Whether in a straight-to-streaming release, an arthouse sleeper hit, or a studio blockbuster, every actor has to start somewhere; rookies in Hollywood rarely have the privilege of being picky. For many, the starting point is horror.
Though the genre has occasionally been known for releasing some slapdash slop, it also renders the perfect medium for actors to really show their range. Horror demands a large scope of emotional responses and physicality, pushing actors’ skills far beyond simpler roles. Moreover, as horror fosters many a passionate fanbase, these gigs provide future stars with great opportunities for exposure.
From Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween (1978) to Anya Taylor-Joy in The Witch (2015), here are the actors whose early horror roles preceded their celebrity.
Charlize Theron, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995)
Charlize Theron in ‘Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest’.
Buena Vista Pictures
Though she went uncredited, Charlize Theron made her first film appearance in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. Just 20 years old at the time, the actress plays an unnamed woman in the horror installment. Theron joined the scary flick as a follower of the villainous Eli, who takes over his community with the help of a murderous cornfield. —Madeline Boardman
Where to watch Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest: AMC+
Demi Moore, Parasite (1982)
(From left to right) Freddy Moore, Cherie Currie, Luca Bercovici, Demi Moore, and Natalie May in ‘Parasite’.
Everett
After bowing in Choices (1981), Demi Moore nabbed her second film role as Patricia in Parasite. The then-20-year-old actress appears in the futuristic horror movie as a lemon farmer who comes to the aid of Paul (Robert Glaudini). She aligns herself with the scientist as they fight a technologically advanced new form of parasite. —M.B.
Where to watch Parasite: Plex
Drew Barrymore, Firestarter (1984)
Drew Barrymore in ‘Firestarter’.
Everett Collection
A young Drew Barrymore earned one of her first film credits for the 1984 thriller Firestarter. Two years after she played Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the 9-year-old Barrymore hit the big screen as Firestarter’s Charlene “Charlie” McGee. She plays the child to David Keith and Heather Locklear’s characters and gave the film its name with Charlie’s ability to start fires. —M.B.
Where to watch Firestarter: Max
George Clooney, Return to Horror High (1987)
George Clooney in ‘Return to Horror High’.
New World
Fresh off of CBS’ E/R, George Clooney made his big-screen debut in 1987’s Return to Horror High. The star, who was 25 at the time, plays an aspiring actor named Oliver, who gets a gig as a cop in the movie filming at the haunted Crippen High School. —M.B.
Where to watch Return to Horror High: Tubi
Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween (1978)
Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Halloween’.
Compass International Pictures/Getty
Decades before she booked a role on Scream Queens, Jamie Lee Curtis was one. The actress earned her first feature film credit for John Carpenter’s Halloween. Then-19-year-old Curtis plays Laurie Strode, a teenager who is followed by a murderer who escaped from prison. —M.B.
Where to watch Halloween: Plex
Jennifer Aniston, Leprechaun (1993)
Jennifer Aniston in ‘Leprechaun’.
Everett
One year before Jennifer Aniston became Rachel Green on Friends, she played Tory in the 1993 horror film Leprechaun. In her 20s at the time, Aniston stars as a young woman living in a house haunted by an evil leprechaun. —M.B.
Where to watch Leprechaun: Peacock
John Travolta, Carrie (1976)
John Travolta in ‘Carrie’.
Everett
Before John Travolta slipped on his dancing shoes as Danny Zuko in Grease (1978), he literally made blood rain on prom night in the 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie. At 22, Travolta played Billy Nolan, the obnoxious bully who helps orchestrate the infamous pig’s blood prank on the ill-fated prom queen (Sissy Spacek). —J.M.
Where to watch Carrie: AMC+
Julia Roberts, Flatliners (1990)
Julia Roberts in ‘Flatliners’.
Everett
The same year that Julia Roberts became Pretty Woman’s Vivian Ward, she also starred in another film, this one much spookier and far less famous. In her early 20s at the time, Roberts appeared in Flatliners as Rachel, starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Beth Grant, and William Baldwin, among others. A medical student, Rachel faces her demons after she and her fellow classmates experiment with the afterlife by taking turns flatlining. —M.B.
Where to watch Flatliners: Paramount+
Justin Long, Jeepers Creepers (2001)
Justin Long in ‘Jeepers Creepers’.
United Artists/Courtesy Everett
Twentysomething Justin Long snagged his first lead film role in Victor Salva’s Jeepers Creepers. The Goosebumps actor stars as Darry Jenner, a college student on a road trip home with his sister (Gina Phillips), when they find themselves pursued by a flesh-eating, murderous truck driver (Jonathan Breck). —J.M.
Where to watch Jeepers Creepers: AMC+
Kevin Bacon, Friday the 13th (1980)
Kevin Bacon in ‘Friday the 13th’.
Everett
In his early 20s, Kevin Bacon booked an early role in the first Friday the 13th. The actor joined the notoriously scary movie as Jack, a counselor at a cursed camp where murder after murder takes place. —M.B.
Where to watch Friday the 13th: AMC+
Lisa Kudrow, The Unborn (1991)
Lisa Kudrow in ‘The Unborn’.
Califilm
A brunette, 27-year-old Lisa Kudrow picked up an early project with The Unborn. Years before she would arrive on network television as Phoebe Buffay, the star plays Louisa in the haunting horror about a terrifying medical experiment. She joined The Unborn in a small role at the clinic visited by Virginia (Brooke Adams) and Brad (Jeff Hayenga) in their ongoing quest to have children. —M.B.
Where to watch The Unborn: Tubi
Naomi Watts, Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)
Naomi Watts in ‘Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering’.
Buena Vista
Naomi Watts nabbed a starring role in the 1996 installment of one spooky film series. The then-rising star plays Grace in Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering. She finds herself in contact with the effects of the surprisingly scary crop of corn when she moves home to be with her mother. —M.B.
Where to watch Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering: AMC+
Ryan Gosling, Frankenstein and Me (1996)
Ryan Gosling and Jamieson Boulanger in ‘Frankenstein and Me’.
Trimark
In 1996 in Canada, a 15-year-old Mickey Mouse Club alum named Ryan Gosling had his big-screen debut in Frankenstein and Me. Released in the U.S. the following year, the spooky flick features a young Gosling as Kenny. He plays a friend to Jamieson Boulanger’s Earl, a kid with dreams of living alongside monsters. —M.B.
Frankenstein and Me is unavailable to watch or rent
Sandra Bullock, The Vanishing (1993)
Sandra Bullock in ‘The Vanishing’.
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett
Early in her career, Sandra Bullock picked up a role as Diane in The Vanishing. Appearing with Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, and Nancy Travis, the future star plays a woman who vanishes from a gas station. The plot turns even spookier when her then-boyfriend tries to uncover the mystery of her disappearance. —M.B.
The Vanishing is unavailable to watch or rent
Tom Hanks, He Knows You’re Alone (1980)
Elizabeth Kemp and Tom Hanks in ‘He Knows You’re Alone’.
Everett Collection
Tom Hanks earned the first film credit of his prolific career for 1980’s He Knows You’re Alone. While he would go on to fill his résumé with romantic comedies and celebrated dramas, the then-24-year-old star appears as Elliot in the slasher flick. Hanks plays a psychology student who gets brought into a group of friends who can’t escape a killer. —M.B.
Where to watch He Knows You’re Alone: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Ty Burrell, Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Ty Burrell in ‘Dawn of the Dead’.
Michael Gibson/Universal Studios
Five years before he joined Modern Family, Ty Burrell earned his third feature film credit for Dawn of the Dead. The future sitcom star plays Steve, an initial survivor of the zombie apocalypse. Burrell doesn’t make it through the horror unscathed, however, as he too eventually turns into a zombie. —M.B.
Where to watch Dawn of the Dead: Peacock