Psychos, Killers and Creeps: 24 Actors Who've Taken on Terrifying Roles

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Meet the stars who've played straight from the history book serial killers, fictional savages and every petrifying thing in-between

When it comes to playing villains, these actors understood the assignment.

Stars including Evan Peters, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong'o and James McAvoy have all undergone serious transformations in an effort to bring some of the creepiest characters in cinema history to the big screen.

For his part role as Jeffrey Dahmer in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story , Peters revealed he wore Jeffrey Dahmer's shoes, jeans and glasses for months, and also put weights on his arms to mimic the killer's walking style. Oscar-winning actresses Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong'o had to undergo some intense physical transformations for their roles as Aileen Wuornos and Red, respectively, as well.

Below, see some of the actors who have taken on terrifying roles.

Charlie Hunnam as Ed Gein

Charlie Hunnam will be turning off the charm and turning on the creeps: The Sons of Anarchy alum is slated to play notorious serial killer Ed Gein in the third installment of Ryan Murphy's Monster anthology.

Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer

Before Hunnam, Evan Peters stepped into the shoes of another scary killer for Monster back in 2022, playing Jeffrey Dahmer. And while Peters was apprehensive about taking on the role at first, his relationship with Murphy ultimately made him feel safe enough to accept. The pair previously worked together on American Horror Story.

Daniel Zovatto as Ronald Alcala

Daniel Zovatto recently made waves for his portrayal of Ronald Alcala in the Anna Kendrick-directed Woman of the Hour. The film was based on true events, following Cheryl Bradshaw, a young woman who went on The Dating Game back in 1978 and was unknowingly matched with the serial killer.

Though Bradshaw never went on the date with Alcala, he is suspected to have murdered as many as 130 victims throughout the 1960s and 1970s before finally being brought to justice.

Tali Shapiro and Morgan Rowan are the only publicly known survivors of Alcala's attacks. 

Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos

Charlize Theron's turn as serial killer and prostitute Aileen Wuornos in 2003's Monster was so gripping, the South African-born actress walked away with the Academy Award for Best Actress the following year.

Allison Williams as Rose Armitage

Rose's switch-up from sweet, loving and caring girlfriend to cold-hearted killer midway through Get Out is one of the most jaw-dropping turnarounds in the Jordan Peele thriller, and we have Allison Williams to thank.

The 2017 movie was, of course, an Oscar-nominated blockbuster, a feat Williams said she knew it would achieve prior to filming.

Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther

Isabelle Fuhrman's incredible portrayal of Esther in 2009's Orphan was so riveting, it had people questioning her age in real life.

In the film, Fuhrman plays Esther, a 33-year-old woman from Estonia who pretends to be a nine-year-old orphan and tricks an innocent family into adopting her (and chaos ensues). And while she was only 10 when she played the role, the internet found her portrayal almost too convincing.

Lupita Nyong'o as Red

What really elevated Lupita Nyong'o's role as Red in Jordan Peele's Us wasn't just the calculated movements, the haunted eyes, the blood-red jumpsuit, or the messy hair. It was that raspy, throaty voice Lupita crafted for the role that sent chills down moviegoers' spines.

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter

Sir Anthony Hopkins will forever be associated with his indelibly frightening portrayal of cannibal killer Hannibal Lecter in 1991's Silence of the Lambs.

Zac Efron as Ted Bundy

In 2019, the former teen heartthrob followed up a slew of comedic roles with a very sinister role. The High School Musical alum portrayed real-life serial killer Ted Bundy in Netflix's Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile. The film chronicled Bundy, who killed 30 women between 1973 and 1978, through the eyes of his longtime girlfriend Elizabeth Kloepfer.

Bill Skarsgärd as Pennywise

You sure can do a lot with clown makeup. The actor, whose genetically gifted family includes brothers Alexander and Gustaf, was unrecognizable as terrorizing clown Pennywise in It, the hit adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel of the same name.

Ross Lynch as Jeffrey Dahmer

Lynch took a big step away from his Disney Channel past in My Friend Dahmer, about serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's adolescence. The film's real-world subject killed and dismembered 17 young men before his 1994 prison death.

Jamie Dornan as Paul Spector

Dornan induced shivers as Irish serial killer Paul Spector in Netflix's The Fall from 2013 to 2016. In 2015, he even admitted to stalking a woman in preparation for the role.

Jeremy Renner as Jeffrey Dahmer

The Avengersstar had a decidely less heroic role in 2002's Dahmer, which explored the life of the infamous serial killer.

Evan Peters as James Patrick March

AHS veteran Peters played sadistic hotel-builder James Patrick March in the show's third season. The sinister character was inspired by H.H. Holmes.

Jake Gyllenhall as Louis Bloom

Gyllenhaal went full creep in 2014's Nightcrawler. His character Louis Bloom is a socipathic con man who becomes obsessed with the violent world of crime journalism.

Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates

The former child star portrayed Norman Bates, the iconic killer from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, for five seasons.

James McAvoy as Multiple Characters

McAvoy portrayed a man with 23 different personalities in the 2016 psychological thriller, Split. At least one of these personalities decides to kidnap three young teenage girls and hold them hostage in an underground facility.

Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan

Hall played Miami's premiere blood splatter analyst/ serial killer, Dexter Morgan, from 2006 to 2013. The fact that Morgan only took out his bloodlust on fellow killers made him only slightly less horrifying.

Matt Damon as Tom Ripley

Damon commits murder and steals an identity as the 1999 film's con man Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley, but his charisma and good looks allow his dark side to escape most people's notice.

Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis

Ulrich's teenage character ends up being one of the monsters behind the Ghostface mask in the 1996's Scream.

Cillian Murphy as Jackson Rippner

Murphy's Jackson Rippner in Red Eye ensures Rachel McAdams' character Lisa has the worst flight ever in the 2005 film. While seated next to her on the plane, Jackson reveals that he's taking Lisa's father hostage and will kill him unless she helps him assassinate a politician.

Mads Mikkelsen as Hanibal Lecter

Mikkelsen played fictional killer cannibal Hannibal Lecter (of Silence of the Lambs fame) for three seasons of NBC's Hannibal.

Zachary Quinto as Dr. Oliver Thredson

In season 2 of American Horror Story,Quinto's Dr. Oliver Thredson turns out to be psychotic killer Bloody Face. The villiain's hobbies include skinning his victims and wearing the resulting material as a mask.

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman

Bale's psychopathic yuppie Patrick Bateman terrorizes New York in 2000's American Psycho, based on Bret Easton Ellis' novel.