‘Hocus Pocus’ Cast Reveals Matt Smith Was ‘Geeking Out’ Over Them When They Met (Exclusive)
The ‘Hocus Pocus’ cast has a major fan in ‘House of the Dragon’ star Matt Smith. The beloved Halloween movie is his ‘favorite Halloween movie.’
Hocus Pocus has become a global phenomenon. The Halloween classic has plenty of celebrity fans, including Matt Smith. HollywoodLife spoke to Hocus Pocus stars Jason Marsden, Vinessa Shaw, and Omri Katz, who revealed that the Doctor Who star is a big fan of the movie.
“We were geeking out and wanted to meet him and we snuck in to get a picture and as we’re walking out, they were stopping Vinessa, ‘No, come back.’ He was geeking out over us because he was a fan of the movie,” Jason told HollywoodLife at That’s4Entertainment’s 90s Con on March 18.
Vinessa added, “He was like, ‘I didn’t recognize you.’ He was just in the mode of taking a bunch of pictures because he’s super famous. And then he went, ‘Wait, you’re in my favorite Halloween movie.'”
Hocus Pocus didn’t become a blockbuster when it was released in 1993, but the film has evolved into a Halloween phenomenon. The cast didn’t really realize how big Hocus Pocus had become until the 20th anniversary D23 reunion. “There was a full audience and people afterward wanting to take pictures with us,” Vinessa said. Omri added, “It was a mob.”
Jason, Vinessa, and Omri were notably not a part of Hocus Pocus 2, which premiered on Disney+ in 2022. When asked if they’d seen the movie, Jason said, “I wanted more Hannah Waddingham. She was ridiculous. I wanted the whole thing to be about her and the lovely gal we met, Taylor [Paige Henderson], who played young Winifred. I could have seen a whole movie about that.”
Jason famously voiced Thackery Binx in cat form. Despite having a major role in the film, Jason wasn’t ever on set. “Before I even worked on the movie, I actually visited the set because I was working on something next door and then the movie was done,” he said. “It was like 80 percent done, and they decided they wanted a different sound for Binx, and then I auditioned.”
Despite not being on set with his castmates, Jason already had connections with both Omri and Vinessa prior to Hocus Pocus. As you can see, they’ve remained close over the years!