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Many of this generation’s most accomplished actors surprisingly earned their big break in horror movies. Some examples include Johnny Depp, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Jamie Lee Curtis, and many more. On the other hand, there are long-established actors who have never feared for their lives against a masked assailant or found themselves fending off evil spirits from another realm. For the majority of their career, they’ve stuck to their guns — so to speak — and made a name for themselves as comedians, action stars, and drama queens.
It might be hard to believe, but several Hollywood A-listers are non-horror inclined. But what would happen if they took a chance at a role outside their comfort zones? There are a few names we’d love to see appear in the end credits of the next major horror/thriller.
Steve Carell
Actor and comedian Steve Carell is never too far from a rib-tickling romantic comedy, as well as a hearty sitcom. He portrayed Michael Scott in the NBC show The Office from 2005 to 2013, then graduated to many main roles in cult-classic comedies, such as Evan Almighty, Date Night, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. Carell even made an impression on the younger generation as the voice of Despicable Me‘s Gru.
However, since his debut role in the comedy-drama Curly Sue, Carell has never acted in any horror movie. If anything, he would be best suited to a Stephen King adaptation, similar to Ewan McGregor’s role in Doctor Sleep. Later down the line, perhaps?
Margot Robbie
Australian bombshell Margot Robbie wasn’t always living it large as Barbie or conspiring with degenerates as Harley Quinn. Once upon a time, Robbie was a spry 18-year-old on the Australian television soap Neighbors, kick-starting her road to stardom. After her move to America, she appeared in Pan Am, before ascending to the public spotlight in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, opposite veteran actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
She may have embodied the role of Harley Quinn, an angsty sidekick, but Robbie has never fully committed to the horror bit. Unfortunately, Hollywood has certainly typecast Robbie for the last few years and the realm of horror isn’t exactly in her repertoire. Regardless, she would make a compelling final girl in any horror movie franchise.
Andrew Scott
Irishman Andrew Scott rose to prominence playing James Moriarty on the BBC series Sherlock, for which he received a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. Two years post-Sherlock, Scott landed the role of the Priest in Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s series Fleabag, based on her one-woman show from 2013. His first major movie role came in 2015 opposite Daniel Craig’s James Bond in Spectre. But although he has the acting chops for a notorious villain, his expertise were never put to the test in a horror-themed setting.
Perhaps he would excel at another villain role of some kind, preferably of the human variety, similar to Tobin Bell’s John Kramer in the Saw franchise.
Bryan Cranston
Breaking Bad‘s very own Walter White started out his acting journey in the ’80s with minor roles and commercials. In 1994, he snagged a recurring role on Seinfeld, then appeared regularly in sitcoms until the early 2000s. It was the comedy series Malcolm in the Middle that made Cranston a household name. As Hal, he carried the show until its final season in 2006. Two years after the end of Malcolm in the Middle, the world knew his name.
Cranston starred as Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher who learns how to cook and distribute meth to provide for his family after receiving a terminal lung cancer diagnosis. As the seasons progress, Cranston loses himself more and more in the malicious role of White, but despite his best efforts as a good guy gone bad, he never showed any interest in a horror movie. Maybe a part akin to Jeffrey Combs in Would You Rather would aline with Cranston’s impressive track record.
Emma Stone
Jack-of-all-trades Emma Stone has done it all. When she isn’t turning heads as Gwen Stacy in The Amazon Spider-Man, she’s cutting a rug as Mia Dolan in La La Land or destroying the social hierarchy as Cruella de Vil. Her role as Wichita in Zombieland is the closest she’s ever come to appearing in a horror movie, but even then, one would consider Ruben Fletcher’s theatrical debut as more of a comedy-thriller than remotely horror-oriented.
Stone would no doubt prosper in a horror-comedy, one that perhaps shares likeness with The Babysitter, starring Samara Weaving. Although, she might have more fun as a Bella Thorne copycat than a Weaving wannabe. Stone has proven time and time again that she can carry a movie as the lead, so maybe a supporting character in a horror flick could be a welcome change of pace?
