As Halloween approaches, here’s a local connection to one of the season’s most popular movies. Sean Murray, who played Thackery Binx in Disney’s 1993 film “Hocus Pocus,” was born at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Montgomery County.
According to his Paramount/CBS bio, Murray was born November 15, 1977, into a military family. His father, Craig Harland Murray, served in the U.S. Navy for more than 30 years, and Murray spent much of his childhood moving between military bases, including time in California, Australia and Singapore.
Murray began acting as a teenager, making his television debut in the 1991 movie “Backfield in Motion.” His early film work included appearances in “This Boy’s Life” and “Hocus Pocus,” where he played the human version of Thackery Binx, the 17th-century teenager transformed into an immortal black cat by the Sanderson sisters.
There’s also an unusual piece of “Hocus Pocus” trivia involving Murray’s performance. Although Murray physically portrayed Binx in human form, Jason Marsden ultimately provided Binx’s speaking voice. Marsden later explained that Murray’s voice had originally been used, but filmmakers eventually decided they wanted the centuries-old character to have a more period-appropriate accent.
“Hocus Pocus” was released in July 1993 and initially struggled to find an audience. Its reputation changed dramatically in the years that followed as television airings and home video helped turn the movie into an annual Halloween favorite. Its popularity eventually produced “Hocus Pocus 2” in 2022, and a third movie remains in development.
Murray, meanwhile, went on to build a television career that has lasted considerably longer than his brief appearance as human Binx. After roles on shows including “JAG,” “ER” and “Touched by an Angel,” he joined “NCIS” as Timothy McGee during the show’s first season. He became a series regular and celebrated 20 years playing McGee in 2023.
More than three decades after “Hocus Pocus” was released, Murray remains closely associated with both roles, the young Thackery Binx trying to save his sister Emily from the Sanderson sisters, and Special Agent Timothy McGee on one of television’s longest-running dramas.
And both careers trace back, at least geographically, to Montgomery County. Murray was born right here in Bethesda before his military family took him around the world.
