5 Major Movie Stars Who Appeared On Tales From The Crypt

October is here, which means it's Halloween season. It's the perfect time to dive into some of TV's best horror shows, including one of the greatest horror anthologies of all time: HBO's "Tales from the Crypt." Fortunately, the series began streaming for the very first time on Shudder earlier this year.

Hosted by the iconic Crypt Keeper, "Tales from the Crypt" ran for seven frightful seasons between June 1989 and July 1996. It even spawned three "Tales From the Crypt Presents" movies. The first two — 1995's "Demon Knight" and 1996's "Bordello of Blood" — were theatrically released, while 2002's "Ritual" went straight to DVD. Unless you caught reruns on basic cable networks or got your hands on the now out-of-print DVD releases, revisiting "Tales from the Crypt" in its entirety was next to impossible for a while. 

Now that all 93 episodes are available on Shudder in their true uncut and uncensored glory, however, horror aficionados are revisiting the series for the first time in years as a whole new crop of fans discovering "Tales from the Crypt" for the very first time. But what's really standing out for old and new fans alike is the extraordinary roster of Hollywood heavyweights who, as the Crypt Keeper says in Shudder's trailer, were "dying for a role" on the series back in its heyday. Some of them were already screen legends at the time, while others were up-and-coming faces who would go on to become Oscar-winning A-listers. Here are five major movie stars who made memorable pit stops in the crypt.

We all know Brad Pitt is an international powerhouse now, but back in the 1990s, he was still a rising star who was turning heads with his good looks and raw charisma. Just one year after his breakout role in 1991's "Thelma & Louise," Pitt took on a leading role in "Tales from the Crypt" Season 4, Episode 9, "King of the Road."

The episode follows Billy Drake (Pitt), an arrogant, leather-jacket-clad street racer who rolls into a quiet town looking to challenge an undefeated former drag racer named Joe "Iceman" Garrett (Raymond J. Barry). Garrett, now the town's strait-laced sheriff, has long since hung up his racing gloves to raise his daughter, Carey (Michelle Bronson). To force the reluctant lawman into one final, deadly drag race, Billy seduces Carey and kidnaps her, paving the way for an intense showdown on the road.

Fun fact: "King of the Road" was helmed by Tom Holland — the horror maestro behind "Child's Play" and "Fright Night." It also originally started life as a pilot for a proposed sister series called "Two-Fisted Tales," which aired on Fox. Like "Tales from the Crypt," it was based on another EC Comics line. When the pilot failed to get picked up, it was repackaged and re-aired as part of HBO's flagship horror hit. The 1992 episode was sandwiched between two major Hollywood film releases Pitt starred in at the time: the live-action animation hybrid "Cool World" and the Robert Redford-directed "A River Runs Through It."

For "St. Elmo's Fire" star and original Brat Pack member Demi Moore, 1990 was a pivotal year. Before she became the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, she appeared in the "Tales from the Crypt" Season 2 premiere, "Dead Right." The episode stars Moore as Cathy Finch, a vain, gold-digging secretary desperate for a life of luxury. When she visits a fortune teller named Madame Vorma (Natalija Nogulich), Cathy is told that she will soon meet and marry a fat, repulsive man who will inherit a vast fortune shortly before dying a sudden, violent death. Taking the bait and totally willing to endure months of torturous marriage all for a big payout, Cathy ties the knot with Charlie Marno — an utterly obnoxious slob played by Jeffrey Tambor, who was heavily covered in prosthetics to bring the character to life. 

Of course, even though the fortune teller's dark prophecy is playing out as foretold, there's also an ironic twist. Cathy actually wins a million-dollar lottery prize herself, sending Charlie into a jealous rage when she attempts to leave him. Fans of this episode absolutely ate up Moore's performance. One IMDb reviewer Davesheehan88 wrote: "Demi is amazing as the bad girl in this. I wish she played that type of role more in her career, she's awesome at it."

In 1992, Tom Hanks was in the midst of transitioning from a beloved comedic lead to the dramatic powerhouse who would soon win back-to-back Academy Awards for "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump." The same year he starred in Penny Marshall's baseball comedy-drama "A League of Their Own," he was also exploring other creative avenues, including stepping behind the lens for his television directorial debut. The very first directing credit on his resume came with the "Tales from the Crypt" Season 4 opener, "None But the Lonely Heart."

The episode stars Treat Williams as Howard Prince, a con man who woos, marries, and poisonously dispatches wealthy elderly widows to steal their fortunes. Howard meets his match when he targets his latest mark, Frances (played by veteran stage and screen actress Frances Sternhagen). Soon enough, Howard discovers that his latest victim has her own terrifyingly dark secret, culminating in a macabre revenge scenario straight out of the graveyard.

Hanks didn't just sit in the director's chair, either. He also made a hilarious, uncredited cameo appearance as Baxter, a nervous, fast-talking video dating service owner who helps set up Howard's deadly dates. Reflecting on his time working on the anthology series during an appearance on "Larry King Live" (via CNN), Hanks praised the veteran ensemble cast who made his directorial stint a success, noting that the episode was "saved by the performances and the professionalism" of co-stars Sternhagen and Williams.

"Spartacus" screen legend Kirk Douglas brought some true golden-age Hollywood prestige to the Crypt Keeper's lair when he starred in "Yellow," the 1991 Season 3 finale helmed by Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis. Set in the trenches of France during World War I in 1918, the story placed Kirk as General Kalthrob, a stern military commander whose son, Lieutenant Martin Kalthrob (played by Kirk's real-life son, Eric Douglas), proves to be a coward under fire.

When Martin abandons his men during a crucial mission, his father court-martials him and sentences him to death by firing squad to preserve the family honor. However, the night before the execution, the General offers his sniveling son a secret deal: he promises to load the firing squad's rifles with blank cartridges, allowing him to fake his death and escape. Of course, in true "Tales from the Crypt" fashion, there's a much darker fate in store for Martin.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kirk shared that "Tales from the Crypt" was the very first time he ever acted with any of his sons. "There are really only two movies I wanted to make — one with Michael and one with Eric," he told the outlet. "I just didn't think I'd be working with Eric first." As for their performances in "Yellow," Kirk also added, "I thought Eric did a fantastic job. It was a very difficult role to play. He's drunk, he's frightened, he's hysterical. Me, I'm just a son of a b*tch all the way through." Well, portraying that cold son of a b*tch paid off. Kirk's chilling performance earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

During the 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger solidified himself as a bona fide action star and box office champion. By the time the 1990s rolled around — in between "Total Recall" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" to be exact — the Austrian Oak decided to step out of his element and give directing a shot. The result was "The Switch," the second episode of "Tales from the Crypt" Season 2, which aired on April 21, 1990.

The episode follows Carlton Webster (William Hickey), an elderly millionaire hopelessly infatuated with a gorgeous, much younger woman named Linda (Kelly Preston). When Linda rejects Carlton because of his advanced age, the desperate tycoon seeks out a radical, black-market doctor (Roy Brocksmith) who promises to transplant Carlton's head onto the body of a muscular young man named Hans (Rick Rossovich). Carlton spends his entire fortune to complete the transformation, only to discover too late that Linda was never interested in looks — she was a gold digger after his money, which is now all gone.

While he did not play an actual character in the episode, Schwarzenegger made a cameo in the wraparound segment. As the Crypt Keeper struggles to curl a bony barbell, Arnold pops up and encourages him to "keep pumping" before taking over the hosting duties to introduce the story. It seems the "Terminator" star thoroughly enjoyed taking the reins behind the camera. In 2021, Schwarzenegger took to his personal X account (formerly Twitter) to reminisce about the episode, writing, "I had such a fantastic time directing this episode and hanging out with the Crypt Keeper."