2022 saw the fifth Scream film arrive in theaters, the first not to be directed by series originator, the late Wes Craven. Unlike most slasher series, Scream has a consistent core cast from movie to movie. Instead of the slasher being the hook, it’s the survivors. Ghostface is just a mantle, not a character in the way Michael, Jason, or Freddy are.
Despite this consistency, Scream is still a slasher – there have to be characters for Ghostface to slash. This means the series has built up a large collection of one-off characters who appear only to be killed off shortly after their debut. Here are some actors who played those characters whom you may have forgotten about.
10 Wes Craven Himself Makes A Cameo In Scream
Directors making cameos in their own movies is nothing new, but usually, all but the most ardent fans won’t know it was the director who played that role. Craven makes such a cameo in the first Scream as the Woodsboro High School janitor, Fred. Principal Arthur Himbry (Henry Winkler) hears a noise that frightens him, but when he investigates he discovers it was only Fred. Fred’s name and outfit are obvious references to Freddy Krueger, the slasher villain of Craven’s most famous non-Scream film, A Nightmare On Elm Street.
9 W. Earl Brown Plays Gale’s Cameraman Kenny In Scream
W. Earl Brown is a prolific character actor, with a resume that stretches mediums from film to television to even video games. Some of Brown’s most famous roles include Dan Dority on HBO’s acclaimed western Deadwood, Bill in The Last Of Us, and Kenny in Scream. Kenny is Gale Weathers’ cameraman, the first in a long line of them. Kenny doesn’t have a fun time during the film – Gale’s treatment of him borders on verbal abuse and he meets a nasty end when Ghostface slices his throat.
8 David Warner As Sidney’s Drama Professor In Scream 2
Unlike the slasher films it parodies, the Scream series has consistent quality control; Scream 2‘s success was comparable to the original. There are plenty of reasons; for one, Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson returned rather than pawing the series off to lesser filmmakers. Second, the film was released in December 1997, less than a year after the original, meaning it struck while the iron was hot.
The film has plenty more great supporting turns and cameos, one of the best being David Warner as Sidney’s drama professor, Gus Gold. This wasn’t Warner and Craven’s first rodeo together; Warner was the original choice to play Freddy Krueger before he had to drop out of Nightmare due to scheduling conflicts.
7 Heather Graham Plays Casey In Stab
Scream 2 took the metatextuality to a new level by introducing the Stab movie franchise. Stab is based on Gale’s book about the Woodsboro murders; it’s Scream within Scream. The opening of Scream 2 is a Stab screening, and viewers get a look at the opening scene. It’s essentially the same scene as the opening of Scream, but with (purposefully) shoddier directing and more nudity. Casey, played by Drew Barrymore in the first film, is played by Heather Graham; Scream (2022) confirms this was in fact the Heather Graham in the Scream universe too.
6 Luke Wilson Plays Billy Loomis In Stab
Later in Scream 2, a second scene from Stab is shown. Just as the opening recreated the opening of Scream, this scene recreates Sidney and Billy’s meeting in the school halls after his arrest. Stab‘s Billy Loomis is played by Luke Wilson, opposite Tory Spelling as Sidney (a casting which calls back to the first movie; Sidney lamented they’d probably cast Tori Spelling to play her in the movie about her mother’s death). It’s a shame that Scream 2 doesn’t give Wilson a chance to go into slasher mode by showing Stab‘s version of when Billy reveals himself as Ghostface.
5 Portia De Rossi Is A Sorority Sister In Scream 2
Scream 2 moved the setting from a California High School to an Ohio University. As with any film set at an America College, Greek Life features prominently. Sidney’s roommate Hallie (Elise Neal) is pledging the Delta Lambda Zeta sorority. The members are mostly indistinguishable, but are represented by Lois (Rebecca Gayheart) and Murphy (Portia de Rossi).
Scream 2 arrived less than a year before de Rossi’s role as Nell Porter on Ally McBeal, itself a prelude to her true star-making role on Arrested Development as Lindsay Bluth.
4 Patrick Warburton Plays The Bodyguard Steven Stone In Scream 3
Scream 3 was a dip in quality from the first two. Even without Kevin Williamson on screenwriting duties, the series got more meta than ever before. 3 chronicled the in-universe making of Stab 3, and so most of the new supporting cast of Scream 3 are the cast and crew from that film. One of the most prominent actors is Parker Posey as Jennifer Jolie, the actress playing Gale. Once the latest string of Ghostface murders happens, Jolie hires bodyguard Steven Stone. Stone is played by the reliably funny Patrick Warburton, and his rivalry with Dewey leads to a handful of humorous moments before Stone meets his bloody end.
3 Heather Matarazzo Plays Randy’s Little Sister In Scream 3
Heather Matarazzo appears in the fifth Scream film as Martha Meeks, sister of the late Randy Meeks and mother of siblings Chad & Mindy. What you might have forgotten is that Matarazzo previously appeared as Martha during Scream 3. With Randy dead after Scream 2, the creators had to pull strings to get him the trilogy capper; they chose to reveal he’d recorded a videotaped message before his demise. Martha is the one who delivers the tape to Sidney and co. It’s a negligible role – an exposition deliverer who doesn’t actually deliver the exposition. Indeed, Martha exits the movie once the tape scene is over.
2 Mary McDonnell Plays Jill’s Mother In Scream 4
Emma Roberts’ role as Jill Roberts/Ghostface IV was a harbinger of her collaborations with Ryan Murphy, such as American Horror Story and Scream Queens. Jill might very well be the vilest of all the Ghostfaces; she even kills her own mother, Kate. Kate is played by Mary McDonnell, an acclaimed actress who fans might recognize as President Laura Roslin on the 2004 iteration of Battlestar Galactica. Kate laments that no one ever asked about the scars she has from her sister’s death; regrettably, considering McDonnell’s talent, Scream 4 isn’t that interested either.
1 Anthony Anderson & Adam Brody Play A Pair Of Cops In Scream 4
Buddy cops is a genre unto itself, but in slasher movies like Scream, cops are often lambs to the slaughter. Scream 4 displays this with Deputies Perkins and Hoss, played by Anthony Anderson and Adam Brody. The two are joined at the hip throughout the film and ultimately meet equally gruesome ends. Brody gained prominence for his as Seth Cohen on The O.C. and has since appeared in films like Promising Young Woman, The Kid Detective, and Ready Or Not (co-directed by Scream 5‘s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett). Anderson is most famous as a comedy actor, whether in Transformers or Black-ish, but his truly scary turn as drug kingpin Antwon Mitchell on The Shield proved he could’ve been a pretty good horror villain himself.
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