Now, if you’re a fan of horror, you will be familiar with names like Freddy Krueger,
Michael Myers, Leatherface, even Pinhead, however, you may not be familiar with the
actor under the makeup, or beneath the mask.
These actors have played some of the most iconic horror movie characters in history,
yet you may not recognize them if you passed them in the street.
So today on Top 10 Beyond The Screen, I’m going to be counting down our list of the
Top 10 Horror Movie Actors You Won’t Believe What They Look Like In Real Life.
Before we begin though, be sure to stick around until the end of the video, where I’ll be
responding to some of your comments.
Let’s jump in.
10 Pale Man - Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Written and Directed by the legendary Guillermo
del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth takes place in the Falangist Spain in 1944, when a bookish
young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy
world.
And what a fantasy world it is -- housing some of the most remarkable and terrifying
creatures and monsters to ever grace our screens.
However, none is as terrifying as the Pale Man.
He is the secondary antagonist of the 2006 Spanish fantasy, and despite only appearing
in one scene, he lingered in the minds of viewers long after the movie finished.
Now, the Pale Man was actually played by Doug Jones, an actor who frequently works with
Guillermo and appears in films under heavy makeup.
Though you would never recognize him, he has also appeared in Hocus Pocus, Hellboy, The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and The Shape of Water/
9 Leprechaun - Leprechaun (1993) Leprechaun, although incredibly comical in
hindsight, did star one of the most unnerving horror movie villains in history.
Leprechaun, played by Warwick Davis.
Now, the film itself follows this evil, sadistic Leprechaun who goes on a killing rampage in
search of his beloved pot of gold.
Now, Warwick Davis was perfect for this role, with the actor standing at just 3ft 5, making
him one of the most successful dwarf actors in all of Hollywood.
In no way does he resemble his Irish movie villain, and props to the make-up department
on the film who did a truly incredible job because that movie monster is just straight
up terrifying.
Now, outside of Leprechaun, Davis has received many notable roles, starring in movies such
as Harry Potter, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, as
well as Solo: A Star Wars Story.
However, for horror movie lovers out there, he will forever and always be Leprechaun.
8 Bride In Black - Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013) Insidious: Chapter 2 introduced us to a slew
of new and terrifying monsters, but not was more terrifying than the Bride in Black.
The entity that haunts Josh Lambert, played by Patrick Wilson -- often appearing in reflections
and mirrors.
This entity is truly nightmare inducing, carrying a candle, and donned in black, with a veil
over her head.
However, did you know, the Bride in Black was actually played by Tom Fitzpatrick, yeah,
I had no idea either.
You would never know, simply because, yeah he’s a man, but the Bride in Black was so
impressively done, that Tom is completely hidden deep beneath the outfit and makeup.
Outside of Insidious, Tom has also appeared in Real Husbands of Hollywood, Ave 43, American
Horror Story and SWAT.
7 Leatherface - Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Like a few of the number on our list, Leatherface
is one of the most iconic monsters in horror movie history.
Existing within the Texas ChainSaw franchise, the original film followed two siblings and
three of their friends en route to visit their grandfather’s grave in Texas, but ultimately
end up falling victim to a family of cannibalistic psychopaths.
The primary antagonist in the movie is Leatherface, a deformed, inbred man who mutilates his victims
in his basement.
Now, the man behind Leatherface is Gunnar Hanson, who played Leatherface in just two
of the movies, but in the eyes of viewers, has always been the one and only Leatherface.
Of course, hiding behind a mask, no one ever quite new what the actor looked like, but
thankfully it is nothing like the terrifying horror villain.
Sadly though, on November 7, 2015, Gunnar Hanson passed away, however, he left behind
an everlasting legacy.
6 Michael Myers - Halloween (1978) Perhaps one of my favorite horror movies of
all time, Halloween created one of the most terrifying and long lasting horror movie villains
in all of cinematic history.
Michael Myers.
He is the primary antagonist of the Halloween franchise and, as a six-year-old child, was
admitted into a psychiatric hospital for murdering his older sister, Judith Myers.
And, like any classic horror movie, Michael breaks out of the asylum 15 years later, and,
for 23 years, hunts down the rest of his family to kill them.
The man behind the legendary mask was Nick Castle, an actor who has starred in just 4
works in his career, Halloween, Escape from New York, The Boy Who Could Fly, and the 2018
Halloween.
However, it has been announced that he will return for Halloween Kills in 2020, and Halloween
Ends in 2021.
Of course, Nick Castle looks nothing like Michael, considering Michael wears a mask,
specifically a William Shatner mask which was originally used in the 1975 horror film
The Devil’s Rain.
The more you know!
5 Freddy Krueger - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
There is no horror movie villain quite as iconic as Freddy Krueger from the Nightmare
on Elm Street franchise.
He is the monstrous spirit of a slain child murderer who seeks revenge by invading the
dreams of teenagers whose parents were responsible for his untimely death.
Played by Robert Englund, this became the most significant role in the actors career,
with him going on to star in 8 movies in the franchise.
Now, what made this role significant is, unlike other horror movies, he became the only actor
in history, along with Doug Bradley, to play the main character in eight horror movies
in a row.
And, of course, Robert looks a whole lot different than his evil counterpart, considering Freddy
is horribly burned, with rotten teeth, wearing a sweater that alone can send shivers down
your spine.
Though Robert doesn’t like anything like Freddy, he has become so iconic and successful
for playing the character that if you passed him on the street you would definitely know
who he is.
Outside of the world of horror, he has gone on to star in a slew of other works such as
Urban Legend, Hatchet, Red, and The Moleman of Belmont Avenue.
However, he will always be Freddy in the hearts of horror lovers.
4 Jason Voorhees - Friday The 13th (1980) Now, Jason Voorhees has been played by many
actors, but the first of the first was Ari Lehman who appeared as Jason all the way back
in 1980, in the very first Friday The 13th, and the actors second on screen appearance.
For those who have never seen the film, it follows a group of camp counselors who are
stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp which,
years before, was the site of a child’s drowning.
And that child was of course, Jason Voorhees.
Who seemingly survived his apparent demise, and inhabited a crude shelter in the forest,
waiting for his mother to find him for over 20 years.
Now, it isn’t really until the end of the first Friday the 13th that we get our first
look at Jason Voorhees, because spoiler, Mrs. Voorhees was the original killer in the first
film.
Anyway, it is at the end of the movie that we see a decomposing Jason emerge from the
lake and attack one of the survivors.
When she awakes in the hospital, she asks the officers about the boy, apparently there
was no sign of any boy.
Then the movie ends with one creepy line, “Then he’s still there.”
And that he was.
Jason’s first appearance was that of a deformed boy but has drastically changed over the years.
However, nothing will ever be as terrifying as his initial appearance.
When Ari came to the audition for Friday the 13th, he was immediately approved with the
words, I quote, “You have the necessary measurements, we’ll take you.”
Ari was only 15 and was 5ft 9 at the time.
Now, of course he is completely unrecognizable in real life, considering his character is
terribly deformed and for the most part wears a mask.
But regardless, he is a legend in the world of horror.
3 Samara - The Ring (2002) The Ring was released back in 2002, and followed
a journalist, played by Naomi Watts, who must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems
to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.
So spooky.
Now, included in that creepy tape, and the source of all of the death, is Samara.
A demonic child who crawls out of a well and into your homes through the TV, and literally
kills you by scaring you to death.
Yeah, she’s spooky, and terrifying to look at.
Well, the real face behind the movie monster is Daveigh Chase, who looks a whole lot different
from her horror movie counterpart, and you certainly would never guess she played one
of the most disturbing, and terrifying horror movie monsters in cinema.
Outside of The Ring franchise, Daveigh has also appeared in Lilo and Stitch as Lilo,
Donnie Darko, Spirited Away, and Big Love.
Although it’s not often you find horror movie actors popping up in a whole load of
films, Daveigh has kept a steady and solid career, and does not seem to be slowing down.
2 Pennywise - IT (2017) In 2017, we were also taken by surprise when
the remake to a popular TV movie was released, IT.
Based on the Stephen King book of the same now, the film takes place in the summer of
1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which
disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.
Now, this shape-shifting entity is known as Pennywise, and in the 2017 movie he is portrayed
by Bill Skarsgard -- who, outside of the all of the clown makeup, is actually a babe.
Yeah.
Well, I mean he is a Skarsgard, and they of course have incredible genes -- not to mention
he was a model at the time, not that type of actor you would expect to play Pennywise.
However, Skarsgard proved he had the acting chops to pull off the role, and brought a
whole new level of intensity to the character, easily setting apart his version from Tim
Curry’s.
Also, his dancing, that’s something I will never forget.
I’m honestly still triggered.
1 Valak - The Conjuring (2016) Valak, though one of the newest horror monsters
on our list, has quickly become one of the most feared since her initial appearance in
The Conjuring 2.
Valak is of course a demon who appears dressed as a nun, which in itself is terrifying, considering
nuns represent the pure, they represent God, whereas Valak is evil incarnate.
Her eyes are yellow, surrounded by black, with a cracking face, and striking features.
Now, the actress who portrays Valak, Bonnie Aarons, has none of these features, however,
she does have incredibly striking features, which is why throughout her long career, she’s
been able to play incredibly diverse roles.
Starring in both horror films and comedies.
Aarons has appeared in Mulholland Drive, The Princess Diaries, Drag Me to Hell, and
The Fighter.
Her career has been incredibly successful, but it was The Conjuring franchise which brought
her considerable fame.
And honestly, the make-up artists for those movies deserve the highest praise.
Well, there we have it!
Do you guys agree with our list?
Were there any horror movie actors that we missed?
Leave us all your thoughts and feelings in the comments down below.
Before I go though, I just want to respond to a few comments from one of our last videos,
Top 10 Celebrity Theories You Won’t Believe.
Josh Harvey said “Glad to see that you are feeling better Lucy.
Or was this recorded before?
Either way, cool video, thanks Lucy.
Keep it up!”
-- No, thank you for watching!
This was recorded before, I've been battling the flu for the last little while, but I’m
on the mend now!
Reyna Morgan said “There is the Kurt Cobain murder conspiracy” -- That is very true.
Par 2 perhaps?
SilverzPlayz said “Is Lucy McPhee related to Nanny McPhee” -- I cannot confirm nor
deny that accusation.
Plague Does Gaming said “First.
Love ya guys!”
-- We love you!
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