Classic Horror Actors
As a small boy growing up , my family had no problem letting me watch horror movies. As a result, I quickly became desensitized to the genre that scared my friends for many years. So I grew to enjoy and appreciate classic horror movies. Take a look back at the top five classic horror actors in history.
5. Lon Chaney, Jr.
Quite honestly, I never really thought of Lon Chaney, Jr. as a "horror" actor. I did not find him scary at all and he was talented enough to act in many different genres. Still, the impact he made as an actor in many different classic horror movies cannot be ignored. The son of "The Man of a Thousand Faces," Lon Chaney, Jr. is best remembered for his role in the classic horror movie, "The Wolf Man."
4. Peter Cushing
Classic horror movies experienced a decline in the 1950s. The genre lost the respect of critics and moviegoers in the decade because most horror movies were poorly made, low budget efforts. But Hammer Film Productions in England brought gothic classic horror movies back to the forefront. One of their best actors was Peter Cushing. The small, diminutive Cushing had the range to play both the hero and the wily, evil genius.
3. Christopher Lee
The top actor who starred in Hammer's classic horror movies was Christopher Lee. In most of the films, Lee starred alongside Peter Cushing. While Lee played a variety of roles, he is most famous as an actor for portraying Count Dracula is many Hammer classic horror movies. Christopher Lee also stars as the narrator in one of my favorite documentaries of all-time, "In Search of Dracula."
2. Boris Karloff
With all due respect to numbers three to five, the top two classic horror movie actors clearly stand above the rest. After a number of stirring, critically acclaimed silent horror movies, the genre truly exploded in 1931 with "Dracula" and "Frankenstein." After legendary actor Bela Lugosi turned down the role of the monster in "Frankenstein," Boris Karloff stepped in. Karloff went on to star in numerous classic horror movies.
1. Bela Lugosi
No actor is identified with a role more so than Bela Lugosi with Count Dracula. After portraying the vampire on stage for many years, the Hungarian actor starred in the classic horror movie "Dracula." His legendary performance was made more impressive by the fact that he did not speak English. Despite this, Lugosi went on to play Count Dracula in many more films and even appeared as the villain in many other classic horror movies with other themes.
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