12 Oscar Winning Actors Who Starred In Awful Horror Movies

It’s fairly safe to say that today Tom Hanks is widely considered one of the best actors of his generation. From charming roles in equally charming ‘80s comedies like Big and Turner & Hooch to more dramatic parts later in his career, Hanks has established himself as not only a very talented actor but also one of the most pleasant people in the film industry.

Let’s just say there’s a reason he’s earned himself two Best Actor Academy Awards – back to back wins, not to mention – for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, a further three Best Actor nominations and the nickname of ‘the nicest guy in Hollywood’.

But everybody has to start somewhere and Hanks got his film debut with a small role in a little known and rather uninspired slasher He Knows You’re Alone about a serial killer with a penchant for bumping off brides to be.

As a non-major player in a horror film, it’s been said that Hanks’ character was originally supposed to be killed off in the first script of He Knows You’re Alone but its makers were so impressed with his performance they decided to let his character live.

And that’s the story of how a crappy horror flick helped propel Tom Hanks into the arms of Hollywood stardom.