The elite audience does not appreciate horror movies. And it is very rare to see any slasher movie to make its place at award ceremonies like the Oscars and the Golden Globes.
Only six horror movies are so far nominated for the Academy Awards for the category Best Picture Oscar. The Silence of the Lambs is the only film that has won the award in 1992. Some great actors and actresses have worked in this genre, and some have also started their careers with horror movies.
Leonardo DiCaprio – Critters 3 (1991)
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American producer, actor, and environmentalist. He is known for his quirky characters, particularly in periodic and biopics. DiCaprio has ranked as the highest-paid actor in the world.
The brilliant actor achieved Academy Awards, Golden Globe Award, and BAFTA for his mind-blowing performance in The Revenant. And two Golden Globe Awards for The Wolf of Wall Street and The Aviator. DiCaprio was also listed as the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.
The Oscar-winning actor made his debut in the film industry from the film Critters 3 as a stepson of an evil landlord. He played the character of Josh, who joins Charlie McFadden in his fight against alien creatures. However, DiCaprio prefers not to remember the film as he considers it one of his career’s worst films. The film has not saved his career, but it gave him a start.
Leonardo DiCaprio later featured in some masterpieces: The Departed, Blood Diamond, Revolutionary Road, Inception, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Revenant, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Johnny Depp – A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
Johnny Depp is an American musician, producer, actor, and one of the notable film stars. He got a nomination for ten Golden Globe Awards and won one among them for Best Actor for his performance in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Depp has also been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Actor.
The actor started his career in 1984 with the most successful horror A Nightmare on Elm Street. Depp played the role of Glen Lantz, opposite the famous villain Freddy Krueger. The movie is directed and written by Wes Craven. The plot follows four teenagers living on one street in a fictitious town, Springwood, in Ohio. The killer Krugger invades his victims’ dream and kills them.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the financially successful films that collected $57 million against a $1.8 million budget. The film got a terrific response from the audience and got an approval rating of 90% based on 53 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 7.77/10.
Tom Hanks – He Knows You’re Alone (1980)
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks is an American filmmaker and actor. He is one of the industry’s A-listed actors right now known for his dramatic and comedic roles. Hanks is known as an American cultural icon. The actor has won two Academy Award for his fantastic performance as a below-average IQ young man in Forrest Gump and a gay lawyer who has AIDS in Philadelphia.
Hanks has collaborated with the fantastic filmmaker Steven Spielberg in many projects, including Catch Me If You Can, Bridge of Spies, Saving Private Ryan, and The Post. The Oscar-winning actor started his career with a low budget slasher film, and He Knows You’re Alone. The 1980 movie is directed by Armand Mastroianni, starring Don Scardino, Tom Hanks, Caitlin O’Heaney, Elizabeth Kemp, and Tom Rolfing. The plot of the movie follows a would-be bride. A killer stalks her before her wedding. The film collected a gross of $4.9 million against a budget of $250,000.
Hanks played Eliot’s character, who was supposed to be killed at the end of the film. The director liked his performance so much that he cut the death scene from the movie.
Jennifer Aniston – Leprechaun (1993)
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American producer, businesswoman, and actress. She has gained international fame from her role in a sitcom TV show Friends, Rachel Green. The actress won Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy, and Screen Actor Guild awards. She has appeared in some big blockbuster films, including Marley & Me, The Break-Up, Horrible Bosses, Bruce Almighty, and We’re the Millers. Aniston featured in numerous magazines’ in the lists of the world’s most beautiful women.
Jennifer started her career with the 1993 movie Leprechaun. Mark Jones directed the film in 1993; he also wrote the screenplay of the film. The film stars Warwick Davis, Mark Holton, and Jennifer Aniston.
The movie got terrible reviews, and it must be one of the films the actress wants to forget. Despite the unsuccess in the box office Jones made six more movies in the franchise. However, Aniston did not appear in any of those.
The above are a few successful actors and actresses who started their career with horror films.
