[Interview] P.J. Soles Talks ‘Halloween’ 2018 and ‘Halloween Kills’

One of the best parts of Blumhouse’s 2018 Halloween was definitely the surprise voice cameo by franchise favorite P.J. Soles, playing Allyson’s teacher in a scene that pays homage to John Carpenter’s original 1978 Halloween where Soles played the role of Lynda, and we recently talked to P.J. about returning to Haddonfield 40 years later, as she confirms that there is “something” involving her that we can look forward to in the upcoming sequel Halloween Kills.

In our new video interview from Scares That Care Charity Weekend, P.J. discussed how this convention is different than others and what the unique charity aspect of it means to her.

“This has a special element of, as it says, Scares That Care, and they care about helping others,” Soles tells us. “It’s a charity event, and it’s just wonderful. Every year they pick I think three of four people that they focus on and that they donate the proceeds from the convention to, and there’s a wonderful charity auction, and all of that goes to help these particular people that they’ve chosen, and it helps out so much with whatever health issue… that they are in need of.

“It’s a really wonderful added incentive to come and visit, yes, people that they’ve watched in movies and TV shows, but to also help people in need, so I really like that. And I think the name Scares That Care is just brilliant… It just makes you feel good that you’re not just coming to meet the fans, but coming to help other people that might not even be fans, but they are in need, so I like that.”  

We also got the story of how Soles was approached for her 2018 voice cameo, before she gave us even more reason to be excited for Kills.

“Well I was very excited, because (director) David Gordon Green approached me, (producer) Ryan Turek emailed, and said, ‘Hey, we’re thinking of doing this scene with the teacher, and we’d love you to be the voice of the teacher’,” she recalls. “I thought for a moment, ‘Well, that’s alright. They want me to be just voice. Okay.’ I had to step back a minute and let that digest. But then I was like, ‘Okay, if I can use the word totally in the sentence’ – because I knew what dialogue was, it was going to be the same exact scene – ‘I’d be willing to do it’. And they agreed.

“And so that made it a little more exciting and it made it more meaningful because, you know, why have me do it randomly. It’s this whole poetry thing where Laurie’s granddaughter is looking out the window like Laurie did many years ago in the classroom scene and the teacher was reading a passage, and I was able to fit the word totally in there. So it was very exciting. It was a little Easter egg for fans.”

When asked if she’s looking forward to the newest film in the franchise, Halloween Kills, P.J. tells HDN, “Well I’m supposed to be mum, lips are sealed, but there’s something that you can look for in there. That’s all I’ll say. I think everybody will be pleased.”

We also talked about celebrating Halloween itself, which is P.J.’s granddaughter’s favorite holiday.

“Now that I’m a Nana,” she said, “I’ve got four grandchildren, and my little granddaughter who lives closest to me, Jade, Halloween is her favorite holiday. And she’s only four, so I can’t wait until she can see my movie, because she’ll just be in love with it. It’s so cool. ‘Lynda’s my Nana.’ I can’t wait to hear that. So that’s going to be exciting.

“So I’m looking forward to that, and hopefully I can take her trick or treating. My fantasy is, in my neighborhood… I’ve been waiting for the kids to become teenagers, and then when they come, if they come, knock on my door – no streetlights so it’s kind of dark, but I always leave a lit pumpkin out – I want to hand out DVDs of Halloween and see what they say, and sign them to the kids. That’s what I’m hoping to do.”

You can watch our full exclusive new interview with P.J. Soles below.

Read our original 2013 interview with P.J. Soles here.

See all of our Scares That Care 2021 coverage here.

For more Halloween news, follow @HalloweenDaily.