Why These Horror Movie Actors Look So Familiar

There are a lot of actors who might owe their name recognition to the horror movie genre. Jamie Lee Curtis became a bona fide scream queen thanks to her unforgettable role as Laurie Strode in Halloween. Linda Blair might always be known as Regan in The Exorcist. Even actors with well-established careers like Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, Kathy Bates, and Jeff Goldblum might forever be associated with their horror movie roles that got under audiences' skin.

In the case of these stars, working in the scream business has certainly helped to give their careers a boost, but they've also got plenty of other work to speak of. If you've seen them on-screen in their various fright flicks and wonder why their faces ring a bell, it's because you've probably seen them before in other movies and television shows. Here's a look at why these horror movies actors look so familiar.  

Bill Skarsgård enjoyed quite a career breakout when he put on that eerie clown makeup to become Pennywise for Andy Muschietti's 2017 adaptation of Stephen King's It. However, thanks to his famous family and quite a few notable screen roles preceding It, he may have already been known to some film fans long before he invaded everyone's nightmares with his sinister smile.

Skarsgård is the son of actor Stellan Skarsgård (known for his turn in the MCU as Dr. Erik Selvig) and brother to Alexander Skarsgård (recognizable as Eric Northman in True Blood). He got his start on screen at the turn of the millennium, when he appeared in several Swedish productions as well as the 2012 British adaptation of Anna Karenina. Things began to really accelerate for Skarsgård once he earned a regular role as Roman Godfrey in Hemlock Grove and appeared in the third installment of the Divergent film series, Allegiant. He capitalized on that career trajectory by nabbing his instantly iconic clown role, as well as a part in the 2017 action vehicle Atomic Blonde. After playing Pennywise, Skarsgård quickly doubled down on his Stephen King cred by starring as the creepy kid in Hulu's Castle Rock. He also appeared in Deadpool 2 as Zeitgeist and will return to the role got under everyone's skin (including his own) for It: Chapter Two.

For audiences who grew up on Nickelodeon shows in the mid 2000s, Alex Wolff may always be known as one-half of the band he formed with his elder — and slightly more famous — brother, Nat. The two co-starred in the soundtrack of the musical comedy series The Naked Brothers Band before moving on to their solo adventures in Hollywood.

After his stint as a child star, Wolff continued to appear on TV shows like Monk and HBO's In Treatment before appearing in a few little-seen comedy films like The Sitter, A Birder's Guide to Everything, and Hair Brained. Things started to pick up for Wolff when he landed roles in back-to-back sequels My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, but it was his turn as Peter in Hereditary that really proved the musician/actor could successfully break out of his child star shell. Wolff will next be seen in another Jumanji movie as well as the upcoming comedy film Bad Education and the crime drama Castle in the Ground.

Anya Taylor-Joy's career was still in its infancy when she nabbed the leading role in Robert Eggers' period horror film The Witch, but the film turned out to be a massive success, thanks in no small part to her harrowing turn as the oppressed eldest daughter of a colonial zealot. Since then, Taylor-Joy has had no trouble securing great roles within and outside of the horror genre. Perhaps most memorably, she starred as the kidnapped teenager Casey Cooke, who bears the scars (literally and figuratively) of prior abuse in M. Night Shayamalan's celebrated thriller Split. She returned to the role in Shyamalan's not-so-celebrated sequel Glass.

Taylor-Joy also starred as Cassandra in BBC One's Greek mythological series Atlantis and appeared in Netflix's Barack Obama biopic Barry. She went on to lead up the indie crime comedy Thoroughbreds in 2017 and headlined the BBC's mini-series adaptation of The Miniaturist. Things aren't slowing down for her one bit, either — Taylor-Joy will soon be seen in the silver screen adaptation of Marvel's The New Mutants as Magik. She's also quickly becoming a company woman for Netflix, lending her vocals to its upcoming animated series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and starring in its Cold War-era limited series The Queen's Gambit as a chess prodigy named Beth Harmon.

The Conjuring film universe has given Vera Farmiga her first full-on franchise, but movie and television fans have almost definitely seen her work before. After appearing as a supporting actress in films and shows for a decade, Farmiga broke into the mainstream by starring as the conflicted therapist Madolyn in Martin Scorsese's The Departed in 2006. By then, she'd already established a foothold in the action-crime genre with credits like The Manchurian Candidate and Breaking and Entering, but The Departed made her a household name. Three years later, she also became an awards season contender for her portrayal of Alex Goran in Jason Reitman's celebrated dramedy Up in the Air.

All the while, she was also busy establishing herself in the horror genre by starring in 2009's suspense thriller Orphan and The Conjuring. The latter spawned an entire saga anchored by her portrayal of the real-life paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren, including appearances in The Conjuring 2, The Nun, and Annabelle Comes Home. Farmiga was also celebrated with a Primetime Emmy nomination for her work as Norma in A&E's creepy Bates Motel series, and continues to strengthen her résumé with films like The Many Saints of Newark and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

She's relatively new to horror with Child's Play, but Aubrey Plaza has had more than a decade of success in show business. The dry-witted actress is best known for her role as April Ludgate in NBC's Parks and Recreation, which showed off her ability to deadpan and break the fourth wall with ease. Before that breakout, she'd gotten to learn from the best with guest roles in shows like 30 Rock and UCB Comedy Originals and the films Funny People and Mystery Team. Just as her star started to rise, she appeared among the eclectic cast for Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a film which would launch her real-life friendship with Anna Kendrick. Their connection became a topic of many celebratory blogs and inspiration for the two to work together again in Life After Beth and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates.

Plaza has also appeared in several respectable, albeit little-seen comedies including Damsels in Distress, Safety Not Guaranteed, and 10 Years, and she got the chance to carry a film on her own with 2013's The To Do List. Her signature deep tones could be heard voicing the title character in 2014's Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, and Plaza has mostly remained faithful to the comedy genre in her career since then. However, she has begun experimenting with other genres, like the dark comedy Ingrid Goes West and TV's Legion, which features her in a role which was genderbent just for her.

No, Will Poulter is not the inspiration for Sid from Toy Story, no matter how much he looks like the deranged animated kid (although he is willing to accept those comparisons and once dressed up like Sid for Halloween). However, he probably still looks very familiar to TV and film fans because he's been very busy with both mediums throughout his career. The actor first broke through as Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. He then put to use all of his comedy experience from his British sketch show School of Comedy with a role as the fake brother in We're the Millers. And Poulter really started to reach mainstream status after he nabbed the role of Gally in the film adaptations of James Dashner's Maze Runner books.

Poulter also added some prestige to his profile by starring as Bridger in Alejandro G. Inarritu's The Revenant and as Krauss in Katheryn Bigelow's Detroit. If there was any doubt left that Will Poulter's star is still very much on the rise, he was also a scene-stealer in Netflix's interactive Black Mirror movie, Bandersnatch. Clearly, Poulter is not beholden to any one genre, and yet, starring in a creepy cult film still seems right in his wheelhouse somehow.

Among all the rain, darkness, and grime of Crawl (in which an unfortunate young woman named Haley fights off a hurricane, flooding, and, uh, bloodthirsty alligators), viewers might find themselves wondering why they recognize the young actress carrying the movie. That's Kaya Scodelario, a rising English star who has already starred in two blockbuster franchises. Her first big role: extremely troubled teen Effy Stonem on the controversial sex-and-drug-laced British soap Skins. 

After supporting roles in Moon and Clash of the Titans, she landed the major part of Teresa in The Maze Runner, the 2014 film adaptation of the popular YA novel. Scodelario reprised the role in the other two entries in the Maze Runner trilogy while also joining the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as seafaring astrologer orphan Carina Smyth in the series' fifth entry, Dead Men Tell No Tales. More recently, Scodelario appeared in Netflix's Ted Bundy biopic Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile as Carole Ann Boone, the serial killer's wife.

If when watching 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, the underwater shark thriller sequel to 2017's 47 Meters Down, the face of the actress who plays the likely doomed character Nicole looks familiar, it's not because of some previous appearance in a movie or TV show. That's Sistine Rose Stallone, and 47 Meters Down: Uncaged represents the actress's first-ever on-screen acting work. If she seems recognizable to you, then you're probably a fan of entertainment news shows and awards ceremonies. Stallone has frequently appeared at events and on red carpets alongside her father, big time Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone. 

Sistine is the 21-year-old daughter (and fifth offspring overall) of Rocky/Rambo, and her mother is model Jennifer Flavin. Her most prominent public appearance came in 2017 as Miss Golden Globe, an onstage position at the Golden Globe Awards given to the rising star children of established Hollywood royalty. And because she's the daughter of a movie star and a model, Sistine Stallone is considered by many to be quite the conventionally attractive human being, as evidenced by her one million-plus Instagram followers.