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

Viggo Mortensen

Over a decade before the first installment of The Lord of the Rings ever hit theaters, Viggo Mortensen played Edward "Tex" Sawyer, the central antagonist of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III. The film was considered a critical failure, but entertained audiences nonetheless. Mortensen made a number of appearances in supporting roles throughout the 1990s until a breakthrough in 1999, when Peter Jackson cast the actor as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

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The More You Know

  • For 'Fight Club' (1999), Brad Pitt had pieces of his front teeth chipped off to play Tyler Durden. He also took soap-making classes, boxing, taekwondo, and grappling lessons with Edward Norton to prepare for the role.
  • The bridge blown up by Eli Wallach and Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was prematurely detonated by a Spanish Army Captain. Upon learning of his mistake the Captain ordered his troops to rebuild the bridge, only for it to suffer another explosion once complete.
  • Tom Cruise earned $75 Million for his role in Mission Impossible 2.
  • Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn failed his driving test eight times.
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