7 Horror Actors Who Secretly Hate Horror Movies

Halloween's original Scream Queen isn't fond of the genre that made her famous.

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Bagging a role in a horror film is an important rite of passage for many actors. Countless stars, such as Rachel Weisz and Rooney Mara, got their start in the genre and launched their careers from there. Others, like Jamie Lee Curtis and Vincent Price, continued to make horror films throughout their careers.

However, works of the spooky, ghastly and gory variety are not for everyone. In fact, sometimes they are not even for those who starred in them.

It is suprisingly common for actors who would not think twice about living out the most horrific of scenarios on-set to find that watching a horror film causes them to shake like jelly in the midst of an earthquake.

Conversely, some actors love watching terrifying scenes on the cinema screen, but can't stand actually playing the part. From Jeremy Irons to Toni Collette, let's take a look at the horror actors who dislike the genre in some capacity...

7. Body Horror Is A Big No-No For John Lithgow

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From Raising Cain (1992) to Pet Sematary (2019), John Lithgow has acted in his fair share of horror films. Nonetheless, his squeamish nature causes him to be very fussy about the roles he is willing to take on.

His hatred of gore actually led Lithgow to turn down the lead role in David Cronenberg's The Fly, which Jeff Goldblum later accepted. While the actor's representatives were keen for him to obtain the role of unfortunate scientist Seth Brundle, he outright refused to consider it. He felt disgusted after reading the script, informing his agent that he "didn't want to play something so grotesque".

Lithgow's misgivings were understandable in the context of the acclaimed body horror film, which is littered with some seriously disgusting special effects and nightmarish make-up. Luckily, Goldblum was delighted to take on the part and received widespread praise for his performance.

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Alison Traynor hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.