We salute the lesser known heroes of cinema
You know them when you see them but can’t quite remember their names; they are the cool cat scene-stealers, villains, psychos, heroes and killer clowns in probably all of your favourite films. Here are just a few of the best cult actors.
Michael BiehnBefore playing everyone’s favourite marine, Corporal Dwayne Hicks in Aliens, underrated Biehn first found cult fame as Kyle Reese in Terminator. It was reported that he was supposed to play Stephen Lang’s Colonel in Avatar but James Cameron thought that with Sigourney Weaver already involved it would be too much like an Aliens reunion (like that was a bad thing!).
Watch this! Aliens, Terminator, Planet Terror
Trivia: Biehn was the first choice to play Peter Parker in the abandoned Spiderman by James Cameron.
Micheal IronsideNo one can quite play a tough, steel-fisted evil villain like Michael Ironside can. Much more than a Jack Nicholson-lookalike, his unnerving edge and black leather vest/tight trousers combo could quite literally blow your brains up.
Watch this! Starship Troopers, Scanners, Total Recall
Trivia: The exploding finale to David Cronenberg’s Scanners was made by filling a prosthetic head with bought livers and shooting the head from behind with a shotgun.
Michael ParksGruff-voiced Parks is something of a muse to cult directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. He plays the recurring character of Texas ranger Sheriff McGraw, who appears in six of their films, though he is worth a look alone for his second role as the terrifyingly charismatic, Esteban Viaho, in Kill Bill 2.
Watch this! From Dusk till Dawn, Twin Peaks, Kill Bill, Red State
Trivia: Parks is a successful singer songwriter who wrote the soundtrack to the 1960’s hit series “Then Came Bronson”.
Sid HaigWith a career spanning more than four decades, Sid Haig started his career with exploitation directors, Roger Corman and Jack Hill, before becoming a symbol of the trash cinema scene and has played bad guys ever since. Championed by horror director, Rob Zombie, he has more recently scared the pants off fans as the deranged hillbilly psychopath clown, Captain Spaulding in the House of a 1000 Corpses.
Watch this! House of a 1000 Corpses, the Devils Rejects, Jacky Brown
Trivia: Haig turned down the role of Marcellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction.
Brad DourifBeing spotted and hand-picked by director, Milos Forman, for his first film role on One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (which got him an Oscar academy nomination) was just the start to Dourif’s hugely genre- crossing career. Nearly always playing the tortured and creepy characters, Dourif maintains an intensity that is unmatched. Chucky in Child’s Play still haunts us today.
Watch this! One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Child’s Play, Lord of the Rings;The Two Towers
Trivia: Lord of the Rings director, Peter Jackson, never heard Dourif speak without an English accent until filming was complete on The Two Towers.
Pam GrierSynonymous with the blaxpoitation genre of the seventies, Pam Grier played some of the most badass women in cinema. Be it whooping some vampire butt, or exacting cold revenge on drug dealers, her roles created a new cinematic archetype that was strong and sexy, paving the way for actresses today.
Watch this! Jackie Brown, Coffy, Scream Blacula Scream
Trivia: Grier was a back-up singer for Bobby Womack and Sly and the Family Stone
Dick MillerWith his tough Bronx accent, Dick Miller is best known for playing-fish-out-of-water characters in some of the most famous films around. Despite never having a huge role in any film, he remains an unsung hero and genre stalwart deserving of our respect. How else would Arnie have been able to buy any of his guns in Terminator?
Watch this! The Howling, Gremlins, Terminator, Everything else
Trivia: Miller has appeared in every Joe Dante film to date and is considered his “good luck charm”, awww.
Ken ForeeTowering at 6ft 4inches, Ken Foree gave a tough performance as swat team officer, Peter Washington, in George Romero’s 1978 Dawn of the Dead. Since breaking into the horror scene he has kept close ties with the genre by fighting off zombies, Leatherface and erm …Kenan and Kel.
Watch this: Dawn of the Dead, From Beyond, The Devils Rejects, Halloween (2006)
Trivia: The fake blood in Dawn of the Dead was made with a mixture of food colouring, peanut butter and cane sugar syrup, yum!
Rutger Hauer“Do you know what happens to an eyeball when it is punctured?” asks Rutger Hauer in The Hitcher to a terrified victim, just one of the many (improvised) roles that has cemented him as Hollywood’s favourite psychopath. A true method actor, Dutchman Hauer has the power to aghast as well as inspire, bringing character and depth to every role, villainous or otherwise, which borders on the goddamned poetic.
Watch this! Bladerunner, The Hitcher, Nighthawks, Sin City, Hobo with a Shotgun, Dracula 3D
Trivia: The line that Hauer’s replicant character, Roy Batty, recites at the end of Bladerunner is a line from 1793 poem America: A Prophecy by William Blake.
Bruce CampbellChiselled-chin Bruce Campbell has lead a successful B movie career since starring in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy as protagonist, Ash Williams, managing to be funny, heroic and iconic at the same time. Known for his total embrace of the fanboy scene (follow him on Twitter!), Campbell has truly scaled the mountain of cult movie stardom. Groovy!
Watch this! Evil Dead trilogy, Bubba Ho-Tep, Maniac Cop
Trivia: On Campbell’s ad for Old Spice, the Necronomicon book from the Evil Dead can clearly be seen in the background. Nice.
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