George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, Tom Hanks—many of today’s most celebrated actors began their careers on the sets of horror movies. However, the majority of performers in even the most popular horror films remain relatively unknown.
This engaging collection of profiles introduces many of the actors behind the heroes, heroines, monsters and villains who have terrified and fascinated moviegoers around the world.
From Michelle Argyris, who embodied a possessed college student in Devil Seed (2012), to Ian Whyte, the 7 foot tall former basketball player who portrayed one of cinema’s most iconic monsters in Aliens vs. Predator (2004), the profiles offer insight into how the actors prepared for and performed their roles. Longer essays explore the casts of renowned horror series, including Saw, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, providing a window into the world of horror filmmaking.

Jason Norman is a college English teacher and an award-winning journalist. A lifelong horror film fan, he briefly considered an acting career before deciding on writing as his profession. He lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Jason Norman
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: 61 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2015
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7986-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1724-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents


Introduction 1

Michelle Argyris: Devil Seed 5

Blythe Auffarth: The Girl Next Door 7

Belinda Balaski 9

Tim Balme: Dead Alive 11

Ashley Bank: The Monster Squad 14

Michael Berryman: The Hills Have Eyes 17

Doug Bradley: The Hellraiser films 26

Jonathan Breck: Jeepers Creepers, Jeepers Creepers 2 33

Jamie Brewer and Naomi Grossman: American Horror Story 36

Stacy Chbosky: The Poughkeepsie Tapes 41

Noelle Coet: Mischief Night 44

Lora Cunningham: The Book of Eli 46

Fiona Dourif: Curse of Chucky 47

They Came from Elm Street! 50

Katie Featherston: Paranormal Activity 58

Hannah Fierman: V/H/S 68

Friday the 13th: Their Name Was Jason (Voorhees) 70

The Friday the 13th Family 80

Sid Haig 90

Celebrating Halloween! 93

Danielle Harris 99

Legend Alert: Rondo Hatton and The Creeper Films 104

Legend Alert: Jackie Joseph and The Little Shop of Horrors 107

Michael Karnow: Incident at Loch Ness 110

John Kassir: Tales from the Crypt 112

Camille Keaton: I Spit on Your Grave 114

Nick King: Sinister 117

Brandon Lee: The Crow 119

Michael Reid MacKay: Se7en 125

J. Mallory-McCree: Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles 128

Meet Some Massacre Men 129

Chris McGinn and Ted Levine: The Silence of the Lambs 136

Pollyanna McIntosh: Offspring and The Woman 139

Zoe Naylor: The Reef 145

Lyla Hay Owen: Interview with the Vampire 147

Katie Parker: Absentia 149

Elizabeth Pena: Jacob’s Ladder 151

Nick Principe: Chromeskull Films 153

Lorna Raver: Drag Me to Hell 157

Silje Reinåmo: Thale 160

Julianna Robinson: Wasting Away (Aaaah! Zombies!) 163

Felissa Rose: Sleepaway Camp 166

The Saw Films 169

Susan Swift: Audrey Rose 177

Pat Tallman: Night of the Living Dead 180

Tony Todd: Candyman films 183

Dee Wallace: The Howling, Cujo and The Frighteners 186

Virginia Welch: Prosecuting Casey Anthony 189

Ian Whyte: Aliens vs. Predator/Requiem 192

References 197

Index 203