12 recognized movie stars who suddenly signed up for a role in a horror movie (12 photos)

For clarity, I listed the projects in which these actors starred before and after their sudden visit to the world of horror.





Modern horror films have had the status of “B-movie” for quite some time, that is, they are almost never made by big directors, and only young actors who are starting their journey in big cinema, or those who never became stars, star in them. It is almost impossible to get premium actors or actresses with world renown and Oscar nominations into the cast of a typical low-budget horror film. But that’s the point: “practically.”

We have just scraped together for you several such cases when completely ordinary and unremarkable horror films were visited by top-notch performers. Many are the first in their careers. The films on our list turned out differently - there are many failed films that rather became a dark spot in the filmography of the main stars, but some can still be considered a successful experiment.

Ethan Hawke in the movie "Telephone Black" (2022)



IMDb: 7.0

Played the main villain.

In the same year, with his participation, a mini-series based on Marvel comics “Moon Knight” and the historical action film “Varyag” were released.

Jim Carrey in The Fatal Number 23 (2007)





IMDb: 6.4

For this role in Kerry he received a Golden Raspberry nomination.

Before this film, the actor played in the comedy “Scammers: Dick and Jane Have Fun,” and after that in another comedy, “Always Say Yes.”

Jake Gyllenhaal in the movie Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)



IMDb: 5.7

Before that, he starred in the western “The Sisters Brothers”, and then in the Marvel project “Spider-Man: Far From Home”.

Jason Statham in The Meg: Monster of Depth (2018)



IMDb: 5.6

Before and after this film he played in different parts of Fast and the Furious.

Sandra Bullock in the film Bird Box (2018)



IMDb: 6.6

Before this film, she played in the comedy-crime “Ocean’s 8,” and after that in the drama “Unforgiven.”

Helen Mirren in the movie Winchester. The House That Ghosts Built (2018)



IMDb: 5.4

Before this film, she played (you won’t believe it) in “Fast and Furious 8,” and then in the family fantasy “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.”

Octavia Spencer in the movie Ma (2019)



IMDb: 5.6

She played the main villain. Before this film, she played in the comedy “Quick Family,” and then in the typical drama “Luce.”

Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe in The Mummy (2017)



IMDb: 5.4

For this role, Tom Cruise received the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor.

Before this film, Tom Cruise starred in his typical action movie, Jack Reacher 2: Never Go Back. The same year, he released the biographical comedy Made in America, followed by the sixth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Before this film, Russell Crowe starred in the comedy detective film Goodfellas. In the same year, the military comedy “War Machine” was released with his participation, and after that the drama “Erased Personality” was released.

Natalie Portman in the film Annihilation (2018)



IMDb: 6.8

Before this film, she played in the musical melodrama “Song after Song”. In the same year, another drama “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan” and again the musical drama “Voice of Lux” were released with the participation of the actress.

This is truly a sudden horror in the middle of dramas!

Liv Tyler in the movie "Strangers" (2008)



Before that, she played in the comedy “Mother,” and after that in Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk.”

Nicolas Cage in the films "Color from Other Worlds" (2019) and "Mandy" (2018)



/6.3 IMDb: 6.1/6.5

At the time of the release of these films, everyone already understood that anything could be expected from Nicolas Cage, moreover in a gloomy sense than in a successful one. In the second half of the tenth Nicolas Cage played in many strange and even trashy projects, including several horror films.