25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (2025)

Whether in a straight-to-streaming release, an arthouse sleeper hit, or a studio blockbuster, every actor has to start somewhere; rookies in Hollywood rarely have the privilege of being picky. For many, the starting point is horror.

Though the genre has occasionally been known for releasing some slapdash slop, it also renders the perfect medium for actors to really show their range. Horror demands a large scope of emotional responses and physicality, pushing actors' skills far beyond simpler roles. Moreover, as horror fosters many a passionate fanbase, these gigs provide future stars with great opportunities for exposure.

From Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween (1978) to Anya Taylor-Joy in The Witch (2015), here are the actors whose early horror roles preceded their celebrity.

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Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch (2015)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (1)

Five years before earning a Golden Globe for The Queen's Gambit, 19-year-old Anya Taylor-Joy made her feature film debut in the A24 horror set in 1630s New England. The actress stars as Thomasin, the first-born child of Ralph Ineson's and Kate Dickie's characters, who finds herself accused of witchcraft after her younger brother disappears. —James Mercadante

Where to watch The Witch: Amazon Prime Video

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02of 25

Charlize Theron, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest (1995)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (2)

Though she went uncredited, Charlize Theron made her first film appearance in Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. Just 20 years old at the time, the actress plays an unnamed woman in the horror installment. Theron joined the scary flick as a follower of the villainous Eli, who takes over his community with the help of a murderous cornfield. —Madeline Boardman

Where to watch Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest: AMC+

03of 25

Demi Moore, Parasite (1982)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (3)

After bowing in Choices (1981), Demi Moore nabbed her second film role as Patricia in Parasite. The then-20-year-old actress appears in the futuristic horror movie as a lemon farmer who comes to the aid of Paul (Robert Glaudini). She aligns herself with the scientist as they fight a technologically advanced new form of parasite. —M.B.

Where to watch Parasite: Plex

04of 25

Drew Barrymore, Firestarter (1984)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (4)

A young Drew Barrymore earned one of her first film credits for the 1984 thriller Firestarter. Two years after she played Gertie in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the 9-year-old Barrymore hit the big screen as Firestarter's Charlene "Charlie" McGee. She plays the child to David Keith and Heather Locklear's characters and gave the film its name with Charlie's ability to start fires. —M.B.

Where to watch Firestarter: Max

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Elizabeth Olsen, Silent House (2011)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (5)

Elizabeth Olsen, the younger sister of the Olsen twins, takes the lead in this indie psychological horror Silent House — which had its first showing at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival (the same event where her big-screen debut, Martha Marcy May Marlene, also premiered). In her early 20s, the future WandaVision star portrays a young woman trapped in a run-down lake house overrun by paranormal spirits. —J.M.

Where to watch Silent House: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

06of 25

George Clooney, Return to Horror High (1987)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (6)

Fresh off of CBS' E/R, George Clooney made his big-screen debut in 1987's Return to Horror High. The star, who was 25 at the time, plays an aspiring actor named Oliver, who gets a gig as a cop in the movie filming at the haunted Crippen High School. —M.B.

Where to watch Return to Horror High: Tubi

07of 25

Jamie Lee Curtis, Halloween (1978)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (7)

Decades before she booked a role on Scream Queens, Jamie Lee Curtis was one. The actress earned her first feature film credit for John Carpenter's Halloween. Then-19-year-old Curtis plays Laurie Strode, a teenager who is followed by a murderer who escaped from prison. —M.B.

Where to watch Halloween: Plex

08of 25

Jenna Ortega, Insidious: Chapter 2 (2013)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (8)

Horror seems to be in Jenna Ortega's DNA. Now known for Wednesday, X (2022), and Scream (2022), one of her early film appearances was in James Wan's Insidious: Chapter 2. At just 11 years old, Ortega appears in the film's final moments as Annie, a young girl who's able to see the ghost of a murdered woman. —J.M.

Where to watch Insidious: Chapter 2: Peacock

Scream, Studio 666, and X star Jenna Ortega talks about her life in horror

09of 25

Jennifer Aniston, Leprechaun (1993)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (9)

One year before Jennifer Aniston became Rachel Green on Friends, she played Tory in the 1993 horror film Leprechaun. In her 20s at the time, Aniston stars as a young woman living in a house haunted by an evil leprechaun. —M.B.

Where to watch Leprechaun: Peacock

10of 25

John Travolta, Carrie (1976)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (10)

Before John Travolta slipped on his dancing shoes as Danny Zuko in Grease (1978), he literally made blood rain on prom night in the 1976 adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie. At 22, Travolta played Billy Nolan, the obnoxious bully who helps orchestrate the infamous pig's blood prank on the ill-fated prom queen (Sissy Spacek). —J.M.

Where to watch Carrie: AMC+

11of 25

Johnny Depp, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (11)

A 21-year-old Johnny Depp hit theaters for the first time in A Nightmare on Elm Street. The actor earned his first film credit as Glen in the Wes Craven horror flick. Depp plays the boyfriend of Heather Langenkamp's Nancy in the terrifying movie, fighting against Freddy Krueger. —M.B.

Where to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street: Max

12of 25

Jon Stewart, The Faculty (1998)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (12)

Months before he made his way to Comedy Central, Jon Stewart picked up a gig as a high school professor in The Faculty. The comedian plays Prof. Edward Furlong in a star-studded cast that included Josh Hartnett, Salma Hayek, Usher, Elijah Wood, and Jordana Brewster, among others. He gets injured in a battle at the school involving alien parasites. —M.B.

Where to watch The Faculty: Paramount+

Julia Roberts, Flatliners (1990)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (13)

The same year that Julia Roberts became Pretty Woman's Vivian Ward, she also starred in another film, this one much spookier and far less famous. In her early 20s at the time, Roberts appeared in Flatliners as Rachel, starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Beth Grant, and William Baldwin, among others. A medical student, Rachel faces her demons after she and her fellow classmates experiment with the afterlife by taking turns flatlining. —M.B.

Where to watch Flatliners: Paramount+

14of 25

Justin Long, Jeepers Creepers (2001)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (14)

Twentysomething Justin Long snagged his first lead film role in Victor Salva's Jeepers Creepers. The Goosebumps actor stars as Darry Jenner, a college student on a road trip home with his sister (Gina Phillips), when they find themselves pursued by a flesh-eating, murderous truck driver (Jonathan Breck). —J.M.

Where to watch Jeepers Creepers: AMC+

15of 25

Kevin Bacon, Friday the 13th (1980)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (15)

In his early 20s, Kevin Bacon booked an early role in the first Friday the 13th. The actor joined the notoriously scary movie as Jack, a counselor at a cursed camp where murder after murder takes place. —M.B.

Where to watch Friday the 13th: AMC+

16of 25

Kirsten Dunst, Interview With the Vampire (1994)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (16)

Just 12 years old when the movie arrived in theaters, Kirsten Dunst played Claudia in Interview With the Vampire. The young actress starred with Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Christian Slater, and Antonio Banderas in the 1994 horror. She appears as a little girl who gets bitten by a vampire and becomes one herself. —M.B.

Where to watch Interview With the Vampire: Max

17of 25

Lisa Kudrow, The Unborn (1991)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (17)

A brunette, 27-year-old Lisa Kudrow picked up an early project with The Unborn. Years before she would arrive on network television as Phoebe Buffay, the star plays Louisa in the haunting horror about a terrifying medical experiment. She joined The Unborn in a small role at the clinic visited by Virginia (Brooke Adams) and Brad (Jeff Hayenga) in their ongoing quest to have children. —M.B.

Where to watch The Unborn: Tubi

18of 25

Michelle Williams, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (18)

Appearing alongside original Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis, Michelle Williams plays Molly in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. Also featuring Josh Hartnett, LL Cool J, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the horror hit theaters the same year that Williams made her debut on Dawson's Creek. As Molly, the star runs away from the famed killer who was first introduced 20 years prior. —M.B.

Where to watch Halloween H20: 20 Years Later: AMC+

19of 25

Mischa Barton, The Sixth Sense (1999)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (19)

When she was 13, Mischa Barton hit the big screen with Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, and Toni Collette in the famously scary movie The Sixth Sense. The O.C. actress plays Kyra, a girl who died at a young age and is seen by Cole (Osment). —M.B.

Where to watch The Sixth Sense: Max

20of 25

Naomi Watts, Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (20)

Naomi Watts nabbed a starring role in the 1996 installment of one spooky film series. The then-rising star plays Grace in Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering. She finds herself in contact with the effects of the surprisingly scary crop of corn when she moves home to be with her mother. —M.B.

Where to watch Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering: AMC+

21of 25

Ryan Gosling, Frankenstein and Me (1996)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (21)

In 1996 in Canada, a 15-year-old Mickey Mouse Club alum named Ryan Gosling had his big-screen debut in Frankenstein and Me. Released in the U.S. the following year, the spooky flick features a young Gosling as Kenny. He plays a friend to Jamieson Boulanger's Earl, a kid with dreams of living alongside monsters. —M.B.

Frankenstein and Me is unavailable to watch or rent

22of 25

Sandra Bullock, The Vanishing (1993)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (22)

Early in her career, Sandra Bullock picked up a role as Diane in The Vanishing. Appearing with Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, and Nancy Travis, the future star plays a woman who vanishes from a gas station. The plot turns even spookier when her then-boyfriend tries to uncover the mystery of her disappearance. —M.B.

The Vanishing is unavailable to watch or rent

23of 25

Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed (2004)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (23)

Tatiana Maslany was 18 when Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed hit theaters in 2004. The future Orphan Black and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law star plays a young girl named Ghost in the horror sequel. She spends much of the film deceiving the werewolf-in-transition Brigitte as a part of an elaborate plot. —M.B.

Where to watch Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed: Amazon Prime Video

24of 25

Tom Hanks, He Knows You're Alone (1980)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (24)

Tom Hanks earned the first film credit of his prolific career for 1980's He Knows You're Alone. While he would go on to fill his résumé with romantic comedies and celebrated dramas, the then-24-year-old star appears as Elliot in the slasher flick. Hanks plays a psychology student who gets brought into a group of friends who can't escape a killer. —M.B.

Where to watch He Knows You're Alone: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)

25of 25

Ty Burrell, Dawn of the Dead (2004)

25 celebs who starred in horror movies before they made it big, from Jennifer Aniston to Ryan Gosling (25)

Five years before he joined Modern Family, Ty Burrell earned his third feature film credit for Dawn of the Dead. The future sitcom star plays Steve, an initial survivor of the zombie apocalypse. Burrell doesn't make it through the horror unscathed, however, as he too eventually turns into a zombie. —M.B.

Where to watch Dawn of the Dead: Peacock

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