10 Actors Who Saved Their Careers By Starring In Horror Movies
Horror movies made all of these actors into household names.
There's no denying that the horror genre has given so many beloved actors their modest starts in the industry - Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Aniston, Johnny Depp, and Leonardo DiCaprio, to name just a few.
But the genre has also made stars of many jobbing actors in their own right - performers who had perhaps been acting for years or even decades before landing the role of a lifetime in a horror movie, maybe even one which turned instantly iconic.
These actors all had their careers either revived or significantly boosted thanks to a single horror movie role, ensuring they went from relative obscurity or the career doldrums to major visibility among horror fans.
As much as many use the genre as a stepping stone to more "worthy" dramatic roles, an iconic horror movie part can end up defining an actor's entire career and become the role for which they're most fondly remembered - whether they like it or not.
Had these actors not taken these juicy horror roles, it's safe to say their careers would've gone very differently...
10. Lin Shaye - Insidious
Though Lin Shaye has had a career spanning more than four decades, it's fair to say that most audiences didn't know who she was until she played a supporting role as psychic Elise Rainier in 2010's horror hit Insidious.
Nevertheless, she is the sister of New Line Cinema founder Bob Shaye and has had small parts in countless notable movies over the years, including A Nightmare on Elm Street, the first two Critters movies, Amityville: A New Generation, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, and numerous Farrelly brothers comedies such as Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, There's Something About Mary, Me, Myself & Irene, and Stuck on You.
But Shaye was transformed from a "that lady!" actress into a star in her own right thanks to the Insidious series.
Shaye received strong praise for her performance as Elise in the first movie, such that the series contrived ways to bring the character back for every single sequel despite her death - effectively making her the series' de facto protagonist by its third entry.
Even as critics largely panned most of the Insidious sequels, most agreed that Shaye's performance was the perennial bright spot. At 67 years of age, Shaye became a household name and has appeared in over 80 movies and TV shows in the decade since.