21 Unforgettably Creepy And Performances From TV And Film That Sometimes Even Scared The Rest Of The Cast

"It may have taken her six hours in the makeup room, but that scene genuinely scarred me for a lifetime."

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Many actors have tried their hand at playing a creepy, scary, or hateable character, but sometimes their performance is so damn good that it can have a lasting effect.

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1. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter – Silence of the Lambs

Orion Pictures

Anthony Hopkins' chilling performance was enough to scare viewers straight and win him the Best Actor Academy Award while he was at it. His gripping portrayal of Hannibal Lecter made for some of the creepiest, most uncomfortable scenes in movie history, which were also apparently just as chilling to film. 

Speaking to Anthony about her experience filming the movie, Jodie Foster had this to say: "And as you launched into Hannibal Lecter, I really—I felt like, a chill come over the room, you know? And I felt gripped and I was just too scared. In a way, it was like we were almost too scared to talk to each other after that.” 

One poor theatre-goer had an even more terrifying experience at a screening of the film that Anthony had paid to attend (unbeknownst to fellow viewers). Anthony recalled what happened when there was a blackout in the theatre:

“The lights went out. There was a big storm and someone in front of me said, ‘It’s a blackout. I think Hannibal Lecter must be in the theatre’” said Hopkins, laughing. “She turned around and said, ‘oh my God, he is.’” 

Here are some of his best scenes:

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2. Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill – The Silence of the Lambs

Orion Pictures

However scary Hannibal was in Silence of the Lambs, some viewers believe that it was Ted's character, Buffalo Bill, that was the scarier character in the movie. I'd probably concur with that notion, as Ted's scenes 100% gave me the chills. 

Interestingly, in his audition for the role, he wasn't really sure what he was going to do, as Brooke Smith, who played Bill's victim Catherine Martin explained: 

"I asked him, ‘What the hell did you do in that audition? You were so amazing.’ He was like, ‘Well, you know, I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do, so I just drank a lot of coffee.’ He was amazing.”

Here's one of Catherine and Ted's scenes:

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3. Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance – The Shining

Warner Bros.

Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance in The Shining undoubtedly gave us some chilling scenes. But the most iconic line in the movie (and in horror history) was actually improvised by Jack himself. The famous "Here's Johnny" line after he'd axed down the door was ad-libbed by Jack, and Stanley Kubrick nearly didn't include it in the final cut! 

Jack's clearly got a flair for the scary, as, for his role as the Joker in Batman, he thought children watching would want a more creepy Joker. He said: “My early experience in working for an audience full of children: the more you scare them, the more they like it.” 

Here's Johnny:

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4. Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise – IT

Warner Bros. Pictures

Bill Skarsgård's role as Pennywise in the IT franchise is naturally terrifying, I mean, as scary clowns go, his is right up there! He was even creepy enough to scare Bill Hader while filming. Talking about when Bill would go into character Hader said it was "full-on terrifying." and that it was like "working with a wild animal."

There was a famous moment off-set where apparently Bill Hader didn't realise Bill Skarsgård's eyes-in-two-directions trick wasn't CGI, and when Skarsgård showed him that he could actually do it, it created an iconic meme. 

Here's Bill Hader talking about the meme and working will Bill Skarsgård.

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5. Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates – Psycho

Paramount Pictures

Anthony Perkins was part of one of the most influential scenes in Horror history – the shower scene in Psycho. Anthony, at a ceremony years later, said he'd been "taking the wrap for that sequence for 20 years," referring to the consequence of the stabbing scene for his perception. Anthony shook off the horror association, trying his hand as a popstar, broadway show writer, and also hosted SNL.

Here's the iconic shower scene:

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6. Robert Helpmann as the Child Catcher – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

United Artists

Robert Helpmann's performance as the child catcher has been described as "nightmare-fuel," and I for one can absolutely back that up. Despite portraying one of the creepiest characters ever, the professional ballet dancer was actually a delight on set, according to Heather Ripley who played Jemima. 

Dick Van Dyke, who played Caractacus Potts, told a worrying story about the iconic abduction scene. Apparently, Robert almost had a fatal accident while onset, when the stagecoach he used to capture Jeremy and Jemima flipped over during filming!

Here's Robert in action (watch if you dare):

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7. Paul Dano as the Riddler – The Batman

Warner Bros. Pictures

Paul's excellent, and rather chilling performance as the Riddler in The Batman was far darker than a lot of the viewers, and he himself expected. Talking about going for the role, he admitted that he thought it would be more top hat, cane, and spandex, like other Riddler portrayals such as Jim Carrey. Paul thinks that the movie is darker and scarier due to the Riddler's more reality-driven portrayal, and I'd have to agree!

Here's some of his scenes from The Batman:

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8. Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort – Harry Potter

Warner Bros. Pictures

It must be a strange feeling to portray someone who's supposed to be scary. Well, when Ralph took the role of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter, he probably knew he'd be frightening a few (thousand) children. What he may not have planned, was to terrify a child on set – and that's exactly what happened. 

Ralph told the story of the script supervisor's child, who was about four or five, being on set, and when Ralph walked past and looked at him, with all his Voldemort getup on, he just immediately burst into tears.

Here's Ralph talking talking about the incident on Graham Norton:

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9. Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge – Harry Potter

Warner Bros. Pictures

Staying with Harry Potter, It's fair to say that Imelda Staunton's character, Professor Umbridge was more hateable than scary. However, her excellent performance made it hard for some Harry Potter fans to unsee that role, particularly when she was announced as the Queen in The Crown. 

Imelda, herself has talked about hating the character, which is probably why she performed it so well! On Umbridge, she said: "I think she's a bloody monster and to be played as such."

Watch the "I must not tell lies" scene here:

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10. Antony Starr as Homelander – The Boys

Amazon Prime Video

Antony's performance as Homelander has created what is arguably one of the best superhero villains ever. The creepiness and narcissism coupled with his terrifying power create a constant sense of dread whenever he's on screen. In a hilarious and arguably worrying video of the cast playing "who's who", they all point at Antony when asked, "who is most like their character?"

Fans have latched on to this, and have created various memes about Antony being Homelander IRL, including the excellent video (below) of him being interviewed which he himself shared on Twitter. 

Antony Starr @antonystarr

This is so so good….

05:27 PM - 25 Jul 2022

Twitter: @antonystarr

11. Toni Collette as Annie Graham – Hereditary

A24

Toni Collette was a key part in the frankly terrifying film Hereditary. Her performance, along with the film as a whole, no doubt gave viewers everywhere a few sleepless nights. Interestingly, before she read the script, Toni didn't particularly want to go in for a heavier role, intending to focus on lighter stuff instead. 

Despite her intentions, when she was sent the script it became very simple to her, as she said: "After making a declaration of pushing heavy films away and wanting to focus on lighter things...it was sent to me. I reluctantly read it, and then it was inevitable. I had to do it."

Well, I'm glad she decided to take it on, even if the film did terrify me.

Here's the dinner scene:

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12. Jack Gleeson as Joffrey Baratheon – Game of Thrones

HBO

Speaking of hateable characters, Jack Gleeson's performance as Joffrey in Game of Thrones made him one of the most perfectly annoying characters on TV. Despite what many people theorised, the public response to Jack was actually inversely related to the character he was playing. 

Jack believed that people thought he was getting publically attacked, and in response were super nice to him. This is what he had to say: "I feel like people are extra nice to me because they think people attack me." Thankfully he wasn't being hounded in public because, despite making for some uncomfortable scenes, he was an integral part of Game of Thrones' heyday. 

Here's five minutes of other characters hating Joffrey:

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13. Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton – Game of Thrones

HBO

Sticking with GOT, another actor who pulled off one of the grimmest, creepiest characters to grace our televisions was Iwan. His role as Ramsay Bolton somehow managed to rise to the top of the hateable character list in a show full of betrayers, murderers, and downright evil people. 

While Iwan's acting was rightly praised, he sadly didn't leave the show with the public's attitude to him untarnished. Some, clearly over-immersed fans would call him out in public, as he alluded to, saying: "I get called a bastard a lot."

It takes a great acting performance to illicit fear and hatred in a fanbase, so thanks Iwan, even if you did create some of the most uncomfortable scenes in the show! 

14. Tim Curry as Daniel Hannigan – Annie

Columbia Pictures

Tim Curry is no stranger to playing the antagonist – and I'm sure you'll be saying "What about It?" But for some of us, before we'd seen It or The Rocky Horror Picture Show, we were shown, Annie. His cheap, slimy character certainly caused us to fear for Annie, and he performed the cartoon-villain type to a frightening level. 

When discussing the character Tim thinks that in the end, his truly villainous nature is shown towards the end of the movie when he wants to kill Annie. He was then asked if that bothered him, to which he (kind of creepily) replied: "No, not a bit – I find that quite easy"

Here's Tim in Annie:

15. Gene Wilder as Will Wonka – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Paramount Pictures

Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka was mystical, wonderful, and downright terrifying at times. There's one scene in particular that definitely freaked me out as a child, and it turns out that it freaked the kids who were acting in the film out too. 

Paris Themmen, who played Mike Teevee, talked about the infamous boat scene, where Willy Wonka is saying those lyrics that end: "Yes! The danger must be growing, for the rowers keep on rowing, and they're certainly not showing, any signs that they are slowing." 

Here's how he described working on the movie, and the boat scene in particular:

"The director did not warn us what was coming in this scene. Mike Teevee enjoys pretty much the entire factory tour. The boat is the one place where he exhibits fear and discomfort. Gene is so great in this scene, and it didn't take much acting on our part to play "What the fuck is wrong with this guy?"

Here's that boat ride scene:

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16. Fank Silva as Bob – Twin Peaks

ABC

The way Frank portrayed Bob on Twin Peaks made him one of those "couldn't be played by anyone else" roles. His ability to cause angst and uncomfortable tension, sometimes without even saying a word really made Bob the creepy character he was. 

Frank developed that iconic terrifying Bob stare, that he showed again in an interview below.   

Here's the interview:

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17. Lupita Nyong'o as Adelaide Wilson – Us

Universal Pictures

Lupita clearly can play a variety of roles, but she gave us one creepy AF performance in this movie playing two sides of one character. What made her so memorable was the distinctive voice that she developed for the role. 

She took inspiration from a real condition, which can be caused by physical or emotional trauma, where muscle spasms affect one's speech patterns. On the voice, she said: “I was fascinated, and I started doing research. I met with people who have the condition and built it from there.”

Lupita developed the voice and coupled it with an intense, emotive, and frankly petrifying acting performance that really stole the show. 

Director Jodan Peele talked about her embodiment of the character, and how eery it was on set: “When she is the Red character, she’s fully in character, even when she’s alone, and she was terrifying."

Here's the "meet the tethered" scene:

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18. David Thewlis as John Dee – The Sandman

Netflix

After knowing and loving David as Lupin in Harry Potter, his role in The Sandman definitely freaked me out somewhat. He gave an excellent, uncomfortable, and honestly quite disturbing performance in the Neil Gaiman adaptation. 

In fact, the scene where he was just eating ice cream in the back of the diner became Neil's favourite. On the scene, Neil said: "Watching David Thewlis as John Dee wanders into the kitchen at the back of the diner, get himself some ice cream, come around and eat it on the counter, while all this stuff is happening around him, is one of my favourite sequences."

Here's that diner scene:

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19. Angelica Huston as the Grand High Witch – The Witches

Warner Bros.

Angelica's performance in The Witches caused kids everywhere countless sleepless nights, myself included. TBH, I assume she was amazing in that role because I haven't actually dared to watch it since that first time. 

To make her so terrifying though, she had to endure a LONG process of prosthetics that sounded uncomfortable AF. Here's what she had to say about it: 

"It was about six to seven hours of makeup and it took about five to take it off. It was a hard, hard make up, but mercifully I wasn't in it for the whole movie, only for about two or three weeks. But they were arduous weeks and I had fake hands. The tips of my fingers acted as the knuckles and they took at least an hour to take off, so it was a bit problematic going to the bathroom."

It may have taken her six hours in the makeup room, but that scene genuinely scarred me for a lifetime.

Here's some of her scenes from The Witches:

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20. Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin – Spiderman: No Way Home

Sony Pictures Releasing

While it wasn't a scary film, Willem has always possessed the ability to get into the creepy zone on screen, and his role as Green Gobin showed how quickly he can tap into that. The switch-up in facial expressions and voice was enough to ever terrify the cast on set. 

Zendaya, talking about what it was like filming with him, said this: "[He] scared the hell out of everyone, to be honest... The coolest thing is that everyone's so lovely, and then they just play these very evil characters. He's so good at just like, just being lovely— you know, ‘Hey how are you?’ And then, [mimics Green Goblin voice,] like whoa."

Here's Green Goblin taking over again:

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21. Angelina Jolie as Maleficent – Maleficent

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Angelina has done a variety of roles, but her performance as Maleficent was enough to put fear in some children, so much so that she actually scared a child who mistook her for the Disney villain. 

On a visit to refugees in Venezuela as a UN Ambassador, Angelina recalled what happened: 

"So this family walked in and I was talking to the mother and this little boy came in but kind of started to back up as he saw me. His mum was trying to say 'Be nice to her' and then I realised that he had seen Maleficent. He was like 7 and thought 'She's not here to help us – I know who that is!'"

Here's the curse scene from Maleficent:

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What are the creepy performances that really stuck with you? Let us know in the comments below!

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