25 Actors You Totally Forgot Starred In Classic Horror Franchises

5. Jason Bateman

Jason Bateman Bates Motel
NBC

The Franchise: Psycho

The Role: Tony in 1987's Bates Motel, the pilot-turned-TV-movie that served as a failed attempt to launch a series.

Why You Forgot: Because, chances are, you likely didn't even know it existed. The year after Psycho III's release, NBC attempted to mount a television series based on the idea that Norman Bates passed down ownership of the motel in death to a friend he had made in the asylum. 

The series failed to launch and its pilot was simply turned into a wholly forgettable television movie, with its failure being followed in 1990 by Psycho IV, which also hit the small screen. Bateman, who appeared in it as a teenager, has only continued to act in TV and film, while the Psycho series has been resurrected in the last few years through A&E's own similarly-named, but far greater Bates Motel.

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Contributor

Writer, film enthusiast, part-time gamer and watcher of (mostly) good television located on the fringe of Los Angeles, who now has his own website at www.highdefgeoff.com!