Actors Whose Film Debut Was A Horror Movie

by bloody-3 | created - 6 months ago | updated - 2 weeks ago | Public

Their first film was in the horror genre.

1. Brooke Adams

Actress | Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Brooke Adams was born on February 8, 1949 in New York City, to Rosalind (Gould), an actress, and Robert Kaufmann Adams, a former CBS vice president. She was educated at the prestigious High School for the Performing Arts and the School of the American Ballet.

Starting her career on the stage, her ...

Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971)

3. Jason Alexander

Actor | Seinfeld

Jay Scott Greenspan, known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, film director, and television presenter. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series Seinfeld (1989), for which he was nominated for seven consecutive...

The Burning (1981)

4. Christopher Collet

Actor | Sleepaway Camp

Chris Collet was born in New York and during his teens he started to break into showbiz and got himself an agent. His first gig in a film was an independent horror/mystery/slasher film called Sleepaway Camp (1983), in which he played the role of Paul. He remained in touch with his co-star from the ...

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

5. Gary Conway

Writer | Over the Top

Gary Conway was born on February 4, 1936 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Over the Top (1987), American Ninja 2: The Confrontation (1987) and Burke's Law (1963). He has been married to Marian McKnight since December 21, 1958. They have two children.

I Was A Teenage Frankenstein (1958)

7. Aneta Corsaut

Actress | The Blob

Pretty, auburn-haired actress Aneta Louise Corsaut was born in Hutchinson, Kansas on November 3, 1933. She majored in drama at Northwestern University and studied acting with Lee Strasberg, considered by some to be the father of method acting in America. Aneta dropped out in her junior year to ...

The Blob (1958)

8. Jamie Lee Curtis

Actress | Halloween

Jamie Lee Curtis was born on November 22, 1958 in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of legendary actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. She got her big break at acting in 1978 when she won the role of Laurie Strode in Halloween (1978). After that, she became famous for roles in movies like Trading...

Halloween (1978)

8. Johnny Depp

Actor | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one ...

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

9. Leonardo DiCaprio

Actor | Inception

Few actors in the world have had a career quite as diverse as Leonardo DiCaprio's. DiCaprio has gone from relatively humble beginnings, as a supporting cast member of the sitcom Growing Pains (1985) and low budget horror movies, such as Critters 3 (1991), to a major teenage heartthrob in the 1990s,...

Critters 3 (1991)

11. Wayne Doba

Actor | Scarface

Wayne Doba is an actor best remembered for his characterizations on screen whether wearing heavy makeup or wearing a mask to cover his face. In two 1980's classics he had notable roles yet viewers couldn't see the man behind the mask or the make up. He played The Monster in the horror film The ...

The Funhouse (1981)

12. Pamela Franklin

Actress | The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

British actress Pamela Franklin has worked with many notable actors and directors throughout her career. A somewhat underrated actress, she had a wide range of emotions that she brought to her many versatile characters. Franklin was born in Yokohama, Japan, and her father was an importer/exporter. ...

The Innocents (1961)

13. Clint Eastwood

Actor | Million Dollar Baby

Clinton Eastwood Jr. was born May 31, 1930 in San Francisco, to Clinton Eastwood Sr., a bond salesman and later manufacturing executive for Georgia-Pacific Corporation, and Ruth Wood (née Margaret Ruth Runner), a housewife turned IBM clerk. He grew up in nearby Piedmont. At school Clint took ...

Revenge of the Creature (1955)

13. Kim Greist

Actress | Brazil

Connecticut native Kim Greist spent her late teen years in Europe as a professional model. She returned to the US at age 20 and launched an acting career in the off-Broadway comedy "Second Prize: Two Months in Leningrad"; her later stage credits included appearances in the New York Shakespeare ...

C.H.U.D (1984)

15. Tom Hanks

Producer | Cast Away

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks was born in Concord, California, to Janet Marylyn (Frager), a hospital worker, and Amos Mefford Hanks, an itinerant cook. His mother's family, originally surnamed "Fraga", was entirely Portuguese, while his father was of mostly English ancestry. Tom grew up in what he has ...

He Knows You're Alone (1980)

15. Daryl Hannah

Actress | Wall Street

Daryl Christine Hannah was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She is the daughter of Susan Jeanne (Metzger), a schoolteacher and later a producer, and Donald Christian Hannah, who owned a tugboat/barge company. Her stepfather was music journalist/promoter Jerrold Wexler. Her siblings are Page ...

The Fury (1978)

16. Danielle Harris

Actress | Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead

Danielle Harris is an American actress and film director from Plainview, New York. She is regarded as a scream queen for her many roles in horror films. Her better known roles include protagonist Jamie Lloyd in "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" (1988) and "Halloween 5: The Revenge of ...

Halloween 4 The Return of Michael Myers (1988)

17. Don Harvey

Actor | The Deuce

Don Harvey was born in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, just twelve miles from the center of Downtown Detroit, the sixth of eight children. His father worked as an advertising executive for the Auto Industry and his mother was an elementary school teacher.

He started playing the drums at age four and ...

Creepshow 2 (1987)

18. Miko Hughes

Actor | Kindergarten Cop

Miko started his acting career in a public service announcement when he was 22 months old and followed that up by appearing in his first feature film at 27 months old. Since that early start Miko has consistently been one of the busiest young actors in Hollywood. Miko is best known on film for his ...

Pet Sematary (1989)

20. Charles Kissinger

Actor | Grizzly

Charles served in the US Army during World War II. Following his tour of duty, Kissinger established himself as a local theatre institution in Louisville, Kentucky thanks to his performances in both Shakespeare in the Park productions and his work with Louisville's prestigious Actors Theatre. ...

Three on a Meathook (1972)

21. Holly Hunter

Actress | Broadcast News

Holly Hunter was born in Conyers, Georgia, to Opal Marguerite (Catledge), a homemaker, and Charles Edwin Hunter, a part-time sporting goods company representative and farmer with a 250 acre farm. She is the youngest of seven children. Her parents encouraged her talent at an early age, and her first...

The Burning (1981)

23. Lori Loughlin

Actress | Summerland

Lori Loughlin was born on July 28, 1964 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Summerland (2004), When Calls the Heart (2014) and Full House (1987). She has been married to Mossimo Giannulli since November 27, 1997. They have two children. She was previously ...

Amityville 3-D (1983)

23. Toni Lawrence

Actress | McCloud

Toni Lawrence was born on April 4, 1948 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for McCloud (1970), Daddy's Deadly Darling (1973) and Quincy M.E. (1976). She was previously married to Billy Bob Thornton.

Daddy's Deadly Darling (1973)

24. Ashley Laurence

Actress | Hellraiser

California native Ashley Laurence is an artist who has never been contained by any one medium or genre: As an actress, she has worked in both comedy and drama on screens both large and small while, as a painter, the startling power of her hallucinatory canvases is winning her a growing reputation ...

Hellraiser (1987)

26. Lee Majors

Actor | The Six Million Dollar Man

Lee Majors was born on April 23, 1939 in Wyandotte, Michigan, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Six Million Dollar Man (1974), The Fall Guy (1981) and Scrooged (1988). He has been married to Faith Majors since November 9, 2002. He was previously married to Karen Velez, Farrah Fawcett ...

Strait Jacket (1964)

27. Mary Maude

Actress | The Chef's Apprentice

Mary Maude is known for The Chef's Apprentice (1989), Freewheelers (1968) and Scorpio (1973).

The House That Screamed (1969)

28. Christopher McDonald

Actor | Thelma & Louise

Christopher McDonald was born and raised in New York City, New York, to Patricia, a real estate agent, and James R. McDonald, an educator. His breakout role was in Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise (1991), followed shortly by his role as Jack Barry in Robert Redford's Quiz Show (1994). Other ...

The Hearse (1980)

29. Gerald McRaney

Actor | Focus

McRaney holds the distinction of being the last guest star to meet "Matt Dillon" in a gunfight on Gunsmoke (1955) - in the episode, Gunsmoke: Hard Labor (1975), first broadcast on February 24, 1975 (he lost). In fact, in the early portion of Gerald McRaney's career he almost always played the ...

Night of Bloody Horror (1969)

30. Caitlin O'Heaney

Actress | Tales of the Gold Monkey

Caitlin was born on August 16, 1953 in Whitefish Bay, Milwakee, Wisconsin. Growing up there, she and her two older sisters turned their garage into a theatre. She made her formal stage debut at eight, when her mother, a drama teacher, cast Caitlin as Peter Pan in a Cumberland School summer ...

Savage Weekend (1979)

31. Ian Ogilvy

Actor | Death Becomes Her

Ian Ogilvy was born on September 30, 1943 in Woking, Surrey, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Death Becomes Her (1992), I, Claudius (1976) and My Life in Ruins (2009). He has been married to Kathryn Holcomb since 1992. He was previously married to Diane Sarah Patricia Hart.

The She Beast (1966)

32. Heather O'Rourke

Actress | Poltergeist

Heather Michele O'Rourke was born on December 27, 1975 in Santee, San Diego, California, to Kathleen, a seamstress, and Michael O'Rourke, a construction worker. She had German, Danish, English, and Irish ancestry.

Heather entered American cinematic pop-culture before first grade. She was sitting ...

Poltergeist (1982)

33. Mitch Pileggi

Actor | Basic Instinct

Mitch Pileggi was born on April 5, 1952 in Portland, Oregon, USA. He is an actor, known for Basic Instinct (1992), The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008) and The X-Files (1993). He has been married to Arlene Warren since January 1, 1997. They have one child. He was previously married to Debbie ...

Mongrel (1982)

34. Mike Raven

Actor | Disciple of Death

Raven was born Austin Churton Fairman to classical stage actors. Before appearing in films he counted ballet dancing, Lieutenant of infantry and television producer as occupations. Fairman came to the public's attention as a pirate radio station disc jockey christened "Mike Raven". When the plugs ...

Lust For A Vampire (1971)

35. Felissa Rose

Actress | Sleepaway Camp

Felissa Rose Esposito grew up in New York always wanting to perform. At the age of 13, she landed the role of Angela in the cult film Sleepaway Camp (1983). At the age of 17, she applied for early admission to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and was admitted that fall. Attending The ...

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

36. Meg Ryan

Actress | When Harry Met Sally...

Blonde-haired, blue-eyed with an effervescent personality, Meg Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, to Susan (Duggan), an English teacher and one-time actress, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. She is of Ruthenian, Polish, Irish, and German ancestry ("Hyra" is a ...

Amityville 3-D (1983)

37. Natasha Ryan

Actress | The Amityville Horror

Natasha Ryan got her start in commercials at age two, and at five she was selected to play the role of Hope Alice Williams on Days of Our Lives (1965). During here 5 years in that role, she played Young Sybil in the 1976 film Sybil (1976) starring Sally Field. Other film roles include Kingdom of ...

Good Against Evil (1977)

38. Vinessa Shaw

Actress | 3:10 to Yuma

Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actor, and had her break-out role in Disney's 1993 Halloween comedy-fantasy film Hocus Pocus. Shaw also appeared in Ladybugs (1992) and L.A. Without a Map (1998). While attending Barnard College, Shaw was ...

Home Sweet Home (1981)

39. William Smith

Actor | Any Which Way You Can

William Smith was probably best known for his portrayal as "Falconetti" in Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). He first came to the screen as a child actor in films such as Going My Way (1944) and The Song of Bernadette (1943), before entering the service during the Korean War, where his fluency in foreign ...

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

40. P.J. Soles

Actress | Halloween

P.J. (Pamela Jayne) Soles was born on July 17, 1950 in Frankfurt, Germany. Her father came from Holland and her mother from New Jersey. Because her father was working for an international insurance company, the family moved all over the world. P.J. lived in Casablanca, Morocco, and Maracaibo, ...

Blood Bath (1975)

41. Fisher Stevens

Actor | Short Circuit

Fisher Stevens moved from his native Chicago to New York at the age of 13 to pursue an acting career. He tried, unsuccessfully, to get any kind of job and was, he recalls, even rejected as extra for a Crest commercial.

When his acting teacher, Dan Fauci, lost the lease to his teaching studio, he ...

The Burning (1981)

42. John Travolta

Actor | Pulp Fiction

John Joseph Travolta was born in Englewood, New Jersey, one of six children of Helen Travolta (née Helen Cecilia Burke) and Salvatore/Samuel J. Travolta. His father was of Italian descent and his mother was of Irish ancestry. His father owned a tire repair shop called Travolta Tires in Hillsdale, ...

The Devil's Rain (1975)

43. Joan Van Ark

Actress | Knots Landing

Joan Van Ark, just out of high school, was the second youngest student to attend the Yale School of Drama on a scholarship. The youngest was Julie Harris. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Years later, they would co-star on the CBS Television series, Knots Landing (1979). Van Ark began...

Frogs (1972)

44. Vlasta Vrana

Actor | The Glass Castle

Vlasta Vrana was born in 1950 in Norway. He is an actor, known for The Glass Castle (2017), Human Trafficking (2005) and Race (2016).

Shivers (1976)

45. Lalla Ward

Actress | Doctor Who: Shada

Lalla Ward born Sarah Ward, daughter of Lord Bangor - Edward Ward - and his writer wife, Marjorie Banks. She always wanted to act, paint and draw, and so joined the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1967. When she left in 1970, it was straight into a part in the Hammer film Vampire Circus (1972)...

Vampire Circus (1972)

46. Rachel Ward

Actress | The Thorn Birds

Rachel Ward was born on September 12, 1957 in Cornwell Manor, Cornwell, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for The Thorn Birds (1983), Against All Odds (1984) and Sharky's Machine (1981). She has been married to Bryan Brown since April 16, 1983. They ...

Night School (1981)

47. Rita Wilson

Actress | Jingle All the Way

Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff) is an American actress, singer, and film producer from Los Angeles. Her ancestry is primarily Greek and Bulgarian. She was granted Greek citizenship in 2019, in honor of her efforts to assist Greece by appealing for international aid after a devastating ...

The Day It Came To Earth (1977)

48. Burt Young

Actor | Rocky

Burly, talented character actor who remained consistently busy playing "rough edged" or scary characters, often on the wrong side of the law. Young was born on April 30, 1940, in New York City, the son of a high school shop teacher. He is of Italian descent. Young received his dramatic arts ...

Carnival of Blood (1970)

49. Daphne Zuniga

Actress | One Tree Hill

Zuniga was born in San Francisco, California to Agnes A. Zuniga (née Janawicz) and Joaquin Alberto Zuniga Mazariegos. Her mother is a Unitarian minister, of Polish and Finnish descent, and her father, originally from Guatemala, was an emeritus professor of philosophy at California State University,...

The Dorm That Dripped Blood (1982)



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