One of the best parts about HBO’s Tales from the Crypt was tuning in to see what big stars were going to appear every episode. From 1989 to 1996, a procession of some of the biggest names in Hollywood joined the Crypt Keeper for a night of mischief and mayhem. Some of them were just making a name for themselves, while others were established Hollywood mainstays.
By having prominent movie and television stars show up in Tales from the Crypt, it not only attracted a wider demographic of viewers, it also elevated the status of the series, and allowed its material to be given the “star treatment” with a variety of nuanced performances. They not only starred in it, but often contributed behind the scenes, by producing or even directing episodes they found particularly interesting. Read on below to see the 10 biggest stars you had no idea appeared in Tales from the Crypt.
BRAD PITT
Given that Interview with a Vampire would come out just two years after the episode of “King of the Road” premiered, it seems that the flaxen-haired bad boy was already destined to make his mark in the horror genre. In this episode, Brad Pitt plays a no-good drag racer intent on challenging the greatest of his cadre to a race.
Iceman, the greatest racer that ever lived, turned his back on the pastime long ago and is now a local sheriff. Pitt’s character goads him into one last race by kidnapping his daughter, which he has no choice but to agree to, but there can only one “king of the road'.
TOM HANKS
Tom Hanks is one of the greatest actors of his (and any) generation thanks to his versatile range. Though he’s known for more serious movies now, he got his start with farces like Bosom Buddies and Joe Versus The Volcano. He appears in “None But The Lonely Heart”, and it’s not in a huge role, he makes the most of his screen time as only Tom Hanks can.
The episode follows a con-man who marries wealthy widows and then kills them, absconding with their inheritance before he moves on to the next victim. Eventually he gets the date of his dreams, who happens to be the very worst of them. Aside from his role in it, this one was also directed by Hanks!
DEMI MOORE
In one of the better episodes of the second season, Demi Moore stars as a woman who wants a lifestyle of wealth and success, and she wants it now. She visits a medium who tells her that she’s in luck - she’ll meet a wealthy man who will die in a violent manner not long afterwards.
She soon meets a complete slob named Charlie who comes from an affluent family, prompting her to marry him in the hopes of acquiring his riches and leaving her job as a secretary. He does meet a violent end, but where mediums are concerned, predictions are always a matter of perspective. It co-stars Transparent lead Jeffrey Tambor.
CHRISTOPHER REEVE
Themed-restaurants can be a tough sell, as Fred and Erma soon find out with their all-squid establishment. Fred’s idea of a great daily special is “squid on a stick”. They try to come up with appetizing recipes but eventually they have to face the fact that they’ll have to shut down - that is, until a mysterious stranger arrives with a solution.
Enter Christopher Reeve (yes, Superman!), who has a recipe for the best steak you’ll ever taste. Fred and Erma don’t really care how he gets the meat, only that it sells. As you can imagine, the secret isn’t only in the sauce. This episode also co-star’s The Breakfast Club’s Judd Nelson.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
While technically not appearing in this episode of Tales from the Crypt, the Austrian Oak did produce it, and can be seen personally introducing it along with the Crypt Keeper. He utters one of the better puns as the Crypt Keeper struggles to arm-curl a bone with two skulls like a barbell. “You wanna be a 90lb corpse for the rest of your death?”
The episode, called “The Switch” focuses on an elderly man who’s preoccupied with the effects of ageing. Afraid to lose his beautiful, young wife, he subscribes to a revolutionary treatment designed to halt the ageing process. Unfortunately, maintaining his new youthful appearance comes at a cost. It co-stars Kelly Preston.
EWAN MCGREGOR
Shortly before his starring roles in Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Moulin Rouge, Ewan Mcgregor appeared in the final season of Tales from the Crypt. This time, the anthology series crossed the pond to London, chronicling the criminal habits of a couple of petty robbers.
In “Cold War”, Ewan Mcgregor plays Ford, part of a trio of robbers who botch a job. He makes it out with his girlfriend Cammy, but their friend Cutter isn’t so lucky. They split soon after, and Cammy finds a new beau, Jimmy. Jealous of her new lover, Ford shoots Jimmy, only to find out a terrible secret they all have in common.
TIM CURRY
The always-entertaining Tim Curry provided plenty of thrills and chills in “Death of Some Salesmen”, where he appeared as three different members of a hillbilly family. Like the best of the trope, there’s something sinister about this family, but their salt-of-the-earth charm is deceptively welcoming.
When a saleman shows up at their door, he believes he’s found the perfect trio of suckers. He’s eager to collect their inheritance, and he never assumes that they could be aware of his intentions. He also assumes they’ve never had a salesman at their door, and have a very special way of dealing with them…
KYLE MACLACHLAN
In an episode that consistently ranks high on fans’ lists of the best Tales from the Crypt, Kyle MacLachlan (of Dune and Twin Peaks fame) stars as a petty criminal who’s just robbed a bank and is hoping to escape to the Mexican border. He faces just two problems; the Arizona desert, and the cop relentlessly dogging him across it.
Eventually he manages to kill his pursuer, but not before the officer can handcuff himself to the crook and swallow the key. With the weight of the officer dragging him down like the weight of his nefarious actions, he’s forced to brave the hazards of the desert, all the while vultures circle overhead, waiting for him to make one wrong move.
TIMOTHY DALTON
Though “Werewolf Concerto” is a divisive episode for fans, it has all of the elements that make Tales from the Crypt a great series; a spooky setting at a remote country hotel, a group of strangers forced together by circumstances, and a supernatural element to the mystery they must solve.
Starring Timothy Dalton while he was still playing James Bond, he’s part of a group of boarders terrorized by a murderer in the countryside. As it turns out, his character is a werewolf hunter hired by the innkeeper. This may feel like a Scooby Doo episode (with cheap unmasking) to some, but watch it for all the sly 007 references and the lovely Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon: Vacation series).
KIRK DOUGLAS
“Yellow” deals with a different sort of fear at its core, and is considered one of the most psychological episodes of the series. It begins in 1918, in France during WWI, where a lieutenant (Eric Douglas) has been on the front lines of continuous battle for weeks and begs his father, a prominent General, for a discharge
His father (played with steely grit by Kirk Douglas, and his father in real life) agrees to let him go to the rear of the company if he can lead a patrol across German lines to fix a communication line. When his son proves too cowardly, his father orders him to be given a court martial. The penalty is death by firing squad.
