third act. He described Ghostface's costume as easy to wear"because it was very large and flowing. I had a lot of room to move, although the vision is limited." Durand, who admitted that he's not much of a horror fan, described Wes Craven as,"Very cool. He was a kind of quiet and gentle guy. He kept it fun." Still, the man behind the Ghostface mask was honest when asked if Scream 2 was a highlight of his career, telling the outlet,"No. It was fun, though." Chris Durand Was Cast as Michael Myers in 'Halloween H20: 20 Years Later' It's understandable why Chris Durand would be humble about Scream 2. As a non-horror fan, it was likely just another job to him, and with his time under the elongated mask, mostly just one scene in a role shared with many other men, he can't really say the part is his. That would change significantly a year later when he was cast to play another horror icon. This time, he wouldn't be one of many under the mask. In Halloween: H20, Durand is Michael Myers. During an interview with a horror magazine fittingly named Scream, Durand recalled how he got to be The Shape."I was called in for an interview. As I understood it, the producers had already gone through a larger call and rightfully decided that Michael is a physical role and should be played by someone with a physical background." Durand added that director Steve Miner"let me do what I thought was right." While it's normally great for a director to be so trusting of an actor, this might be a case where Durand needed more guidance, because he admitted to Scream,"I knew little about Michael before taking on that role." He decided to play Michael Myers like"a primal force", a choice which may have worked for a different kind of villain, but not The Shape. It did no favors for Durand that he was stuck with an ever-changing, bizarre series of masks in Halloween: H20. However, even if he was sporting the original William Shatner mask, Durand's choices were controversial. When Nick Castle played Myers in Halloween, and Dick Warlock became The Boogeyman in Halloween II, they became a slow-moving shadow lurking in the darkness, someone not quite a man whose moves were fluid and purposeful in the first movie, then robotic in the second. In Halloween: H20, not only do Michael's eyes go wide when Laurie Strode kicks him in the groin, but also how he held his knife, and his wide-legged gait didn't match how Myers had moved before. He felt very much like a stuntman in a mask rather than a character. Subscribe to the newsletter for more slasher secrets Crave more behind-the-scenes horror lore? Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper looks at slasher history, stuntman secrets like dual roles, rare interviews and film-anatomy pieces that unpack why these moments matter. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. That didn't work for Halloween: H20, but it's the same reason why Durand was so good in Scream 2. There, Ghostface can be anyone, and his physicality, such as when he throws Cici through a French door, is needed. Durand, as the killer, is a force of fear and a character to be feared. When asked by Scream how it felt to play two horror icons, he said,"Neither time did I realize how big of a deal these moments were. I try to have fun within the business and try hard never to take myself too seriously. Remember, I come from a world in which teamwork is essential. To me donning the masks is just doing my part in a larger equation." Chris Durand was arguably better as one horror monster than the other. Still, no one else can see that they have been Ghostface and Michael Myers. Scream 2 Like Follow Followed R Horror Mystery Release Date December 12, 1997 Runtime 120 minutes Director Wes Craven Writers Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson Producers Andrew Rona, Bob Weinstein, Cary Granat, Cathy Konrad, Harvey Weinstein, Marianne Maddalena Cast See All Prequel Scream Sequel Scream 3, Scream 4, Scream VI, Scream, Scream 7 Franchise Scream Powered by Expand Collapse
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