Hollywood is crawling with a plethora of star-studded celebrities basking in their fame and fortune. That much you know already. But what you might not know is that a handful of these stars first made their bloody debut on the big screen in horror films. Let’s take a stab at this stellar lineup of names!
Johnny Depp in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Before he was using wit and undeniable charm in Pirates of the Caribbean, he was stealing the hearts of teenage girls all over the world as Glen Lantz. Glen is revealed to be one of the kids whose parents assisted in the murder of Fred Krueger. Glen, much like the rest of the film’s young characters, begins to experience vivid dreams where Krueger visits him.
Between sporting a male crop top and immediately being dubbed a teen heartthrob, it’s not hard to understand why Depp immediately became a fan favorite in Wes Craven’s bloody classic.
Jennifer Anniston in Leprechaun (1993)
She’ll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. But first, she has to defeat a 3-foot-6-inch creature in desperate search of his pot of gold. Anniston’s involvement in the film became her first major movie role.
The now successful actress, best known as Rachel on Friends, debuted as Tory Redding, a girl-next-door type caught in an everlasting (and completely unexpected) battle with Warwick Davis’ Leprechaun.
See Also: Surprising Early Jobs of Your Favorite Horror Movie Directors
Kevin Bacon in Friday the 13th (1980)
Want a side of eggs with that Bacon? Scratch that morning breakfast, because Jason’s afoot. Bacon plays Jack, a new counselor at Camp Crystal Lake. What he doesn’t know is that the mother of a child who drowned at the lake, years prior, is stealthily stalking the new batch of counselors.
Bacon would go on to become a box-office sensation for his role in Footloose just four years later. However, he owes his early success to the horror genre.
Paul Rudd in Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers
Many know that the face that doesn’t age found success with his role as Josh in Clueless. However, Rudd had a part in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers as Tommy Doyle that same year. Tommy was one of the two children Laurie Strode babysat for in John Carpenter’s Halloween.
Tommy returns with a vengeance as he pieces together the Curse of Thorn theory. The theory suggests that Michael is hellbent on destroying his entire bloodline.
