10 Actors Who Were Criminally Wasted In Famous Horror Movies
Why cast these actors if they have nothing to do?
Anthony Hopkins' performance in Silence of the Lambs is so awe-inspiring, it's easy to forget he has less than half an hour of screen-time in the movie. Despite his brief appearance though, Hopkins' talent allowed Hannibal Lecter to stand out.
Of course, that's what an actor is supposed to do. No matter how small their role is, the performer has to pour all their skills into it, so the character appears authentic.
But this isn't always possible. Sometimes, a true talent will be given a character that is so bare-bones, they can't do anything with it. This problem is more common in horror, since the genre is filled with one-dimensional stereotypes and underwritten characters.
What's worse is that this issue is usually not the actor's fault. Sometimes, most of a performer's scenes are cut, meaning they barely appear in the final product.
If these actors were given a character with a bit more substance, they would've had the chance to knock it out of the park. But due to a cruel twist of fate, each of these performers were left criminally wasted in these horror movies.
10. James Franco - Alien Covenant
In every sci-fi monster flick, there's always a few characters who get killed off before they have a chance to do anything. Before they say a single line or we learn their name, they get their head lopped off, or are eaten by an alien.
Although viewers are expecting this to happen while watching Alien: Covenant, no one thought James Franco's character, Jacob Branson, would get the chop so early. Considering he was a big name at the time, and was playing the ship captain, many viewers erroneously assumed he was the lead, based on the trailers and the promos.
Speaking of which, Branson appears more in the promotional footage for Alien Covenant than the actual movie!
In the promotional prologue, we see Branson interacting with the crew before they arrive at their destination. But in the film, Jacob is burned to death after his stasis pod malfunctions before he utters a word of dialogue. He didn't even get killed by the freaking aliens!!
Because of his brief tenure in Covenant, it makes you wonder why director hired Franco for the role in the first place.