The Actors Behind The Creepiest Movie Monsters Are Surprisingly Good Looking

When it comes to horror and science fiction movies, a good monster can make or break it. Nowadays, every monster is CGI heavy, but before we could rely on technology, there were actual people wearing heavy costumes and pounds of prosthetics to deliver us the creepiest characters.

These are the real-life—and pretty darn good looking—faces behind the creepiest, most horrifying monsters in movie history. You'll never guess which Princess Diaries actress played The Nun.

The Bride In Black From Insidious: Chapter 2

We got a reference to the Bride in Black in the first Insidious film, but it wasn't until the sequel that we got to see the character in all its terrifying glory. The person playing the creepy bride isn't actually a woman, it's a man!

creepy characters 2
@wweisawesome123/@fitzmousse/Twitter
@wweisawesome123/@fitzmousse/Twitter

The character is played by Tom Fitzpatrick and he admitted that when he signed up for the film, he had no idea he'd end up in the costume.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Amphibian Man From The Shape Of Water

ADVERTISEMENT

The Shape of Water made waves in 2018 for being one of the strangest love stories audiences had seen in a while. It was all thanks to the giant, scaly amphibian that was played by actor Doug Jones.

creepy characters 5
TSI Entertainment/MovieStillsDB & Albert Ortega/Getty Images
TSI Entertainment/MovieStillsDB & Albert Ortega/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The costume for the Amphibian Man was a giant one-piece suit that Jones said made him feel like "a nursing home patient." Why? Well, because once he was in the suit he couldn't use the bathroom, so he had to be sure not to have any accidents.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Night King From Game Of Thrones

ADVERTISEMENT

The makeup and mask used to transform Vladimír Furdík into the Night Knight is as magnificent as it is terrifying. Furdík has said it takes a whopping six hours in the makeup chair to achieve the look, so at least it's worth it.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 4
HBO/MovieStillsDB & @br_got/Twitter
HBO/MovieStillsDB & @br_got/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The actor who plays the Night King started out as a stuntman. Even though he plays the Night King, he says fans rarely recognize him because his face is always behind the mask.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Predator In Predator

ADVERTISEMENT

Much of the first half of Predator was spent imagining what the invisible, heat-tracking, killing-machine could look like. Then when the audience got a glimpse of the alien, it was downright terrifying. The film came out in 1987 so Predator is entirely made of prosthetics and heavy makeup.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 16
Twentieth Century Fox/MovieStillsDB & @Lando_Horror/Twitter
Twentieth Century Fox/MovieStillsDB & @Lando_Horror/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The actor who was hunting Arnold Schwarzenegger was Kevin Peter Hall. Luckily, he was used to wearing a heavy costume because he also starred as Harry in Harry and the Hendersons.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Creeper From Jeepers Creepers

ADVERTISEMENT

The main horror monster from the three Jeepers Creepers films evolves to be even scarier with every film. From just your run-of-the-mill horror baddie to a flesh-eating flying monster, he definitely gives us the creeps. Luckily, the man behind the mask is the exact opposite of creepy.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 19
MGM/MovieStillsDB & Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage/Getty Images
MGM/MovieStillsDB & Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Jonathan Breck is as normal looking as you can get and is a talented enough actor to land other roles (without a mask) on shows like JAG.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Addiction Demon From American Horror Story: Hotel

ADVERTISEMENT

The actor who embodied the beyond-creepy Addiction Demon in the fifth season of American Horror Story is a seasoned monster pro. Ward has made a name for himself in Hollywood for turning himself into the scariest characters on television.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 1
@alexanderward777/Instagram
@alexanderward777/Instagram
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The character actor has also appeared covered in masks and makeup in series' like Westworld, Sleepy Hollow, and Teen Wolf. His role as the Addiction Demon takes the cake though because even the show's producers called it "the most disturbing scene we've ever done."

ADVERTISEMENT

The Nun From The Conjuring 2

ADVERTISEMENT

Even though The Nun only appears a few times in The Conjuring 2, she's one of the scariest characters in the film. She even got her own spinoff in 2018 thanks to her terrifying stare. Both films hired Bonnie Aarons thanks to her distinguishing features.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 13
NewLineCinema/MovieStillsDB & JB Lacroix/WireImage/Getty Images
NewLineCinema/MovieStillsDB & JB Lacroix/WireImage/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

When she's not wearing the habit, Aarons has starred in much less creepy roles like as the Baroness from The Princess Diaries that tries to steal the crown.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pale Man From Pan's Labyrinth

ADVERTISEMENT

Doug Jones strikes again with one of the original terrifying monsters. The Guillermo Del Toro movie was ahead of its time for the use of CGI, but the Pale Man was all thanks to complex makeup.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 7
Telecinco/MovieStillsDB & Jemal Countess/Getty Images
Telecinco/MovieStillsDB & Jemal Countess/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Jones said it took about five hours each day to get him into character, and that the iconic horns weighed ten pounds and left him exhausted. Oh, and his only way of seeing was through the characters' nostrils.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dren From Splice

ADVERTISEMENT

The idea behind Splice was always about having creepy, genetically modified characters, but Dren ends up looking beautiful (in a weird way). It's probably thanks to the actress, Delphine Chanéac, who plays the character.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 9
Dark Castle Entertainment/MovieStillsDB & Foc Kan/Getty Images
Dark Castle Entertainment/MovieStillsDB & Foc Kan/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Even though Dren is a weird humanoid with a tail, wings, and triple-jointed legs, the actress managed to turn her into the prettiest movie monster we've seen. The director even admitted that they felt doing small changes to a human figure was much more jarring than a full-body mask or suit.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Silver Surfer From Fantastic Four

ADVERTISEMENT

Up until now, it might have been easy to assume that the Silver Surfer was entirely CGI. Nope, it was just our old friend Doug Jones. The same guy who played the Amphibian Man is also the super-jacked guy who looked like he was covered in shiny metal.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 6
Marvel Studios/MovieStillsDB & Albert Ortego/Getty Images
Marvel Studios/MovieStillsDB & Albert Ortego/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

It's notable that Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer used Jones because they just wanted his tall and lanky physique. It was Laurence Fishburne who proved the character's voice.

ADVERTISEMENT

Freddy Kreuger From A Nightmare On Elm Street

ADVERTISEMENT

Freddy Kreuger has been one of the most iconic movie monsters in history and he's also been played by a couple of different people. When the franchise got rebooted in 2010, Jackie Earle Haley took on the role of the janitor-turned-villain.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 3
Warner Bros./MovieStillsDB & Steve Grantiz/WireImage/Getty Images
Warner Bros./MovieStillsDB & Steve Grantiz/WireImage/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Haley was already an Academy Award-nominated actor when he accepted the role and wasn't too sure about it. He hated horror films and sitting in makeup chairs for a long time, but after becoming Krueger he fell in love with how fun it was.

ADVERTISEMENT

Gill Man From The Creature From The Black Lagoon

ADVERTISEMENT

Long before there was Amphibian Man from The Shape of Water, there was Gill Man. One of the original "creature features" was filmed way back in 1954 and had some seriously advanced prosthetics and makeup. The man behind the gills was an actor by the name of Ben Chapman.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 17
@Famousmonsters/Twitter
@Famousmonsters/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Chapman was tall, dark, and handsome, but didn't land many roles after The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Instead, he and his good looks faded into oblivion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pennywise From It (1990)

ADVERTISEMENT

Tim Curry brought Steven King's killer clown to life in 1990 when he played the character in the miniseries. The oversized forehead, terrifying makeup, and strange outfit was a nightmare for children. At the time Curry was cast in the role, he was best known for The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 20
The WB/MovieStillsDB & Corbis/Getty Images
The WB/MovieStillsDB & Corbis/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Despite playing the creepy clown, after the miniseries debuted, Curry landed a series of very normal roles that actually showed him in a different light.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pennywise From IT (2017)

ADVERTISEMENT

When you see the photo of actor Bill Skarsgård without the creepy clown makeup, it's hard to imagine how he landed the role. Aside from his sunken eyes, what sadistic features did producers see in the charming young model?

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 21
New Line Cinema/MovieStillsDB & Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
New Line Cinema/MovieStillsDB & Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

We'll never know, but we do know that it worked. Skarsgård got the chance of a lifetime when he was cast as Pennywise in the 2017 adaptation of the novel. He's managed to simultaneously creep us out and turn us on. Bravo.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Robot From Lost In Space

ADVERTISEMENT

The Robot from the Netflix reboot of the memorable TV series is covered head to toe in a suit, so it could honestly be anyone behind there and we'd believe it. But the real actor behind the creepy, glowing face is Brian Steele.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 8
Twitter & Albert Ortega/Getty Images
Twitter & Albert Ortega/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Steele has to wear a heavy suit for the character that slows his movements. And that colorful changing screen for a face? He says it can be distracting, but that over time, you get used to it.

ADVERTISEMENT

Leatherface From The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

ADVERTISEMENT

Andrew Bryniarski can thank his intimidating physical size for why he landed the role of Leatherface in the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Apparently, the director simply wanted to hire the biggest guy who auditioned.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 11
MGM/MovieStillsDB & John Shearer/Getty Images
MGM/MovieStillsDB & John Shearer/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

All Bryniarski had to do was put on the Leatherface mask and walk around as slow as possible. Bryniarski later told fans online that he feels he was "born to wear the mask!"

ADVERTISEMENT

Lurch From The Addams Family

ADVERTISEMENT

One of the original creepy monsters in Hollywood was Lurch from The Addams Family. The butler was played by Ted Cassidy, who had never acted before the show but landed the role just because of his 6-foot 9-inch height.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 12
Paramount Pictures/MovieStillsDB @SilverAgeTV/Twitter
Paramount Pictures/MovieStillsDB @SilverAgeTV/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Cassidy might have had some staggering height but he wasn't anywhere near as creepy or monotone as the character. In real life, he was quite dashing and even landed roles in other big films for his good looks.

ADVERTISEMENT

Michael Myers From Halloween

ADVERTISEMENT

The first man to wear the unforgettable Michael Myers mask was a man named Tony Moran. Moran only played the character with the mask on, and Will Sandwin played Myers as a child. The best-known version of the masked Myers was Nick Castle.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 14
Universal Pictures/MovieStillsDB & @DrMovieNews/Twitter
Universal Pictures/MovieStillsDB & @DrMovieNews/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Castle played the character for nearly every movie until the 2018 Halloween film, where James Jude Courtney took over. As a kind gesture, they made sure to have Castle appear in the 2018 film as a cameo.

ADVERTISEMENT

Jason Voorhees From Friday The 13th

ADVERTISEMENT

Another classic movie villain was chosen yet again for their size and stature. Kane Hodder got cast in the first Friday the 13th film and he's been the title character in every film or spinoff since.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 15
Gun Media/MovieStillsDB & Albert Ortega/Getty Images
Gun Media/MovieStillsDB & Albert Ortega/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Hodder is so connected to the machete and hockey mask that they used him for motion capture to create a Friday the 13th video game. Who knew being tall and walking slow was such a marketable skill in Hollywood?

ADVERTISEMENT

Pinhead From Hellraiser

ADVERTISEMENT

Doug Bradley is the head behind Pinhead in Hellraiser and he held that title for eight straight movies. The role was Bradley's first job in Hollywood and he became an expert at it. Over the course of eight films, he even got so good at putting on the makeup and taking it off that he was credited as an assistant makeup artist.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 18
MGM/MovieStillsDB & Albert Ortega/Getty Images
MGM/MovieStillsDB & Albert Ortega/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

When he stopped playing Pinhead, Bradley moved on to other scary roles like voicing the Sith Emperor in multiple Star Wars video games.

ADVERTISEMENT

Kurt Barlow From Salem's Lot

ADVERTISEMENT

Yet another Stephen King monster got the feature film treatment in 1975. Cast to play the title baddie was Reggie Nalder. Nalder was practically made for the role. He was nicknamed "The Face That Launched A Thousand Trips" because his features and haunting demeanor made him a perfect villain.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 22
Warner Bros./MovieStillsDB & @AlexVorkov/Twitter
Warner Bros./MovieStillsDB & @AlexVorkov/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Aside from playing the extra-creepy Kurt Barlow, Nalder was also best known for playing the assassin in the Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much.

ADVERTISEMENT

Frankenstein's Monster From Frankenstein

ADVERTISEMENT

Boris Karloff was the bonafide king of Hollywood horror in the 1930s and 1940s. The first film he managed to blow our minds with was Frankenstein. Karloff was a seasoned actor at the time and had already been in 80 movies, but said Frankenstein was one of the most difficult thanks to the costuming.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 23
Silver Screen Collection/NBC Television/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Silver Screen Collection/NBC Television/Archive Photos/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

He had to wear a huge, bulky suit to make him look like a monster, and four-inch platform shoes that weighed 11 pounds each.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Werewolf From An American Werewolf In London

ADVERTISEMENT

Werewolves have a long history in folklore and film, but the one portrayed by David Naughton set the tone for Hollywood werewolves. The transformation from human to wolf was beyond its time thanks to hours in makeup.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 24
Universal Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
Universal Pictures/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Naughton said that when he met the film's head of special effects and told him he'd be playing the werewolf, he said: "I feel sorry for you." That was probably thanks to the pounds of plastic molds that went all over Naughton's body, that was best described as "suffocating."

ADVERTISEMENT

The Xenomorph From Alien

ADVERTISEMENT

Bolaki Badejo was a Nigerian born artist who specialized in making the creepy costumes in Hollywood. He became an unlikely star when he was drafted to play the Xenomorph in Ridley Scott's 1979 film, Alien. Part of why he was chosen was because of his towering height—Badejo was 6-foot 10-inches tall.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 25
Twentieth Century Fox/MovieStillsDB
Twentieth Century Fox/MovieStillsDB
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

It also helped that he knew how to create and maneuver the heavy and intricate Alien costume. Despite the success, Badejo never actually reprised the monster role for the Alien sequels.

ADVERTISEMENT

Grant Monster From Slither

ADVERTISEMENT

The creepiest part of the Grant monster from Slither is that it looks like the kitchen sink of creepy creatures. The actor behind the costume, Michael Rooker, is clearly shown, but the hair, teeth, antlers, and blobs of extra flesh make him a grotesque character.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 26
@brokehorrorfan/Twitter & Todd Williamson/Getty Images
@brokehorrorfan/Twitter & Todd Williamson/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The heavy prosthetics and makeup was nothing new for Rooker. You might recognize his other movie costumes such as Yondu from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

ADVERTISEMENT

Godzilla From Gojira

ADVERTISEMENT

Long before there was a CGI version of Godzilla terrorizing cities, there was just a man in a large costume stomping around a miniature set. Haruo Nakajima was a Japanese actor who played the terrifying nuclear monster in twelve consecutive Godzilla films.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 27
@41strange/Twitter
@41strange/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

He's considered by many to be one of the best "suit actors" in Japan, which is close to what Americans call stunt actors. Nakajima became so synonymous with the Godzilla costume that the special effects director refused to work with anyone else.

ADVERTISEMENT

Brundlefly From The Fly

ADVERTISEMENT

The original concept art for the movie monster from The Fly was actually based around the handsome actor who played it, Jeff Goldblum. Once Goldblum was cast as the main character, Seth Brundle, they began to design the grotesque and gooey facial transformations.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 28
20th Century Fox/MovieStillsDB & Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images
20th Century Fox/MovieStillsDB & Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

One of the hardest parts of The Fly to film was when Goldblum sheds all his prosthetics on camera and a fly "breaks" out of his body. How did they make it work? A lot of fake flesh and blood to cover it all up.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pumpkinhead From Pumpkinhead

ADVERTISEMENT

The debut monster for special effects mastermind Stan Winston was Pumpkinhead. The monster has everything the gives a person nightmares—multi-jointed legs, an oversized and misshapen head, and creepy spindly claws.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 29
MGM/MovieStillsDB & Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images
MGM/MovieStillsDB & Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The man who played Pumpkinhead, Lance Henriksen, got his start in Hollywood playing roles in science fiction and horror films, so the character was a perfect fit. Henriksen was even supposed to play the Terminator before the role ultimately went to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Janitor From Silent Hill

ADVERTISEMENT

Silent Hill featured a lot of creepy characters, but the tied up janitor in the bathtub definitely got our attention. Even more so, the attractive dancer Roberto Campanella, who played the character, got even more of our attention.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 10
Sony Pictures/MovieStillsDB & @JeeYunTV/Twitter
Sony Pictures/MovieStillsDB & @JeeYunTV/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

It's hard to believe such a good looking dancer could be so grotesque and obscene. He's clearly got some acting chops that are still able to shine through the barbed wire cutting into his eyes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pyramid Head From Silent Hill 2

ADVERTISEMENT

While The Janitor is entirely creepy, the main mon-STAR of the Silent Hill franchise is Pyramid Head. The character is also played by Roberto Campanella, but you wouldn't know it since his face is always covered.

ADVERTISEMENT
creepy characters 30
TriStar Pictures/MovieStillsDB & @horrorfilmhist/Twitter
TriStar Pictures/MovieStillsDB & @horrorfilmhist/Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

The heavy pyramid-shaped mask made it hard for Campanella to act in. According to him, it was even harder than having barbed-wire cutting off your eyes. It paid off though and many critics praised Pyramid Head as "the most striking bogeyman."