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They say that everybody has to start somewhere—and for many of the now-famous faces on this list, horror movies were a stepping stone into the Hollywood spotlight. You might be surprised by the films that gave these actors their big break...
Paul Rudd
The same year that Clueless hit theaters, Paul Rudd also starred as Tommy Doyle in 1995's Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. Unfortunately, the film was so poorly received that it ended up being the original series' final entry before the Halloween H20 reboot. Despite everything, Rudd remained vocal about his appreciation for the opportunity to act alongside Donald Pleasence.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston wasn't always known as Rachel Green on Friends. Aniston credits Leprechaun (1993) with her introduction to showbusiness, but it wasn't easy for the actress to look back at her debut role without cringing. "I watched it like, 8 years ago with our mutual friend Justin Theroux for [expletive] and giggles," she explained. “We were dating. It was one of those things when I tried to get that remote out of his hand and there was just no having it. He was like, 'No, no, no, no, this is happening.'"
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp launched his acting career with A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), directed by horror trailblazer Wes Craven. Although producers originally wanted Charlie Sheen to play Glen Lantz, Depp ended up scoring the role due to salary disputes. Following Craven's death in 2015, Depp credited the director for helping him land his big break.
Kevin Bacon
One of Kevin Bacon's first starring roles was in a movie that bombed so hard at the box office, it became a cult classic. Bacon played Valentine "Val" McKee in 1990's Tremors, a comedy horror film in which Bacon's character fights for survival against giant, flesh-eating worms. Although Bacon admits that while at the time, he wasn't particularly thrilled about the film, Tremors ended up being an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Eva Mendes
Eva Mendes' acting career began after a talent manager spotted her photo in a friend's portfolio. She was then cast as Kir in Child of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998), the direct-to-video fifth installment of the Children of the Corn series. The actress was so disappointed by her performance that she hired an acting coach. Within a few years, Mendes skyrocketed to stardom.
Jamie Lee Curtis
This list obviously had to feature the original scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis's breakout role was that of Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), which she reprised for most of its sequels. After the film's initial success, Curtis appeared in a string of 1980s slasher flicks before moving on to other genres.
Hilary Swank
Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer became a hit TV series, it was a 1992 film written by Joss Whedon—starring none other than 16-year-old Hilary Swank as Kimberly Hannah. "I was completely nervous because I didn't want to mess up," Swank said. "I'd all of the sudden got this opportunity to live my dream. I was living the high life, working in the day and working in the night." She credits the film's director, Fran Rubel Kuzui, for kickstarting her film career.
Tom Hanks
You might know him as the loveable lead in all of your favorite rom-coms, but believe it or not, Tom Hanks' debut film role was actually a small part in the 1980 slasher flick He Knows You're Alone. Despite the size of his role, Hanks was reportedly so good at his job that the writer decided to ax the death scene they had planned for him. Who knew that within the same decade, he would become an Oscar-nominated actor?
Renée Zellweger
It took decades, but Renée Zellweger finally acknowledged her humble beginnings as Jenny in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995) alongside co-star Matthew McConaughey, who played a viscious psycopath with a mechanical leg. "Best workout ever," Zellweger said of the slasher flick. "Live chainsaw—that's some motivation to get running! Fast!"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus wasn't always Elaine Benes from Seinfeld. The actress got her big break in the 1986 horror-fantasy hybrid Troll. Louis-Dreyfus plays Jeanette, a struggling actress who is transformed into a wood nymph by the havoc-wreaking troll Torok. Although Louis-Dreyfus may have made a strong first impression, she never returned to the horror genre.
George Clooney
While some might think George Clooney's career began with ER, they are sorely mistaken. Before he was Dr. Doug Ross, Clooney starred in two low-budget '80s slasher flicks: Return to Horror High (1987) and Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988). Film critic Steve Miller wrote of Return to Horror High, "The narrative threads of this low-budget spoof of slasher films are more tangled than the cocaine-fueled fever dreams of Quentin Tarantino."
Patricia Arquette
The Arquette family is no stranger to the horror genre—not only did David have a recurring role in the Scream franchise, but Patricia got her start as a final girl. Arquette played Kristen Parker in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). To the chagrin of many fans, Arquette didn't return for A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), instead choosing to pursue other opportunities.
Adam Scott
Before Adam Scott was the mayor of Ice Town, his first major film role was that of Jacques in the fourth Hellraiser installment, Hellraiser: Bloodline. Scott's role was originally much smaller, but he was rewritten and expanded upon to compensate for Angelique's origin change. The movie was so terrible that director Kevin Yagher had his name removed from the credits.
Angela Bassett
Surprisingly, Leonardo DiCaprio wasn't the only one whose career was jumpstarted by the Critters franchise. Angela Bassett played a pilot named Fran in Critters 4 (1992), which began where DiCaprio's Critters 3 left off. In all likelihood, Bassett's career was kickstarted by her performance in Boyz n the Hood (1991) rather than a Critters sequel that took place in space.
Patrick Dempsey
McDreamy wasn't even credited in his first-ever role. Before starring in the '80s rom-com Can't Buy Me Love (1987), Patrick Dempsey appeared in The Stuff (1985), a satirical sci-fi horror movie in which he played "Underground Stuff Buyer #2." The character was so minimal that there are no existing stills of Dempsey's feature in the film.
Charlize Theron
If you blink, you might miss Charlize Theron in her first film role: 1995's Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. Theron was cast in an uncredited role as "Eli's Follower." Surprisingly, the movie wasn't as bad as critics had anticipated. TV Guide wrote that the story "actually improved over time to the point where this third installment is a creditable if far-fetched chiller."
Matthew McConaughey
In Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995), Renée Zellweger wasn't the only rising star. McConaughey had already dived into Hollywood headfirst with Dazed and Confused two years earlier, but his acting chops were cemented with the unsettling role of Vilmer Slaughter in this sequel to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Although McConaughey deviated from the genre to become a '90s and early '00s heartthrob, his roots will never be forgotten.
Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams broke into the scene with a relatively small role in Species, a 1995 sci-fi horror film that follows a motley crew of scientists and government agents on a mission to track down Sil, an alien-human hybrid, before she mates with a human male. Williams plays a younger version of Sil in the film. Only a few years later, Williams took on a larger part in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) alongside none other than Jamie Lee Curtis.
Michelle Williams
The Halloween franchise brought attention to a number of future A-list stars, and that includes Michelle Williams. Williams plays Molly Cartwell, the girlfriend of Laurie Strode's son. Fortunately, Williams' character is one of the few who make it out of the film in one piece.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
While technically Halloween H20: 20 Years Later wasn't his first role, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance earned him enough attention to jumpstart a lucrative acting career. Gordon-Levitt plays Jimmy Howell, Laurie Strode's teenage neighbor and an unfortunate victim of Michael Myers. It wasn't long before Gordon-Levitt was moving on to bigger roles in films like 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and Mysterious Skin (2004).
Leonardo DiCaprio
One of the biggest actors in Hollywood debuted in none other than a low-budget horror sequel, Critters 3 (1991). Long before DiCaprio sunk on the Titanic alongside Kate Winslet, he fought for survival against the Krites as Josh, the stepson of a deceitful landlord. Fortunately, he met a less gruesome fate than his stepfather.
Richard Jenkins
Jenkins is now a two-time Oscar nominee, but the veteran actor once shared the screen as a newbie with Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, Cher, and Jack Nicholson in The Witches of Eastwick (1987). Jenkins was roughly 40 years old when he was cast in his first sizeable role. "I drove to the set on the first day and they wouldn't let me in," he recalled. "I said, 'But you don't understand, I'm in the movie,' and the guy on the gate said, 'Yeah, sure, me too, buddy.'"
Elizabeth Olsen
Olsen is now a member of the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the youngest Olsen sister's breakout role was in Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), a thriller that follows a young woman suffering from mental illness after escaping the clutches of an abusive cult in the Catskill Mountains. The performance landed Olsen a number of nominations and put her Hollywood career into motion.
Crispin Glover
Only one year before he played George McFly in Back to the Future, Glover delivered an amusing performance as Jimmy in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)—that is, before his face was hacked off with a meat cleaver. Glover later admitted that he was never a big fan of slasher flicks and only took the role for a paycheck. "I needed a job. I needed work. I needed to continue working," he said.
Jennifer Connelly
Before her Oscar-winning days, this model-turned-actress starred in one of Dario Argento's strangest works to date: the Italian horror film Phenomena (1985), released under the title Creepers in the U.S. Connelly plays Jennifer Corvino, a young girl who possesses the psychic ability to communicate with insects. NYT reviewer Jon Pareles said that the best acting in the film is "by an expressive, resourceful chimpanzee—definitely the year's Best Supporting Primate."
Tony Goldwyn
He's now the president on Scandal, but Tony Goldwyn once played one of Jason Voorhees's unfortunate victims in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986). Goldwyn portrayed Darren Robinson, a camp supervisor at Camp Crystal Lake who meets a gruesome end at the hands of the killer. The sixth installment in the Friday the 13th series received decent reviews compare to its other sequels.
Octavia Spencer
This esteemed film veteran has over 70 credits to her name, and that includes 2009's Drag Me to Hell as an unnamed bank teller. Drag Me to Hell was Spencer's first foray into the genre. In 2019, Spencer starred in Ma, a psychological horror film. That's a step up from bank teller, certainly.
Chris Hemsworth
Before wielding a magical hammer alongside his Avengers crew, Chris Hemsworth played Curt Vaughan, the stereotypical jock in Joss Whedon's horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods (2011). Hemsworth claimed that he "blew" his first audition with director Kenneth Branagh for Thor, but when Whedon learned of the Aussie's interest in the role, he made a few calls, effectively sealing the deal. Without The Cabin in the Woods, Chris Hemsworth never would have become the face of Thor.
Chloë Grace Moretz
Chloë Grace Moretz was only 8 years old when she played Chelsea Lutz, the youngest of the Lutz daughters in 2005's The Amityville Horror. The original Amityville Horror (1979) is regarded as a staple of horror cinema, but the 2005 remake featuring both Moretz and Ryan Reynolds was surprisingly well-received. Moretz's breakthrough came in 2010 when she received critical acclaim for her performance as Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass.
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck is one of the most celebrated actors of the modern era, but he wasn't exactly at the top of his game in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992). "Apparently, I'm so bad in that movie," Ben said, looking back on the role of Basketball Player #10. "I had one line. It was 'Take it,' I think."
Madelaine Petsch
Before her Riverdale days, this starlet was first seen on the silver screen in 2015, playing "Current Girl #2" in The Hive. The actress and YouTuber made a brief appearance in the sci-fi horror film, which had a limited release. Only a few months later, Petsch was cast as Cheryl Blossom, and the rest is history.
Jon Stewart
One year before Jon Stewart took over The Daily Show, Jon Stewart debuted on the big screen in the sci-fi horror film The Faculty (1998). Stewart played Edward Furlong, a high school science teacher who meets a gruesome at the hands of his student. Rotten Tomatoes hailed the film a "rip-off of other sci-fi thrillers."
Brad Pitt
Before Brad Pitt was a bonafide Hollywood hunk, he played an angsty teen doing his best to survive in the slasher flick Cutting Class (1989). Pitt portrays Dwight Ingalls, the basketball star of his high school who nearly becomes the victim of a serial killer. Sadly, critics panned the movie, calling it "good campy fun with some of the dumbest scenes you can grab from a slasher of this decade."
Amy Adams
This combined parody of 1950s psychodramas, 1960s beach movies, and 1980s slasher films features none other than Amy Adams, who went on to become one of the highest-paid actresses in history. Adams plays Marvel Ann in Psycho Beach Party (2000), the girlfriend of a college dropout named Starcat. The film is based on a play of the same name directed by Robert Lee King.
Kristen Stewart
In Panic Room (2002), Kristen Stewart stars in one of her earliest roles alongside Jodie Foster as a mother-daughter duo under attack. She was only twelve years old at the time. "I remember her thinking there wasn't a chance I'd continue being an actor," Stewart said of Foster. "[Jodie] was like, 'You're probably going to direct movies or go back to school."
Rooney Mara
The Carol actress might be a big star nowadays, but back in 2005, Rooney Mara was only known as Kate Mara's little sister. Mara earned her first IMDb credit while visiting her sister on the set of Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005), in which the vengeful spirit of a dead student terrorizes her peers on prom night. Mara played "Classroom Girl #1."
Holly Hunter
Similar to her costar Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter also made her film debut in 1981's slasher flick The Burning—the film was arguably a rip-off of Friday the 13th, which came out one year earlier. Hunter played Sophie, a small role with few speaking lines. It wasn't until 1987 that Hunter truly broke into the scene with her Academy Award-nominated performance in Raising Arizona.
Justin Long
Jeepers Creepers (2001) was a low-budget horror movie with zero big names released at the very end of summer's dog days—but it still managed to launch Justin Long's acting career. The Victor Salva flick brought success to both Long and Salva, breaking box-office records across the nation. Salva was confident that the up-and-coming actor could come off as funny or genuinely terrified, depending on the scene.
Demi Moore
Everyone has to start somewhere—and for Demi Moore, that was at the bottom of the sci-fi horror bargain bin. Moore plays a lemon farmer named Patricia Wells living in post-apocalyptic America after a deadly parasite has been set loose on the nation. The film received largely negative reviews, but it has still been recognized as Moore's first major film role.
Naomi Watts
The Children of the Corn franchise served as a jumping-off point for plenty of actors' careers, and that includes Naomi Watts, who snagged the lead in the fourth installment, Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996). Watts plays Grace Rhodes, a medical student who returns to her hometown right as a strange illness begins to afflict local children, including her sister. This direct-to-video film was one of Watts' first major roles, and she later went on to star in The Ring (2002).
John Travolta
John Travolta's official film debut wasn't anything to write home about. He played a hooded cult follower in the low-budget horror flick The Devil's Rain (1975). Only one year, Travolta earned a supporting role as Billy Nolan in 1976's Carrie opposite Sissy Spacek. "I don't think any of us could have known the life the movie would take on for decades...or how many times we'd have to explain to our families the blood was actually corn syrup!" he captioned a throwback Instagram post.
Jim Carrey
Although Jim Carrey made his feature film debut in Finders Keepers, one year later, he earned a leading role in 1985's Once Bitten. Carrey plays a young virgin seduced by a centuries-old vampire looking for fresh blood. The film marked Carrey's first-ever onscreen kiss: "Gosh, my first screen kiss had to be in Once Bitten with Karen Kopins, I believe," he said. "And yeah, it was always a good thing. Always a good thing. I like—I really enjoy other genders. Let’s just say that. Kissing in general is just a good thing."
Katherine Heigl
One of Katherine Heigl's earliest roles was that of Jade Kincaid in Bride of Chucky (1998), and her character certainly made a lasting impression. "Put it this way, she and Chucky definitely butted heads," said Chucky creator Don Mancini of the actress, who was only 19. "She was obviously a very talented actress….with a very headstrong personality. I'll leave it at that."
Abigail Breslin
Abigail Breslin was only five years old when she made her film debut in M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 horror sci-fi movie Signs alongside Mel Gibson. Breslin played Bo Hess, Gibson's young daughter, whose habit of leaving glasses of water everywhere ends up securing her family's survival amidst an alien invasion. One year later, Breslin was cast as Olive in Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
Sharon Stone
This Wes Craven film features Sharon Stone in one of her earliest roles as Lana Marcus in Deadly Blessing (1981). The slasher flick is considered a transitional piece between Craven's "hard-hitting early work and his later commercial successes." At one point, Stone's character has a nightmare in which she is forced to swallow a spider; as it turns out, the spider was very much real, and Stone refused to participate in the scene until the insect was defanged. Probably a good call.
Jason Alexander
If you've ever seen The Burning, you may have recognized a familiar face—Jason Alexander. Before he was George Costanza on Seinfeld, Alexander made his film debut as Dave, the resident comedic relief in this 1981 slasher film. Perhaps most surprisingly, he has a full head of hair.
Mariska Hargitay
Detective Olivia Benson wasn't always prowling the streets of New York City in search of bad guys. In 1985, Hargitay made her film debut as Donna in the cult classic Ghoulies. The film was dismissed as "a cut-rate 'Gremlins'" with "unexceptional performances" and "a lot of badly simulated gore," but that didn't stop Mariska from earning a well-deserved spot among Hollywood's elite.
Jessica Lange
She may have reentered the modern mainstream with her iconic roles in American Horror Story, but Jessica Lange first rose to popularity when she debuted in 1976's King Kong. Lange earned a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Dwan. Although the monster flick did effectively launch her career, she reportedly received enough negative publicity that it "almost destroyed her career."
Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields' film debut in Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) helped cement the low-budget film as a contemporary classic of the slasher subgenre. The slasher film features Shields as the "favorite daughter" who is viciously murdered by a masked killer. In the years since its release, Alice, Sweet Alice has amassed quite a cult following. During her audition, Shields had to mime as though she was being strangled to death.
Henry Cavill
You might know him as Superman, but Henry Cavill actually got his big break encountering Pinhead in the eighth Hellraiser installment. Cavill played sex addict Mike in Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005) in which he's gruesomely offed by a Cenobite. Hopefully, getting impaled by a giant hook and dying in midair was worth it, since the role helped to launch his career.
Idris Elba
Although Idris Elba's character was truly terrible at his job, the actor still gave Detective Winn his all in the 2008 slasher flick Prom Night. The film wasn't Elba's debut, but it was his first time performing in a thriller aside from 28 Days Later. "I'm not too familiar with the prom world," Elba said. "Coming from England, we don't have prom." Hopefully, somebody let him know that murder isn't a quintessential part of American school dances.
Keira Knightley
The Hole (2001) marks Keira Knightley's first major role in a feature film. Knightley played Frankie, a teenager trapped inside of an abandoned underground nuclear fallout shelter with several of her peers. Knightley was a Hollywood newcomer at the time, described by director Nick Hamm as a younger version of Julie Christie.
Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood's distinguished film career began in 1955. Eastwood got his first big break playing an uncredited lab assistant named Jennings in Revenge of the Creature, the sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). Eastwood's character is shown having a discussion with Professor Ferguson in which he accuses a test subject cat of having eaten a lab rat—before finding the rat in his lab coat pocket.
Mila Kunis
Did you know that American Psycho has a sequel? Well, Mila Kunis wishes you didn't. In 2002, Kunis appeared in her second-ever film role as protagonist Rachael Newman in American Psycho II: All American Girl, a stand-alone sequel to the original movie. American Psycho author Bret Easton denounced the film, and in 2005, Kunis expressed embarrassment over her role. "Please—somebody stop this," she said. "Write a petition. When I did the second one, I didn't know it would be 'American Psycho II.' It was supposed to be a different project, and it was re-edited, but, oh... I don't know. Bad."
Zach Galifianakis
As it turns out, yes, Zach Galifianakis has always looked like that. The actor had a small part in Below (2002), a submarine horror film written by Darren Aronofsky. Galifianakis played "Weird" Wally, one of the remaining survivors on a haunted submarine. The film received mixed reviews.
Viggo Mortensen
Over a decade before the first installment of The Lord of the Rings ever hit theaters, Viggo Mortensen played Edward "Tex" Sawyer, the central antagonist of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. The film was considered a critical failure, but entertained audiences nonetheless. Mortensen made a number of appearances in supporting roles throughout the 1990s until a breakthrough in 1999, when Peter Jackson cast the actor as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Bradley Cooper
This is one film that Bradley Cooper likely leaves off his resume—My Little Eye (2002). Inspired by the reality show Big Brother, Cooper plays Travis Patterson, one of the masterminds manipulating a group of adults spending six months locked inside of a mansion. Bradley's feature film debut had been one year prior in Wet Hot American Summer (2001), but the actor didn't achieve critical levels of success until 2009 in The Hangover.
Elliot Page
One of Elliot Page's first roles was in Ghost Cat (2003) for which he won the Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series. The Animal Planet made-for-television film revolved around the spirit of a cat who was haunting Page's house. The film is rated PG for "mild thematic elements and some peril."
Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler wasn't always one of the biggest names in Hollywood. His third role ever was in Tale of the Mummy (1998); Butler played a character named Burke. This was one of the many small roles Butler took on before his breakthrough in the early aughts, when he was selected to play Attila the Hun in the TV miniseries Attila (2001).
Jaimie Alexander
Rest Stop (2006) was Jaimie Alexander's second time starring as the lead in a horror film. Alexander portrayed Nicole Carrow, a girl who escapes from home and goes on a trip with her boyfriend, where, as the name suggests, they encounter a crazed serial killer at a rest stop. Despite negative reviews, Rest Stop earned a sequel titled Rest Stop: Don't Look Back (2008).