Much like its less campy, more eerie predecessor, The Twilight Zone, Tales From the Crypt became a pop culture phenomenon based on a reputation for highly entertaining storytelling and notable guest stars. Some actors were even fortunate enough to appear on both series — looking at you, Don Rickles. The show regularly pulled in big names like Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it also featured a number of actors who were then-unknowns or just beginning their ascent to movie stardom.
It’s been 20 years this week since the Crypt Keeper invited us into his dungeon lair for the last time, and in celebration of that, here are 10 now-famous names you might have forgotten appeared on the show in the early stages of their careers.
Johnathan Banks in “The Assassin”
Prior to playing a sketchy guy that’s not to be screwed with on Breaking Bad — and now Better Call Saul — Jonathan Banks popped up on just about every show that required a sketchy character in the ’90s. Banks’ characters rarely fare well in the end, and his character in this episode (which also starred Cory Feldman) wasn’t any better off. A spiked high heel to the noggin is never a pretty way to go.
Daniel Craig in “Smoke Wrings”
Daniel Craig might have been saving the world from suave villains as James Bond in the 2000s, but for much of the 1990s he was slugging it out in the theater world and going after small TV and movie parts. Way before Layer Cake, Road to Perdition, or even Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Craig found himself playing a cocky new employee at an advertising agency in an episode from the show’s final season. (His biggest American gig up to that point was A Kid in King Arthur’s Court to give you an idea of what kind of hot streak he was on.) It wasn’t one of the more memorable Tales episodes, but Craig, of course, went on to bigger and better things.
Teri Hatcher in “The Thing From the Grave”
Three years before being groped by Elaine on Seinfeld, Terri Hatcher was dealing with much creepier admirers in this episode from Tales’ second season. And dig the makeup job on her zombiefied lover who comes back from the grave to take out one of her other suitors, pretty fantastic.
Tim Roth in “Easel Kill Ya”
What does a painter do when the only paintings he can sell are those of morbid death? Well, in Tim Roth’s case, he starts murdering people for artistic inspiration. Roth had already been landing small movie and TV parts for nearly 10 years before he filmed this 1991 episode, and it wasn’t long after that he caught his big break. Just 14 months after his Tales episode debuted, Roth tasted his first major success playing Mr. Orange in director Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs.
Brad Pitt in “King of the Road”
Okay, so Brad Pitt wasn’t a complete unknown when he found himself wrapped up in one of the Crypt Keeper’s chilling tales, but he was far from the superstar that he is today. Pitt had generated industry buzz with his small part in 1991’s Thelma and Louise, but he could have easily flamed out with his first two lead roles, Cool World and Johnny Suede. He wouldn’t really begin his ascent to movie stardom until A River Runs Through It hit in the fall of 1992, just a few months after he met a fiery end playing street racer who couldn’t leave a small town sheriff’s daughter alone in this season four episode.
Ethan Suplee in “Operation Friendship”
Maybe Ethan Suplee’s name isn’t setting off bells in your head when you hear it, but you undoubtedly recognize him from some of the credits on his lengthy IMDB resume. The talented character actor first made a name for himself playing a sensitive bully on Boy Meets World before moving on to parts in American History-X, My Name is Earl, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Suplee’s first professional acting job ever, though, was a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role with the Crypt Keeper in an episode that saw Tate Donovan wrestling with his imaginary friend’s sinister desires.
Benicio Del Toro in “The Bribe”
Benicio Del Toro started out by landing some pretty sweet gigs early in his career. His first film role came with Big Top Pee-Wee in 1988, and his first TV gig found him playing a dirtbag on Miami Vice a year earlier. Just like Tim Roth, though, it would take a stint with the Crypt Keeper to really help springboard him into his breakout project (The Usual Suspects). “The Bribe” found Del Toro playing a shady security guard at a strip club who runs off with a fire inspector’s stripper daughter after agreeing to a bribe with high consequences.
Ewan McGregor in “Cold War”
Ewan McGregor was well on his way to showbiz fame, having just starred in Trainspotting when this Tales From the Crypt episode came along. Whereas Trainspotting found the actor surrounded by junkies who only looked like the living dead, this season seven episode actually had McGregor playing one of the living dead. McGregor plays a crook who also happens to be a zombie and hard luck thief with a penchant pissing off vampires.
Steve Coogan in “The Kidnapper”
Steve Coogan had already found success on his native side of the pond with Channel 4’s Spitting Image puppet show and his character Alan Partridge when he appeared in Tales. Still then relatively unknown to American audiences, Coogan played the worst boyfriend ever in this episode from the show’s final season. Coogan falls in love with a homeless, single mother-to-be, but then grows jealous and tries to dispose of the child after it’s born. As you can probably guess, things do not end well for him.
Kyle McLaughlan in “Carrion Death”
In the summer of 1991, McLaughan followed his success on David Lynch’s cult classic, Twin Peaks, with one of Tales’ goriest endings. The episode revolved around McLaughan playing a serial killer who after killing a highway patrolman in the desert finally meets his match in a fight to the death with mother nature.
