10 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Got Their Start In Horror Movies

As the old saying goes, “we’ve all got to start somewhere.” This applies to even the biggest stars in Hollywood today. Their careers had to start somewhere and that usually means there are at least a couple of movies on their resume they wish you hadn’t seen. Sometimes it just means there are some movies on their resume you’d be shocked to find out they played a part. Such is the instance of this list, where we’ve brought you the top 10 celebs you never would have guessed got their big breaks in a horror flick. The sheer number of superstars who were unknowns when they were killed off is actually quite mind boggling. Check out the list and let us know what you think.

Tom Hanks

Yep, that’s right. Tom Hanks actually got his big break in a horror movie titled He Knows You’re Alone. The film follows a soon-to-be bride who is stalked by a killer the weekend before her wedding. Shortly after his bit part in this film, he scored a guest starring spot on Happy Days, and that led to the lead role in Splash and the rest is history.

Leonardo DiCaprio

While he’s best known for his serious roles, Leonardo DiCaprio got his start on the silliest of horror movies in the form of Critters 3. Dicaprio himself has described the role as “your average, no-depth standard kid with blond hair.” Despite that, he was able to parlay the role into the beginnings of a long and incredibly successful career.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston actually took a little while before she made it big with Friends. She was on In Living Color for a while and also appeared in a number of smaller movies. The film that really got her career started off though was the campy horror film The Leprechaun. This film has become a cult classic over the years thanks in large part to Aniston starring in it.

Kevin Bacon

One of the reasons why Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon works so well is because he really has been all over the map as far as genre. His very first movie film was in the iconic horror classic Friday The 13th.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis is yet another big time actor who first got her start as the main target of a deranged serial killer. Curtis started off in the original Halloween. If there’s one big difference between her and Depp and Bacon, it’s that she actually lives, for several more sequels.

Johnny Depp

Not only is it a bit surprising that his bit part in Nightmare On Elm Street was Johnny Depp’s first big break, it’s also a bit surprising that despite having a relatively small role in the flick, he’s really the only member of the cast (not counting Robert Englund reprising his role as Freddy over and over) who had much of a career after this film.

George Clooney

George Clooney managed to get his start in a horror movie and one he’d probably rather people didn’t know existed. In 1987, his very first film role was as a high school security guard in Return to Horror High. It’s about a film crew who goes to a high school to shoot a movie about a series of murders that happened there years earlier, but it looks like the killer never left.

Demi Moore

People often remember that Demi Moore was a member of the Brat Pack. What they don’t remember is that she originally got her start in the horror flick Parasite. She played a young woman who was helping a scientist track down and destroy the killer parasite he was forced to create. The movie has an 11 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Charlize Theron

Of all the actors on this list, this one just might be the most surprising. Even more surprising might be the name of the film where she got her start. Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest was her big break. Even though it wasn’t a speaking part it was enough to get her bigger and better roles.

Chloe Grace Moretz

Chloe Grace Moretz actually has a deeper background in the horror genre than you might imagine. She starred in Let the Right One In as well as a remake of Stephen King’s Carrie. Long before she did either of those, a very young Moretz got her first big break in the remake of the Amityville Horror.