A ‘9-1-1’ Star is Unrecognizable in Fan-Favorite Disney Halloween Movie

One 9-1-1 star appeared in a fan-favorite Halloween film years before the first responder drama, and he was unrecognizable.

It might be hard to tell, but Kenneth Choi was in Halloweentown.

The actor, who plays Howard “Chimney” Han on the ABC drama, briefly appeared in the first film in the Halloweentown franchise in 1998. He portrayed Hip Salescreature, a creature who sells witch brooms. He sells Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) her very first broom after she talks Grandma Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) into it. The appearance is brief, as he’s only on-screen for about two minutes, and you can’t even tell it’s him, but that’s what makes it fun.

Halloweentown was actually Choi’s first acting credit, and he’s worked nonstop since. The actor has appeared in Deep Core, The Terminal, Only the Brave, Captain America: The First Avenger, Red Dawn, Suicide Squad, Spider-Man: Homecoming, All That We Love, 24, Sons of Anarchy, Ironside, Allegiance, The Last Man on Earth, and Counterpart.

Of course, he is best known for his role as Chimney on 9-1-1, starring since the first season premiered in 2018 on Fox. Season 9 premiered earlier this month on ABC, and the show just wrapped its four-episode season opener that was literally out of this world. The Halloween episode is set to premiere on Thursday, and while Chimney will not be dressed as a character from Halloweentown, things will certainly get spooky for the 118.

Alongside Brown and Reynolds, Halloweentown starred Judith Hoag, Joey Zimmerman, Phillip Van Dyke, Emily Roeske, and Robin Thomas. The film centers on a 13-year-old who discovers she’s a witch and is transported to a magical place where ghosts, ghouls, witches, and werewolves live apart from the human world. Halloweentown spawned three sequels: Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge in 2001, Halloweentown High in 2004, and Return to Halloweentown in 2006. Brown was replaced by Sara Paxton for the fourth and final film.

New episodes of 9-1-1 air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming the next day on Hulu. Fans can watch Halloweentown on Disney+ now and see if they can truly spot Choi and see just how different he looks. Though to be fair, it’s hard to tell who anyone is underneath all that monster makeup, but Choi can definitely make it work.