Actors who excel in creepy roles
Some actors have made a career out of being creepy. They have mastered the art of the macabre, bringing something subtly sinister to every role. Is it just their looks, or is it something deeper? What do directors see that makes them cast these actors as monsters and villains time and time again?
Buckle up for a rundown of the most unnerving performers in film history. Click through the following gallery to see who made the cut!
Vincent Price
Vincent Price was the king of horror. He was the perfect combination of menacing and suave.
Mads Mikkelsen
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen also played Hannibal in the modern TV adaptation. There's something disquieting about his sharply symmetrical face.
Tim Curry
He was the original Pennywise in the first screen adaptation of Stephen King's 'It.' Many will never forget that voice.
Bill Skarsgård
It raises the question: how can one person be so handsome yet so terrifying at the same time?
Boris Karloff
Boris Karloff was an English actor who starred in all of the great horror flicks during the early days of cinema. Frankenstein's monster was his most hair-raising role.
Max Schreck
Max Schreck played one of the scariest characters in one of the creepiest movies in the history of cinema: Count Orlok in the 1922 silent horror 'Nosferatu.'
Christopher Lee
More recently, he played the evil Saruman in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.
Brad Dourif
Brad Dourif was the voice of the killer doll Chucky, but the horror doesn't stop there.
Helena Bonham Carter
It's no surprise that Helena Bonham Carter was the partner and muse of gothic filmmaker Tim Burton. From 'Sweeney Todd' (2007) to the 'Harry Potter' series, she always sets the right mood.
Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp managed to turn Superman's General Zod into a sadistic supervillain. He was declared the “master of the brooding silence” by The Guardian.
Joaquin Phoenix
Almost two decades earlier he made our skin crawl as the creepy Emperor Commodus in 'Gladiator' (2000).
Steve Buscemi
He also played a ruthless criminal in the violent Tarantino classic 'Reservoir Dogs' (1992).
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Anthony Hopkins solidified his reputation as a natural villain when he played the serial killer Hannibal Lector in 'The Silence of the Lambs' (1991)
Crispin Glover
Crispin Glover is another actor who straddles the line between handsome and ghoulish. His role as the hair-sniffing Thin Man in 'Charlie's Angels' (2000) suited him a little too well.
