8 comedy actors who mastered the art of horror
From "Haha" to "AAAHHHHH!"
The Everett Collection
It’s hard to imagine now, but when Jordan Peele announced his intentions to make a horror film, folks questioned if it would work. Peele was best known as one-half of the comedy duo Key & Peele. In 2016, he wrote and produced Keanu, a starring vehicle for himself and comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key.
So when his next writing project was announced as Get Out, a film he’d also be directing, some viewers were confused about why we weren’t getting another comedy. Keanu was hilarious and did an excellent job at translating Key and Peele’s comedy to the big screen.
Nobody’s doubting Peele’s decision now. With Get Out and its follow-ups, Us and Nope, he gave us three distinct yet equally iconic horror masterpieces. He’d transitioned seamlessly. Here are eight other examples of comedic voices leaping into horror movies!
1. David Gordon Green and Danny McBride
Here's another curveball that ended up being a complete homerun. In 2003, Danny McBride made his theatrical debut in a romantic drama directed by David Gordon Green. The resulting movie, All the Real Girls, was Green's second feature as a director. Fast forward to 2008 and another Green-McBride collaboration, Pineapple Express became a surprise box-office hit and comedy classic. Its success led to the following year's Your Highness, before the director/actor duo shifted to TV with HBO's Eastbound and Down and Vice Principals.
Finally, the pair pivoted to horror, taking their talents to Haddonfield, Illinois, with 2018's Halloween. While this legacy sequel wasn't without its controversies, McBride and Green were a great fit for the long-running franchise. By foregoing many of the franchise's sequels, McBride and Green's writing brought the series back to the essentials of John Carpenter's 1979 original. They showed they were the guys for the job with a competent, respectful script that utilized their comedy backgrounds and created some really tense moments as well. Their Halloween was a box office phenomenon, raking in $255.5 million. Just... Don't mention the sequels unless your ready for a big ol' argument.
2. Chris Rock
Despite the title of his CW show, it seems like everybody loves Chris. We have plenty of reasons to love the guy! Look at his credits. After getting national exposure on SNL, Rock blessed the world with five legendary HBO specials, starting with '94's Big Ass Jokes. In just fourteen years, Rock brought home four Emmys for his standup work alone. On top of that, The Chris Rock Show won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in 1999, AND he won Grammy Awards in '98, 2000, and 2006.
How would one of the all-timer standups fare in big-budget horror? We got our answer when Rock starred in Spiral: From the Book of Saw. He was the lead, and he served as Executive Producer. The movie was based on his idea, too! While Rock tried his best, the movie was a little underwhelming. It probably wasn't his fault. Luckily, the franchise was right back on track with Saw X!
3. Judy Greer
Judy Greer's career has experienced several renaissances. Rom-com fans in the 2000s will recognize her from a bunch of "best friend" roles. It's a list that includes The Wedding Planner, 13 Going on 30, Elizabethtown and 27 Dresses. If you were a female protagonist between 2000 and 2008, chances are, Greer was there to support you. She was the go-to gal-pal for years.
Somehow, between all the dress fittings and lunch dates, Greer made her genre debut in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. That movie led to her appearance in 2013's Carrie, where she played Ms. Desjardin, the school's Phys. Ed teacher.
In 2018, Greer appeared in Halloween as Karen Nelson, daughter to the legendary Laurie Strode. Greer dialed back her comedy instincts and maintained composure in the face of a history of trauma as the daughter of horror's best final girl. She was also one of the best parts of Halloween Kills.
4. William Jackson Harper
On The Good Place, William Jackson Harper played Chidi Anagonye, a pitch-perfect foil for the show's main character, Kirsten Bell's Eleanor Shellstrop. As Chidi, Jackson Harper added gravitas to every scene as a former ethics professor. He was both believably serious and explosively frustrated as Eleanor's soulmate.
Then, Jackson Harper showcased his versatility with a role in Ari Aster's Midsommar. Here, he's a young grad student looking to finish his thesis and have some fun in Sweden. Jackson Harper lends some seriousness as Josh, again grounding an ensemble cast around him. We've got our fingers crossed to see William Jackson Harper in more horror movies in the future!
5. Lil Rel Howery
Rel made a big splash with his feature film debut. As airport security guard Rod Williams, Lil Rel Howery launched himself to instant horror icon status in 2017's Get Out. Rod wasn't just comedic relief— he was a whole Greek chorus, an investigator, and the eventual savior, too. Rod subverted decades-old tropes by swooping in at the nick of time, saving Chris from repeating Ben's fate in Night of the Living Dead.
Rel is a veteran of NBC's Last Comic Standing. He parlayed that exposure into a role on the short-lived In Living Color revival. He was a co-star on The Carmichael Show before creating and starring in his own sitcom, Rel. Since then, Rel has appeared in more movies, so hopefully more horror will follow!
6. Rose Byrne
Rose Byrne is an Australian actress who studied at the Atlantic Theater Company. This background brings a real gravity to her roles, as best illustrated by her Emmy-nominated performance as Ellen Parsons on FX's Damages. This role, and parts in Star Wars and Troy, brought Byrne acclaim and recognizability.
However, Byrne is now best known for her hilarious roles in comedies like Neighbors and Like a Boss. Comedy fans might remember her best from Get Him to the Greek or Bridesmaids. Between those two films, Byrne starred in 2010's Insidious. Her dramatic background gave a serious emotional weight to the James Wan-directed hit. As Renai, Byrne was the heart and soul of Insidious. Her genre greatness was glimpsed years earlier as well when she starred as Scarlet in 2007's 28 Weeks Later.
7. Tim Heidecker
It's no surprise that Jordan Peele is great at handpicking comedians for horror projects. What is surprising, however, is how perfect Tim Heidecker is as the smarmy Josh Tyler in 2019's Us.
Just like Peele, Heidecker was once best known as one-half of a comedy duo. He and Eric Wareheim built a huge fanbase with their specific brand of comedy seen on Adult Swim. The duo performed sketches which escalated in jarring and uncomfortable ways, sometimes even bordering on terrifying. Maybe that's what makes him great in Us!
Heidecker played two distinct characters in the 2019 classic. As Josh, he's a harmless rich jerk, much like he was in Bridesmaids. but Heidecker shines later as Tex, Josh's "tethered." He ups the creep factor with Tex's grunts and screams. It shouldn't be long before we see Heidecker pop up in more scary movies!
8. Bill Hader
Last but not least, what may go down as the greatest performance from a comedy actor in a modern horror movie. Bill Hader surprised us all as the perfect choice to play Rich Tozier in It: Chapter 2. What's most surprising about Hader's performance was how measured it feels. Sure, Tozier gives Hader plenty of time to ham it up, with lots of cheesy jokes and brutal insults that show this is an older version of the same person we met in Chapter 1. But when it's time for the more serious parts of the story, Hader really shines. He's funny, he's nuanced, he's perfect for the role.
Here's hoping one day we get a feature-length version of Hader's impression of Vincent Price!
