Every year, as Halloween rolls around, Jay and I start thinking about how to celebrate Birthdayoween. Other than buying ridiculous amounts of Halloween decorations, that means a month's worth of special posts here on Wondra's World.
So, we got to thinking... how can we mix it up? We've done Classic Horror. We've done Modern Horror. Where do we take it this year?
How about the people staring in them?
This year, in the month leading up to Halloween, Jay and I will be taking a look at the actors who make our favorite horror movies.
Oh, and let's make one thing clear before we get started... At Castle Vanian, we don't use the word "actress" because careers shouldn't be gendered. Gendering professions perpetuates unfair pay gaps, which is something that should be long behind us in 2019.
So... you know, fuck that shit.
This rather enormous list contains the best actors (female and male) in the horror genre. Well... at least as many as we could remember. Got some we forgot? Let us know!
(I've organized these by the year of birth, for the sake of my own sanity.)
1800s
Bela Lugosi
Boris Karloff
Claude Rains
Conradd Veidt
Dwight Frye
Edward Van Sloan
Ernest Thesiger
Fredric March
Lon Chaney
Max Schreck
Paul Wegener
Una O'Connor
1900s
Dana Andrews
Elsa Lanchester
Fay Wray
Jack Palance
John Carradine
Lon Chaney Jr.
Peter Lorre
Vincent Price
1910s
Donald Pleasence
Gregory Peck
Jon Pertwee
Michael Ripper
Peter Cushing
1920s
Andrew Keir
Angus Scrimm
Betsy Palmer
Charlton Heston
Christopher Lee
Fenella Fielding
Hal Holbrook
Janet Leigh
Julie Adams
Klaus Kinski
Leslie Nielsen
Max Von Sydow
Patrick Troughton
Peggy Cummins
Roddy McDowall
1930s
Anthony Hopkins
Barbara Shelley
Barbara Steele
Billie Whitelaw
Diane Cilento
Donald Sutherland
Duane Jones
Edward Woodward
Gene Wilder
Ingrid Pitt
Jack Nicholson
Joan Collins
Kate O'Mara
Lee Remick
Marty Feldman
Piper Laurie
Richard Liberty
Tom Atkins
1940s
Adrienne Barbeau
Andrew Robinson
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Bonnie Bedelia
Caroline Munro
Chris Sarandon
Christopher Walken
Danny Trejo
David Warner
Dee Wallace (Stone)
George Romero
Gunner Hansen
Jacqueline Pearce
John Ritter
Joseph Pilato
Judy Geeson
Kathy Bates
Ken Foree
Lance Henriksen
Lin Shaye
Margot Kidder
Martine Beswick
Meg Foster
Michael Berryman
Ralph Bates
Robert Englund
Rutger Hauer
Sam Neill
Shelley Duvall
Sherman Howard
Sigourney Weaver
Sissy Spacek
Stephanie Beecham
Stephen King
Tim Curry
Tobin Bell
Tom Savini
Udo Kier
1950s
Amanda Plummer
Anders Hove
Bill Moseley
Bill Paxton
Brinke Stevens
Bruce Campbell
Cassandra Peterson
Ed Harris
Gary Oldman
Gaylen Ross
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jeff Goldblum
Jeffrey Combs
Jennifer Tilly
John Franklin
Julian Sands
Kevin Bacon
Larry Darke
Liam Neeson
Linda Blair
Linnea Quigley
Linda Hamilton
Lori Cardille
Terry O'Quinn
Tony Todd
Patricia Tallman
PJ Soles
Robert Patrick
1960s
Amanda Donohoe
Brad Pitt
Christian Slater
Courtney Gains
Elizabeth Perkins
Famke Janssen
Heather Langenkamp
Johnny Depp
Kiefer Sutherland
Lili Taylor
Robert Carlyle
Sean Pertwee
Stephen Geoffreys
Thomas Jane
Wesley Snipes
1970s
Ali Larter
Corey Feldman
Devon Sawa
Drew Barrymore
Ethan Hawke
Fairuza Balk
Harvey Spencer Stephens
Ian Sommerhalder
Jake Busey
Josh Hartnett
Justin Long
Michael Fassbender
Milla Jovovich
Neve Campbell
Patrick Wilson
Robin Tunney
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Seth Green
Simon Pegg
Skeet Ulrich
Tara Reid
Tiffany Shepis
Vera Farmiga
Warwick Davis
Winona Ryder
1980s
Brea Grant
Christina Ricci
Eliza Dushku
Jared Padelecki
Jessica Alba
Katrina Bowden
Lauren Cohan
Shauna Macdonald
1990s
Abigail Breslin
As always, we love it when you weigh in. Drop a comment below and let us know who your favorite horror actor is and why!
