Stopped by Fright Night Film Fest in my hometown to meet Don Shanks. Super cool guy. Very polite and was enthused with all the questions about H5 I had. The mask we’re holding is molded from the original. Don said he keeps the actual hero at his home (don’t blame him). He said working with Donald Pleasence was fantastic and he wasn’t even upset about him breaking his nose during the 2x4 beatdown. Said he didn’t even mention it and had no intention of saying anything about it until one of the crew noticed all the blood running from under the mask.
I praised his work as Michael. I really liked his performance in H5 as I thought he made Michael human again and less of an otherworldly force. He showed emotion and anger and for me that made the character scary again, as I could imagine a 32 year old man with a conscience really doing this stuff as opposed to the more mindless, pre-programmed traits we normally see.
He also said the original plan was to have him come back as Michael for Halloween 6, but things kinda got changed around during the six years in between movies.
Really cool guy and had a nice time with him. Anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to meet him, if it ever comes your way, highly recommend.