Hollywood A-Listers Who Got Their Big Break in Horror Films

Mariska Hargitay

Detective Olivia Benson wasn't always prowling the streets of New York City in search of bad guys. In 1985, Hargitay made her film debut as Donna in the cult classic Ghoulies. The film was dismissed as "a cut-rate 'Gremlins'" with "unexceptional performances" and "a lot of badly simulated gore," but that didn't stop Mariska from earning a well-deserved spot among Hollywood's elite.

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The More You Know

  • During the filming of The Grinch, Jim Carrey sought counseling from a Navy SEAL to learn torture-resistance techniques in order to handle the extensive makeup.
  • Walt Disney refused to allow Alfred Hitchcock to film at Disneyland in the early 1960s because he had made “that disgusting movie Psycho.”
  • Novelist and screenwriter Nick Hornby is brother-in-law to novelist and screenwriter Robert Harris.
  • George Lucas wanted to make a Flash Gordon movie but could not obtain the rights so instead, he created Star Wars.
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