FROM HORROR TO OSCAR

For an actor just starting out, being cast in ANY movie is an achievement; a hopeful stepping stone towards bigger and better roles, and one film closer to someday realizing the dream of winning an Oscar. But just as the characters at the beginning of a horror film have an uncertain future, so, too, do the careers of the actors who are cast to play them. Unless you’re Jamie Lee Curtis, what good other than a paycheck could possibly come from being cast in a horror flick so early into your career?

The following is a list 11 actors whose appearance in a horror film, sometimes more than one, may have helped to pay their rent at the time but ultimately may have also brought them one step closer to striking Oscar gold; and for 5 of them, not just once either!

BEN AFFLECK

From Horror:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

To Oscar:

Good Will Hunting (1997) – Best Original Screenplay (co-writer)

Argo (2013) – Best Motion Picture (co-producer)

BRAD PITT

From Horror:  Cutting Class (1989)

To Oscar:  12 Years a Slave (2013) – Best Motion Picture (co-producer)

CHRISTIAN BALE

From Horror:  American Psycho (2000)

To Oscar:  The Fighter (2010) – Best Supporting Actor

GEORGE CLOONEY

From Horror:

Grizzly II: The Concert (1983)

Return to Horror High (1987)

Return of the Killer Tomatoes (1988)

From Dusk to Dawn (1996)

To Oscar:

Syriana (2005) – Best Supporting Actor

Argo (2013) – Best Motion Picture (co-producer)

HILARY SWANK

From Horror:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

To Oscar:

Boys Don’t Cry (1999) – Best Actress

Million Dollar Baby (2004) – Best Actress

To Horror:  The Reaping (2007)

JACK NICHOLSON

From Horror: 

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

To Oscar:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) – Best Actor

To Horror:

The Shining (1980)

To Oscar:

Terms of Endearment (1983) – Best Supporting Actor

As Good As It Gets (1997) – Best Actor

JARED LETO

From Horror:

Urban Legend (1998)

American Psycho (2000)

To Oscar:

Dallas Buyers Club (2013) – Best Supporting Actor

LEONARDO DICAPRIO

From Horror:

Critters 3 (1989)

To Oscar:

The Revenant (2015) – Best Actor

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY

From Horror:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre:  The Next Generation (1994)

To Oscar:

Dallas Buyers Club (2013) – Best Actor

RENEE ZELLWEGER

From Horror:

Texas Chainsaw Massacre:  The Next Generation (1994)

To Oscar:

Cold Mountain (2003) – Best Supporting Actress

TOM HANKS

From Horror: 

He Knows You’re Alone (1980)

To Oscar:

Philadelphia (1993) – Best Actor

Forrest Gump (1994) – Best Actor

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