Omri Katz was a busy child actor who stepped out of the spotlight in his early 20s. He played John Ross Ewing on seven seasons of Dallas and starred in his own sci-fi/mystery show, Eerie, Indiana. But what Katz is best known for is playing Max Dennison in the Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus.

When the movie reached its 25th anniversary, Katz reemerged into the spotlight to celebrate the milestone and has since appeared on the convention circuit to meet Hocus Pocus fans. He was recently a guest at Creature Feature Weekend and took a break from signing autographs to talk about Hocus Pocus, and more with Scoop.

Scoop: Are you having fun this weekend?
Omri Katz (OK): So far, so good. Yes.

Scoop: What did you enjoy most about filming Hocus Pocus?
OK: I don’t think there’s anything I enjoyed most. I think the whole production was just fun. Great cast and crew, a lot of creativity. Amazing sets to work with, amazing industry people. I’d say, probably the most fun scenes were filming in the Sanderson house. That whole set was made from scratch, and they made it all distressed, it was solid, no removable walls. It was amazing.

Scoop: Did you find yourselves trying to one up each other with the comedy?
OK: I don’t… you know that’s hard to think back upon. I don’t think we tried to one up each other, but I think we tried to feed off each other. I don’t think my role had too much comedy action to it compared to the witches who got to take those characters to far and beyond. And of course, Jason Marsden [voice of Binx the cat], who could, with his voice, play around. I wouldn’t say it was a competition, it was more feeding off of each other.

Scoop: What do you think Max did on Halloween the year after the events of the movie?
OK: Got the hell out of dodge. (laughs)

Scoop: Where do you think he’d be now? Still in Salem or would he have left by now?
OK: Definitely left Salem, probably living in the mountains. (laughs) Reclusive, off the grid.

Scoop: Away from black candles?
OK: Yes, away from black candles, away from everything.

Scoop: When did you realize that Hocus Pocus had become a pop culture touchstone?
OK: That’s hard to say and that question was asked of us yesterday during the panel. I would kind of say, once it was released on DVD and people had wider distribution and access to it. All of a sudden it gained traction. And then the internet hit and that just was a gamechanger right there.

Scoop: Did you have fun doing the live commentary last night?
OK: Oh yeah! It was really cool. It’s weird watching yourself on TV. I haven’t seen that movie in a long time.

Scoop: It has to be surreal because you were, what, 16 at the time?
OK: I was 16 – 30 years ago. It’s crazy.

Scoop: You spent a good chunk of your childhood working on Dallas. What stands out to you from that period?
OK: Again, just another amazing experience. You’re a child, so you’re really innocent and you don’t know what’s what. I just felt like a second family environment. I was always treated that way. I guess I feel pretty honored to get to work with such an amazing cast and famous honored people.

Scoop: That’s a huge show for the ‘80s.
OK: That was mega.

Scoop: Do you ever watch reruns?
OK: No, but like I’ve perused YouTube clips and I’ll see myself and I’ll show my girlfriend, like “Look how cute I was when I was 6 years old.” It’s funny.

Scoop: Eerie, Indiana had some very strange storylines. Which ones did you enjoy the most?
OK: Hard to say, they were all so bizarre and weird. Again, amazing set design and such creative people. In fact, that was probably the most fun I had working on any project because I was like a kid in a candy store with new toys every week to play with. I think the pilot, the “ForeverWare” episode was just so new and exciting and like, “What is going on here, it’s amazing.”

Scoop: Did you feel like as the series went on you could put more crazy energy into the episodes?
OK: Yes and no. I kind of feel like he was an extension of myself, like most of the characters I’ve played. I was a child that was kind of fascinated by mystery and always trying to take things apart and figure out how they were engineered and put together. For me, it was kind of like another day.

Scoop: Are you a fan of horror? If so, what do you like?
OK: I am a horror fan, yes, I guess. I like horror movies, but I wouldn’t say I’m a fanatic. What do I like – I like comedy as a craft. The artistry of comedy and acting. Comedy is the most difficult and when somebody can really nail it, I’m drawn to that.

Scoop: The timing is hard.
OK: Yeah. I tried comedy and I stink at it. The timing is everything.

Scoop: What do you like about attending conventions?
OK: I would say, at first, I wasn’t sure because I’d just been reclusive and out of the public sphere for a long time. But just seeing the joy in people. The joy that I had brought in the past and meeting fans and seeing their excitement is the best part for me. Definitely not staying in hotels and traveling. (laughs)

Scoop: What do you have coming up?
OK: I don’t have anything in the entertainment industry that I’m aware of, but I’m working on a cannabis brand and that’s kind of my passion and my drive. It’s a difficult road, but we’re getting there and hopefully we’ll be on shelves in California hopefully within six months or less.

Scoop: What’s the brand called?
OK: It’s called the Mary Danksters.

Scoop: Thank you so much, it was great talking to you.
OK: Lovely to talk to you too. 

To read more about Creature Feature Weekend, jump to our Main Event.