Halloween Ends' Kyle Richards On The Halloween And Real Housewives Connection - Exclusive Interview
When Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) first encounters the monstrous killer Michael Myers (Nick Castle) in the original 1978 movie "Halloween," she's babysitting two children: Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) and Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards). While both kids make it out of the house safely, we wouldn't meet them again until 43 years later in "Halloween Kills," with a now grown-up Richards once again playing a now-adult Lindsey. Richards encores as Lindsey in "Halloween Ends," in which Laurie, her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), and the town of Haddonfield must again confront Michael's horrific legacy and put a stop to it once and for all.
For Richards, returning to "Halloween" is coming full circle in a career that has taken some unexpected turns. Richards was a child star in several other cult classic horror films, including "Eaten Alive" and the 1980 Disney film "The Watcher in the Woods," where she starred opposite Bette Davis. But she avoided being typecast in horror movies by taking roles in numerous TV sitcoms and dramas, including a 21-episode stint on "ER."
Richards garnered an entirely new audience when she enlisted for Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" in 2010, now one of the most popular shows in the expansive "Real Housewives" franchise. With the show now ending its 12th year, Richards is the only remaining original member of the cast and was at the center of some especially turbulent drama during this past season.
With a footprint in both horror and reality TV, Richards told Looper in our exclusive interview that both fan bases are starting to overlap. "They're sort of mixed," she said. "The 'Halloween' fans are starting to watch the 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.' It's funny to see that they've merged now, which I love."
Being there for the beginning and end of Halloween
What has this whole journey been like for you, starting 40 years ago with the original movie and now coming full circle to wrap it up on this end?
It's very surreal to think I started [the original] movie when I was eight years old, and here I am all these decades later, and I've been in the movies from the beginning to the end. I'm really grateful and appreciative of being in this position and the fact that the fans love these movies so much and still want to see these characters.
It seems like in this movie, your character, Lindsey, is almost a grounding, calming presence for Laurie and Allyson. In your scenes, it's like you trying to help them hold things together. Would you say that's how you looked at her?
That's how I looked at Lindsey. With my character coming back as an adult, I spoke with [director] David Gordon Green about where Lindsey is today. Who is she, after all she's gone through? Obviously, she has PTSD, but these women have bonded and they've chosen to stay in this little town, regardless, and not be chased off. They're strong women.
I wasn't in this movie a lot, so I thought, this is about supporting Jamie in her final movie, but also my character supporting Laurie and what she was going through after losing her daughter, and being there for her and for her granddaughter. That was where I decided to take that, with the little bit that I was in it.
Halloween then vs. Halloween now
When you think back to being on the set of the original movie compared to the latest ones, what's changed? What's stayed the same?
As a child actor, you're oblivious to all the adult stuff that's going on. You're not seeing the nudity; you're not seeing all the other stuff that's going on behind the scenes. I was just showing up, remembering my lines, and doing my job.
As an adult, you get the aerial shot of what is going on in the movie and what is actually happening with these characters and how scary it actually is. It's a very different experience as an adult, and you're diving into who your character is and where they're at this point in their lives. It's a lot more fun and rewarding as an adult, for sure.
Do you remember your impressions of both Jamie Lee Curtis and director John Carpenter on the original film?
As a little girl, the director was always the boss, so John Carpenter was the boss and I just did what he told me. He was kind, soft-spoken, and gentle. Jamie was always very nurturing and maternal as a young girl towards me, so it was a positive experience. I'm fortunate as a child actor — I always had positive experiences.
Beyond Halloween
You were in several cult classic horror movies around that time in addition to "Halloween," including "Eaten Alive," "The Car," and "The Watcher in the Woods." You also branched out after that. Are you glad that you avoided getting caught in the "scream queen" niche and were able to diversify at that time?
Once you do one scary movie, they want you for other scary movies, so I did a lot of scary movies in a row, both feature films and movies for TV. But I was grateful to be able to move into comedy, which I love. I did a lot of sitcoms, and I was able to do it all, which is great. As a teenager, I also went back and did some more scary movies. I went back to comedy, and then I didn't know I'd be on reality television for almost 13 years. I like being able to do it all, so I'm grateful that I've had that opportunity.
What was it like to work with Bette Davis in "The Watcher in the Woods"?
Intimidating. Even though I was a little girl, I would lay in bed with my mom when she'd read me all these old-time Hollywood stories, and she was like, "You are working with the biggest of the biggest. There's nobody bigger than Bette Davis." She built her up to me so much that by the time I got to the set, I was terrified. She was already an intimidating presence, so knowing who she was, plus who she was as an actress and who she was as a person, I was like, "Oh my gosh." I was walking on eggshells. She was very nice and sweet, but a very intimidating presence.
She's the link between Halloween and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
What would you say is the Venn diagram of "Halloween" and "Real Housewives" fans? How much do they overlap?
I'm always fascinated by that because they were always a very different set of people and fans — the people that I would meet — that would wait outside of restaurants for me to sign the posters or pictures for "Halloween" versus the "Housewives" fans.
Now, they're sort of mixed. It's very common for people to have a "Housewives" viewing party every week. They get together and have drinks, and they have a viewing party. Now, they're like, "All of our group that watches the show, we're all going to see 'Halloween.'" Then the "Halloween" fans are starting to watch the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." It's funny to see that they've merged now, which I love.
We've seen things get pretty heated on this latest season of "Housewives," and the reunion is looking intense as well. Do you think that there might be some big changes coming for this cast? What kind of fallout do you think is going to come out of how intense things got this year?
This has nothing to do with me having any insider information, but looking at the show after all these years, I would think there would be changes. We often do that anyway. Things were very intense this season. It's the number one show on Bravo, number one on cable ... throughout the season. But it was my least favorite [season] because it was very stressful.
There probably will be some changes, so we shall see. It's very intense, though. Actually, Jamie [Lee Curtis] called me after seeing the [reunion] trailer that I had posted on my Instagram. She said, "I was really upset. That bothered me to see you upset like that." She had such kind, warm, loving, supportive words, and that's the Jamie Lee Curtis that people don't get to see that I love so much.
You're the only original member of the cast left. How long do you think you'd like to keep going?
If you'd asked me this a couple months ago, I would have said, "That is it. Done. Finished." Today, I don't know. Who knows, when the reunion airs, how I'm going to feel ... I always have to take it a day at a time at this point. I thought I would do five years originally. Once I knew the show was a hit, I thought, "Okay, I'll be out of here in five." Then it's like the Mafia; they keep sucking you back in.
"Halloween Ends" opens in theaters and premieres on Peacock this Friday, October 14.
Meta's Messenger, Instagram, Horizon Worlds, and Creative Shop have teamed up with Universal Pictures' HALLOWEEN ENDS to provide one lucky fan the opportunity to attend the first-ever virtual meet 'n greet with Jamie Lee Curtis in a custom-built Halloween Horizon World. Fans can join the final fight today by building their own custom #KillerReels on both Messenger and Instagram. To enter, head to the @HalloweenMovie Facebook page and click 'Send Message,' or send a DM to @HalloweenMovie on Instagram and follow the prompts from there!
This interview was edited for clarity.