After more than four decades portraying Laurie Strode in the Halloween movie franchise, Jamie Lee Curtis seems ready to say goodbye to Michael Myers. Audiences will soon be able to watch the last stand-off between the two when Halloween Ends premieres on October 14. The anticipated finale has been a long time coming, as Curtis has been portraying Laurie for 45 years. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actress said of her character:

“I need to now cut her loose and let her live in the minds and hearts of the fans that have supported her. I now get to go off and do my own thing.”

The horror icon also discussed her experience filming 1978’s Halloween, the film that propelled her into scream queen status. Throughout the early 1980s, following the film’s success, Curtis starred in a number of horror cult classics, including The Fog, Prom Night, Terror Train, and Halloween II. In 1983, she appeared in John Landis’ comedy Trading Places, paving the way for a successful career across different genres. While Curtis is the daughter of actors Janet Leigh (Psycho) and Tony Curtis (The Defiant Ones), she told EW she never really had any “aspirations” of acting. Of course, she was then cast as Laurie Strode, and the rest is history. During her interview, the actress spoke fondly about her experience on the set of Halloween:

“I remember how much I loved being part of that group of young filmmakers. I had previously been in television, where it was all older union crew, and [on Halloween], the oldest person on the crew was John Carpenter, and he was 30. So it was a bunch of young dudes, and me, and they were playing ‘Hey Nineteen’ by Steely Dan and I was 19. It was just beautiful.”

Halloween was directed and scored by John Carpenter. The influential filmmaker returned to the franchise in 2018 and serves as an executive producer and composer on Halloween Ends. Regarding her experience working with Carpenter on the 1978 film, Curtis recalled:

“John is such an interesting guy. He’s sort a gentleman — he says ‘darlin” a lot. My experience with him was that he was quiet and very focused on what he needed. The movie was made very quickly, there wasn’t a lot of hanging around, there wasn’t a lot of talking. There was a lot of working.”

Scream Queen and Beyond

Curtis’ memorable film credits include A Fish Called Wanda, Freaky Friday, True Lies, Knives Out, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, among others. Beginning in 2015, Curtis appeared in the television series Scream Queens as Dean Cathy Munsch. Although the series received much praise from media outlets, it was canceled after two seasons. Curtis will next appear in Eli Roth’s Borderlands, and Disney’s Haunted Mansion as Madame Leota. And while Curtis seems ready to see Strode off, regarding her return for future Halloween films, she previously said: “to say never is stupid.”

Halloween Ends will premiere in theaters and on Peacock on October 14.

Related: Halloween Ends: Filming Final Shot Was ‘Cathartic’ for Jamie Lee Curtis