Every Actor Who Starred in Multiple Stephen King Movies

There have been lots of Stephen King movies made, but only a relatively small group of actors have played substantial roles in more than one. King is one of the most prolific authors ever, and also easily the most adapted, outside of those whose work is in the public domain like William Shakespeare and H.P. Lovecraft. King’s novels and short stories have become big screen hits and small screen success stories, being produced by all manner of studios and debuting on just about every major entertainment platform.

Lots of actors and actresses have starred in King adaptations, but it’s surprisingly few that end up playing important parts in more than one King project. With the amount of them that are made, one would think that kind of thing would happen more often. Of course, the list will only grow in size as the decades pass, with Hollywood showing no signs of ending its love affair with adapting King stories, even more than once.

Without much further ado, here’s the full list of performers to star in more than one King movie. For clarity’s sake, this isn’t counting cameos or bit parts, only substantial roles in the story. Also, miniseries are being counted, but not regular weekly TV series. Finally, IT and IT Chapter Two are being counted as one entity, since they’re two halves of the same story.

Kathy Bates

Kathy Bates is one of the few to earn an Oscar nomination for a performance in a Stephen King movie, in her case winning the award for playing crazed literary fan Annie Wilkes in 1990’s Misery. She later played the titular accused murderer in 1995’s Dolores Claiborne, and made a quick cameo as radio host Rae Flowers in 1994’s The Stand.

Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman is another actor to receive an Oscar nomination for a King movie, in his case for portraying resourceful prisoner Red in 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption. His second King movie role wasn’t nearly as acclaimed, appearing in the widely panned Dreamcatcher as relentless military villain Colonel Abraham Curtis.

John Cusack

John Cusack’s first brush with King came in 1985’s Stand by Me, in the small but important role of protagonist Gordie Lachance’s deceased older brother Denny, who appears in flashback. In 2007, Cusack re-entered King territory as lead Mike Enslin in the excellent one-room scare-fest 1408, then starred in 2016’s not so excellent zombie outbreak story Cell.

Ed Harris

Like Cusack, Ed Harris has also ventured into King’s twisted world three times. The first was for one of his earliest roles, playing doomed husband Hank in the “Father’s Day” segment of 1982’s Creepshow. He later played heroic sheriff Alan Pangborn in 1993’s Needful Things, and made an uncredited cameo as General William Starkey in 1994’s The Stand miniseries.

Gary Sinise

Gary Sinise starred as Stu Redman in The Stand miniseries, just prior to his signature role as Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump. He later played the small but pivotal role of prejudiced reporter Burt Hammersmith in 1999’s The Green Mile, briefly reuniting with Forrest Gump co-star Tom Hanks.

Drew Barrymore

As a child, Drew Barrymore played titular pyrokinetic girl Charlene “Charlie” McGee in 1984’s Firestarter adaptation. While King wasn’t fond of the movie, he clearly liked Barrymore, as she was cast in another main role for 1985 anthology Cat’s Eye, starring in story three, “General.” Sadly, Barrymore never did any more King movies after she reached adulthood.

Thomas Jane

Thomas Jane first played lead Henry Devlin in the aforementioned flop Dreamcatcher, before starring as David Drayton in 2007’s The Mist, which sports one of the most hotly contested endings in horror history. In 2017, Jane led Netflix’s 1922 as Wilfred James, and will soon produce an adaptation of King’s 2002 novel From a Buick 8.

Rob Lowe

Perennially youthful actor Rob Lowe first got acquainted with King material in The Stand miniseries, playing Nick Andros, a deaf mute man with a heart of gold who unfortunately meets a bad end. Ten years later, Lowe starred as lead Ben Mears in TNT’s 2004 miniseries adaptation of Salem’s Lot, which was fine but unremarkable.

Samuel L. Jackson

The MCU’s resident Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson, boasts two King movies on his resume. He played hotel manager Gerald Olin in 1408, who tried to warn Mike Enslin that he was better off not going in the titular room. In 2016, he reunited with Cusack for Cell, making them an even rarer case of a pair starring in two King movies together.

Martin Sheen

Hollywood legend Martin Sheen has crossed paths with King twice, first playing psychotic politician Greg Stillson in 1983’s The Dead Zone, a man destined to cause a nuclear holocaust. He later played Captain James Hollister, head of evil organization The Shop, in the Firestarter movie, although King thought his performance the second time was too similar to Stillson.

Jeffrey DeMunn

A consummate character actor, Jeffrey DeMunn has appeared in four King projects, three due to his frequent collaborations with director Frank Darabont.DeMunn plays the prosecutor at Andy Dufresne’s trial in The Shawshank Redemption, corrections officer Harry Terwilliger in The Green Mile, and supermarket escapee Dan Miller in The Mist. He also portrayed slimy town manager Robbie Beals in 1999’s Storm of the Century.

David Morse

David Morse, another great character actor, played heroic pilot Captain Brian Engle in 1995 miniseries The Langoliers, flying a plane through a time portal. Later, in 1999, Morse appeared alongside DeMunn as prison guard Brutus “Brutal” Howell in The Green Mile, and the nickname kind of tells one what they need to know about him.

Harry Dean Stanton

Harry Dean Stanton passed away in 2017, but he leaves behind a legacy of great work. Stanton played suspicious but skeptical lawman Detective Rudolph “Rudy” Junkins in 1983’s Christine adaptation, and strange but funny inmate Toot-Toot in The Green Mile, who stands in for the rehearsal of upcoming executions.

Miguel Ferrer

Another, late and missed character actor, Miguel Ferrer made his living playing scumbags, and man was he talented at it. Ferrer portrayed Lloyd Henreid, right-hand man to demonic villain Randall Flagg in The Stand, then later harshly blunt reporter Richard Dees in the highly underrated 1997 King movie The Night Flier.

Bonnie Bedelia

Bonnie Bedelia first stepped into King territory in 1979 miniseries Salem’s Lot, playing Ben Mears’ doomed love interest Susan Norton. Over a decade later, in 1993, she played Polly Chalmers in Needful Things, who finds herself lured in by the demonic advances of Leland Gaunt. It seems Bedelia’s characters can’t resist the darkness.

Timothy Hutton

Timothy Hutton made his first journey to King-land for 1994’s The Dark Half, directed by legendary filmmaker George Romero. Hutton played the dual starring role of author Thad Beaumont and his “dark half” George Stark. A decade later, Hutton appeared in Secret Window as Ted Milner, love interest Mort Rainey’s estranged wife.

Matt Frewer

Matt Frewer, the former Max Headroom, is the reigning champion of King movies, having appeared in five. Frewer played fire-obsessed villain Trashcan Man in The Stand, Dr. Charles George in the 1997 anthology Quicksilver Highway, the ill-fated Ralph Carver in 2006’s Desperation, and Mike Noonan’s brother Sid in 2011’s Bag of Bones. He also played the small role of Mr. Clarkson in 2004’s Riding the Bullet.

Steven Weber

Steven Weber has come a long way since the sitcom Wings, spending lots of time working in horror. Weber of course played Jack Torrance in Stephen King’s 1997 TV remake of The Shining, then would later play Steve Ames in Desperation, both directed by frequent King collaborator Mick Garris.

William Sadler

Bill & Ted’s friendly but feisty Grim Reaper, William Sadler is another in-demand character actor. Another frequent Frank Darabont collaborator, Sadler appeared in all three of Darabont’s King films. He played long-term prisoner Heywood in The Shawshank Redemption, grieving father Klaus Detterick in The Green Mile, and easily swayed mechanic Jim Grondin in The Mist.

Tom Skerritt

Hollywood veteran Tom Skerritt first encountered King in 1983’s The Dead Zone, playing Castle Rock sheriff George Bannerman, who recruits Johnny Smith to catch a serial killer. He later played Johnny Marinville in Desperation, who makes a heroic sacrifice to defeat Tak, a body-hopping demonic entity usually not to be trifled with.

Frances Sternhagen

The always reliable Frances Sternhagen played Virginia, wife to doomed sheriff Buster in Misery, then later played supermarket escapee Irene Reppler in The Mist. She makes it out of the store alive, but is one of several characters euthanized by David Drayton when it briefly seems survival is impossible, before the infamous twist ending.

Brooke Adams

Brooke Adams played Johnny Smith’s beloved Sarah Bracknell in The Dead Zone, then also portrayed Sally Norman in 1991’s Sometimes They Come Back, wife to protagonist Jim Norman (Tim Matheson). Her characters manage to survive both films, which is not an easy feat when one is acting in Stephen King stories.

Andre Braugher

Current Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andre Braugher plays local high school teacher Matt Burke in the 2004 adaptation of Salem’s Lot, and later David Drayton’s smug jerk of a neighbor Brent Norton in The Mist. We don’t see what happens to Norton after he enters the mist, but there’s no reason to believe it was anything good.

Pierce Brosnan

Erstwhile James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has the dubious distinction of starring in 1992’s The Lawnmower Man as Dr. Lawrence Angelo, a movie so unlike its source material that an irritated King filed a lawsuit to remove his name from the marketing. Brosnan later appeared in a proper King adaptation, 2011 miniseries Bag of Bones.

Patricia Clarkson

The always interesting Patricia Clarkson first crossed paths with King in The Green Mile, playing Melinda Moores, the brain tumor-afflicted wife of prison warden Hal Moores. Melinda gets healed by John Coffey. Clarkson later got to chew on the very juicy role of religious zealot mother Margaret White in the 2002 TV movie remake of Carrie.

James Cromwell

James Cromwell, the esteemed actor for which Babe learned to herd sheep, also appeared in The Green Mile, as the aforementioned prison warden Hal Moores. Cromwell later revisited King-land in 2004’s Salem’s Lot, as Father David Callahan, a corrupted priest who ends up playing a big role in the epic Dark Tower book saga.

Annabeth Gish

Annabeth Gish, formerly Monica Reyes on The X-Files, has starred in two King TV movies, both directed by Mick Garris. The first was in Desperation as Mary Jackson, who’s forced to watch her husband David be shot to death. The second was in Bag of Bones, playing Jo Noonan, recently deceased wife to protagonist Mike Noonan.

David Keith

David Keith first encountered King material in Firestarter, playing Andrew “Andy” McGee, the also psychically gifted father to Charlie McGee. Keith later played Detective John Mulchaey in the 2002 remake of Carrie, which stuck closer to the novel, telling the story after the fact as a flashback, but not necessarily for the better.

E.G. Marshall

Late Hollywood staple E.G. Marshall played villain Upson Pratt in the “They’re Creeping Up on You” segment of Creepshow, a rich and highly racist man with a phobia of cockroaches. On the contrary, he later played kindly grandfather Ev Hillman in the 1993 miniseries adaptation of The Tommyknockers, a book even Stephen King admits is really bad.

Ron Perlman

Ron Perlman, former Hellboy actor, played police captain Soames in 1992’s Sleepwalkers, written for the screen by King. He suffers a pretty gruesome demise, getting his fingers bitten off first. In 2006’s Desperation, Perlman got to be the monster, playing cruel and murderous sheriff Collie Entragian, made that way due to the possession of Tak.

Casey Siemaszko

Casey Siemaszko played the small but memorable role of Billy Tessio in Stand by Me, a member of Ace Merrill’s gang of sadistic bullies. He was also the big brother of Vern, played by Jerry O’Connell. Siemaszko later played Alton “Hatch” Hatcher in Storm of the Century, right-hand man to constable Mike Anderson (Tim Daly).

Henry Thomas

Everyone remembers Henry Thomas from E.T., but he’s worked a lot in horror as an adult. In Desperation, Thomas played Peter Jackson, who meets an untimely end thanks to Collie Entragian. Later, in 2017’s Gerald’s Game, Thomas played Tom, the sexually abusive father to Carla Gugino’s Jesse Burlingame. Most recently, Thomas cameoed as the ghost of Jack Torrance in Doctor Sleep.

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