Bill Skarsgård, Kyle Gallner, Dan Stevens, and Daniel Kaluuya lead our list of ‘Scream Kings’ who now frequently headline major scary movies, and seem to be on a mission to bring horror to the masses.
‘Scream Queens’ have been the lifeblood of genre cinema for decades. Jamie Lee Curtis is perhaps the most famous ‘Final Girl’ thanks to her work in the Halloween movies, as well as The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train.
Barbara Crampton, Dee Wallace, Heather Langenkamp, and Neve Campbell followed in her bloody footsteps. While the new generation of Scream Queens include Samara Weaving, Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, and Melissa Barrera.
But they’ve got competition, as a group of men also now top-lining horror movies, playing heroes, villains, and victims, and even venturing behind the camera as they become horrors new Final Boys.
Kyle Gallner
Kyle Gallner is perhaps the most prolific of these new Scream Kings, starring in some of the most interesting and acclaimed horror movies of the last few years.
Gallner initially made his name as Cassidy ‘Beaver’ Casablancas in Veronica Mars, and lots of TV followed, but then he started landing roles in some pretty high-profile genre pictures, including Jennifer’s Body, Red State, and the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot.
But the last couple of years have seen Gallner take it to the next level, playing Vince in 2022’s Scream, and Joel in blockbuster duo Smile and Smile 2. But best of the lot is Strange Darling, where Gallner delivers a memorable performance as ‘The Demon,’ while cementing his place as bona fide horror royalty.
Daniel Kaluuya
Gangster movies have Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro. Now horror has Jordan Peele and Daniel Kaluuya, thanks to the phenomenal success of Get Out (worldwide gross $255 million) and Nope ($172 million).
But those collaborations weren’t the London-born actor’s first forays into scary stuff, as on TV he played ‘Tealeaf’ in horror sitcom Psychoville, appeared in the second episode of Black Mirror, and starred in terrifying miniseries The Fades.
But Kaluuya’s work with Peele turned him into a household name, and as far back as the Get Out shoot, the director told his star, “I need you to be in the future ones too, man!” So here’s hoping we’re just at the start of their celluloid journey.
Justin Long
Justin Long has been acting in horror for longer than anyone on this list, but now he’s segueing into writing and directing, which makes him a triple threat.
Starting out in the Jeepers Creepers movies, he progressed to Drag Me to Hell and Tusk in cinemas, and Creepshow and Goosebumps on TV. While Long delivered a memorably sleazy performance as a memorably sleazy actor in Barbarian.
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Now he’s on the other side of the camera, co-writing and co-directing the V/H/S Beyond segment ‘Fur Babies‘ with brother Christian. “I just love the genre,” Long told Entertainment Weekly while shooting the short, though when Christian actually calls him a Scream King during that same interview, Justin isn’t so sure, saying, “I don’t know how regal I am… am I old enough to be a king?”
Josh Ruben
Josh Ruben is another triple threat, writing and directing his own horror movies, and stealing scenes with wild abandon when he’s in front of camera.
Of the stuff he’s made, Scare Me puts a novel spin on campfire tales, Werewolves Within is a genuinely funny adaptation of the popular video game, while romcom slasher Heart Eyes is heading into cinemas this coming February.
When acting, Ruben delivers every time, most notably in 2022, when he played a wild character in serial killer thriller A Wounded Fawn, and an even wilder character in vampire movie Blood Relatives. The new Creep Tapes trailer also suggest he’s about to get Peachfuzzed, so if you love horror but don’t know Josh Ruben’s work, remedy that now.
Bill Skarsgård
Tim Curry is a hard act to follow, especially his iconic interpretation of Pennywise in the TV movie of Stephen King’s It. But Bill Skarsgård had that unenviable task when he signed up to play the ‘Dancing Clown’ in two big-budget movies.
The Swedish star rose to the occasion by going in a different direction, and while his Pennywise isn’t as funny as Curry’s, he’s arguably just as scary. Since then Skarsgård hasn’t looked back, appearing in the aforementioned Barbarian, and giving superhero horror a go in The Crow reboot that nobody wanted.
He’ll next be seen playing Count Orlok in Robert Eggers’ re-imagining of Nosferatu. While in 2025, Bill’s back in the face-paint for Pennywise TV prequel Welcome to Derry.
Dan Stevens
Dan Stevens started out in TV adaptations of gothic novels Frankenstein and Dracula, but found fame in Downton Abbey, which couldn’t be further from genre fare.
However, since leaving the period drama, his IMDb page has filled with horror and horror-adjacent movies, including The Guest, Colossal, Apostle, and The Rental.
While this year he’s appeared in the entertaining one-two punch of Abigail and Cuckoo, as well as blockbuster Godzilla x Kong. Stevens also recently joined the cast of TV’s The Terror, and just completed work on a possession movie called The Ritual, meaning there’s lots more horror in his future.
For more scary stuff, check out Decerto’s plans for Terror-Tober, out list of the best horror movies of all time as well as the most violent scary movies. Or advice on films to get kids into horror.