If There Was An Academy Award Given For "Most Frightening Performance By An Actor," Who Would've For Sure Won?

"And the AHHH-scar goes to..."

Every once in a while, an actor turns in a performance that is so positively haunting and horrifying, it transcends genre, criticism, and — in some cases — even the movie it's in.

Orion Pictures

So, if there was an Academy Award given for "Most Terrifying Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture," what are some of the performances that would've for sure taken home the gold?

Paramount Pictures

Maybe your nomination would be for a performance that actually already took home a different (real) Oscar, like Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (2007).

Miramax Films / Via youtube.com

Or perhaps your pick would be from a more recent film, like Lupita Nyong'o's bone-chilling turn as Red in Us (2019).

Universal Pictures

Heck, maybe you'd use your ballot to vote for a wild throwback, like Robert Helpmann as the nightmare-inducing Child Catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).

United Artists

Tell us which actor's performance you'd nominate for this fake Oscar and a little bit about what you believe made them so terrifying in the comments below for a chance to be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post and/or video!

Columbia Pictures