Omri Katz Was Stoned During the Filming of 'Hocus Pocus'

The actor, who plays Max Dennison in the 1993 Halloween movie, admitted to being high while acting, telling Entertainment Weekly, “That was at an age where I started experimenting with cannabis. Let's just say some of those scenes, I was having a good old time. I don't exactly remember which scene.”

Katz started missing his cues so frequently that the rest of the crew on set noticed that something was off with him, explaining, “[The director came] up to me and practically [grabbed] me by the shirt, and he was like, ‘Are you high?’”

Related | Ginger Minj Will Put a Spell on You

The then-15-year-old realized that he had to start upping his professionalism if he wanted to make it through Hollywood, taking after Bette Midler’s hard work ethic and turning inwards to implement it in his own life.

“I remember Bette, in that scenario, was kind of a different person than she was on set. She was extremely professional, she was already rehearsing for Gypsy, a [TV movie based on the stage musical] she was doing right after, and every time I'd walk by her trailer, she was practicing [vocals]. I took that to heart, like, this woman's a hard worker, not like me in my trailer getting stoned!”

The interview came just after the release of Hocus Pocus 2, which saw Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as the Sanderson sisters. It also featured a trio of drag queen lookalikes, with Ginger Minj, Kornbread Jeté and Kahmora Hall impersonating the sisters. The film played off of Hocus Pocus’ iconic status in the drag community and even sparked Minj to record a studio cover of “I Put A Spell On You.”

Hocus Pocus 2 is now available exclusively on Disney+.

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