Whenever you set off on a new endeavor, it's useful to ask for pointers. We're not always born with the toolkit we'll need to tackle life's biggest challenges. Luckily, we can rely on those who have walked the path before us. People like mentors, sponsors, and even family elders are useful in setting our expectations so we can meet obstacles head-on and rise to the occasion. 

Here's the flipside, though— a lot of people who have duked it out with Godzilla didn't live to tell the tale. It's hard to take advice from somebody who was squished or incinerated while trying to flee Tokyo. Luckily for movie star Nick Adams, he was able to broaden his scope and learn from some genre veterans who dealt with other cinematic monsters.

For most of his career, Adams was safe from colossal prehistoric reptilian creatures. The actor appeared alongside his good friend James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause and would provide voice dubbing for Dean's unfinished dialogue in Giant. Later, he'd appear on the small screen in ABC's Rebel from 1959 to 1961. Adams also had a publicized friendship with Elvis.  Another notable role saw Adams in No Time for Seargeants, a 1958 film historic for being the early cinematic pairing of Andy Griffith and Don Knotts.

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While he'd find success alongside some industry titans in American movies, Adams shared the limelight with titans of a different sort over in Japan, where he'd star in movies like Frankenstein Conquers the World and Godzilla vs. Monster Zero.

In 1965, Adams wrote of these experiences in The Los Angeles Times, and provided some details about the horror greats that helped him out along the way.

"Before leaving [for Tokyo], I sought some professional advice on how one should act in a monster picture. I sought out two experts in that specialized field— Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. Boris said: 'Some of my best friends are monsters.' Vincent said: 'Some monsters are my best friends!'"

"Boris noted: 'Don't make the monsters too lovable or they will certainly upstage you.' Vincent came in with: 'It's essential that you get top billing over the monsters or else there will be no living— or, in this case, dying— with them."