10 TV Shows That Cast Major Actors (Just To Die)

4. Tom Hanks - Tales From The Crypt

Agents Of Shield Lucy Lawless
HBO

The legendary '90s horror anthology series Tales from the Crypt featured one-off appearances from a multitude of actors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt, Demi Moore, Joe Pesci, Kirk Douglas, Michael J. Fox, and perhaps most surprisingly of all, Tom Hanks.

Even stranger is that the episode Hanks appeared in, the season four premiere "None but the Lonely Heart," he also directed.

The episode revolved around a con-man, Howard Prince (Treat Williams), who marries wealthy widows and then murders them in order to steal their riches.

Hanks makes a brief, two-scene appearance in the episode as Baxter, the owner of a video dating service. Inevitably, he's murdered by Prince, who hurls him head-first into a TV screen.

Hanks may not have yet won either of his two Best Actor Oscars at this point in his career, but he was still an undeniable A-lister in 1992, having received his first Best Actor nomination for Big an entire four years earlier.

One suspects Hanks cast himself in the role of Baxter so he'd get to have a fun death in a Tales from the Crypt episode without having to do much in the way of actual acting legwork.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.