20. Rod Serling
The Twilight Zone, which ran for five seasons beginning in 1959, was a science-fiction-horror-satire anthology series which featured some wonderful twists, some excellent acting and writing, and a number of unforgettable frights. The series was created by, hosted by, and partially written by Rod Serling. He was a man who inspired an entire generation with not just this show, but the even creepier and scarier Night Gallery which premiered in 1969 and was geared more for adults. Rod Serling did more to bring horror, sci-fi, and the supernatural into the mainstream during the mid-20th century than most people will ever know. Is he a Master of Fear? Oh, you bet he is. Among many, many other things.
19. Jack Nicholson
Some of the actors on this list are considered Masters of Fear because they allow the audience to connect with them; we witness the fear through their eyes and they show us how to be braveor how to die. Others are here because they SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF US. Like, CONSISTENTLY. Jack Nicholson is of that second tribe. Watching him during a recent screening of The Shining, I found myself horribly uncomfortable. I knew what was going to happen, plot-wise. I knew he wouldn't necessarily get his way and most everyone would be safe from his insanity. But I didn't feel safe when I looked into his eyes. It was like I was looking at something inhuman, something otherworldly, something born directly from the fiery furnaces of fear. And I hope like hell that he was just acting.
18. Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver, on the other hand, is from that first tribe: those actors that are able to take us with them on their quest for honor and redemption in the face of fear and evil. Through four films in the Alien franchise, we follow her character Ripley on a tour of terror, confronting beasts from another world (and even a few beasts from our own). She shows us that we need not succumb to our fear; that we may acknowledge it, push it aside, and rise above it when we must. She is a Master of Fear, and always will be, because we saw her grow from a scared little thing to a full-fledged demon-hunter, and she just absolutely nailed it.
17. Lon Chaney, Sr.
There aren't many actors more deserving of a place on this list of the Greatest Masters of Fear than Mr. Lon Chaney, Sr. Known as The Man of a Thousand Faces, Chaney was a genius at cinematic makeup and portraying some truly gruesome characters for the silver screen. Some of the iconic and legendary highlights of his career include The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Phantom of the Opera (1926), and his participation in countless other films in which he played characters that have both shocked and saddened us with their horrific tales of terror and woe.
16. Stanley Kubrick
And who was able to capture Jack Nicholson looking like something who had just crawled out of the fiery furnaces of fear? Why, Stanley Kubrick, that's who. Kubrick is a legendary film director that probably needs no introduction. 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Dr. Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket: his filmography reads like an AFI list of the best movies of all time. But even though they run the entire gamut of genre and tone, each of his movies presents a little slice (and sometimes a great BIG slice) of pure fear. The Shining is an obvious example; even though Kubrick strayed pretty far from the source material in Stephen King's novel, he was able to concoct one hell of a frightening flick. But how about the atrocities found in A Clockwork Orange, the psychological strife examined in Eyes Wide Shut, the horrors of war explored in Full Metal Jacket, or the terror of the unknown in 2001? There's no doubt that Kubrick was a Master of Fear and one viewing of his films is all the proof you'll ever need.