'Halloween Ends': Why Jamie Lee Curtis 'stays away' from Michael Myers on set (exclusive)

Watch: Halloween Ends star Jamie Lee Curtis takes Michael Myers very seriously

Jamie Lee Curtis says she takes the Halloween franchise very seriously indeed — so seriously that she refuses to interact with Michael Myers when the cameras are switched off.

The 63-year-old star has played archetypal "final girl" Laurie Strode since the original Halloween film in 1978, and is filling the role for the last time in this week's Halloween Ends.

In a world of legacy sequels that nod and wink at the audience, David Gordon Green's recent trilogy — which began with Halloween in 2018 — treats the franchise with straight-faced respect, as Curtis does.

Read more: Why the original Halloween just won't die

"I take it all seriously. That level of violence has to be real," the star told Yahoo.

She added: "It was the entire structure of the original Halloween — establish a real place with real people, three girls walking down a tree-lined street talking about boys and how one of them has never been kissed.

"You establish this banal reality, then you introduce something outside that's terrifying. The collision of that is what makes you care about those people.

Read more: What happens to your brain when you watch a horror movie?

"My experience is that, if it's not real, what the f*** are we doing? I take it probably too seriously and I don't lighten up about it, because it's not light.

"This level of violence isn't light and the themes in this movie are not light. That's what sets us apart. It is not a joke, on any level."

Curtis said her serious approach to the material extends to not wanting to interact with Myers — played by James Jude Courtney in the new trilogy — outside of filming their scenes together.

"I stay away from Michael at all times. We don't hang out. There's no hanging out at all. All of it has to be real and scary," she said.

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The actor added: "I take my job really seriously. I can have fun occasionally but, even so much as when we're doing promotion.

"They go 'we're gonna have a Michael Myers' and I'm like 'no you're not, not with me'. Let's not trivialise this.

"Why would anyone go see a movie if I'm f***ing around with Michael Myers? I take it really seriously. He is the epitome of evil, and we must be kept separate."

Halloween Ends sees the residents of Haddonfield grappling with the legacy of Myers, who has disappeared since the events of Halloween and Halloween Kills four years prior.

Read more: David Gordon Green says Halloween Ends brings closure

Alongside Curtis and Courtney, Andi Matichak returns as Strode's granddaughter Allyson, with Rohan Campbell a new addition to the cast as troubled teenager Corey — infamous in the town after the death of a child under his care.

Halloween Ends is in UK cinemas and IMAX from 14 October.

Watch: Trailer for slasher sequel Halloween Ends