Friday the 13th: 13 Huge Stars You Forgot Were In The Classic Horror Films

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August 13, 2021 11:35AM EDT

Jason Voorhees has killed some campers that have gone on to be big in Hollywood. From Kevin Bacon to Corey Feldman, grab your machete and scope out the famous faces from the ‘Friday The 13th’ franchise.

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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now
©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Evere

Happy Friday The 13th – now, run! Jason Voorhees is after you, and Camp Crystal Lake’s favorite son has amassed quite an impressive body count since Friday The 13th was released on May 9, 1980. Fun fact to help you win your next bar trivia challenge: Jason didn’t kill anyone in that first movie – SPOILER ALERT – it was the late Betsy Palmer slicing and dicing in that first film. Yes, it was Mama Voorhees who killed Kevin Bacon by shoving an arrow through the back of his neck and out through his throat.

Since that first movie, a lot of actors and actresses who have felt Jason’s wrath have gone on to be huge stars in movies and television. And, in the case of — Julianna Guill, Danielle Panabaker, and Jared Padalecki, seen here in the 2009 reboot — some major stars got to live out their summer camp slasher fantasy once Friday The 13th became a landmark franchise. In honor of the holiday, take a look at some of the stars who graced the silver screen and, more often than not, had the distinct honor of getting hacked, slashed, and crushed by one of horror’s most iconic monsters. 

August 13, 2021, 11:28AM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now:

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now:
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures/REX/Shutterstock

Kane Hodder has portrayed Jason Voorhees more than any other actor, and horror fans deeply associate him with the role. So when Alice Cooper asks — as he did with his theme song for Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives — Kane is who is behind the mask.

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Kevin Bacon

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Kevin Bacon
REX/Shutterstock

Kevin Bacon wound up on the wrong side of a hunting arrow in the first ‘Friday The 13th’ movie. He certainly wasn’t feeling ‘foot loose’ after that. Credit special effects maestro Tom Savini for inventing “6 Degrees Of Separation” by separating Kevin’s trachea from the rest of his respiratory system.

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Corey Feldman

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Corey Feldman
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures/REX/Shutterstock

Corey Feldman made one of his earliest film appearances as Tommy in ‘Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter.’ They would go on to make 8 more movies after that, while Corey would star in a bunch of 80s classics – Gremlins, The Goonies, The Lost Boys, and License To Drive.

Corey would start a music career, much like Ari Lehman, the first actor to portray Jason in a Friday The 13th film. Ari’s band is called FIRST JASON, and he writes songs like “Jason Will Never Die!”, “Machete Is My Friend,” “Mother Has Spoken,” and “When The Clock Strikes 13.”

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Tony Goldwyn

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Tony Goldwyn
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Tony Goldwyn died in Friday The 13th: Jason Lives. Yes, President Grant in Scandal, appeared as Darren in the slasher. Olivia Pope can’t help you when you have a machete sticking out of your forehead, Fitz. 

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Crispin Glover

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Crispin Glover
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Crispin Glover died in ‘Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter’ when he got corked by a corkscrew. It wasn’t pretty. This appearance came one year before he would star as George McFly in Back To The Future.

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Ben Feldman

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Ben Feldman
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures/REX/Shutterstock

Ben Feldman, aka Michael Ginsberg on Mad Men, wasn’t feeling mad — or much of anything — when he died in the 2009 reboot of the Friday The 13th franchise. Though, Don Draper could probably come up with an ad for some aspirin to help Ben’s splitting headache here. 

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Kelly Rowland

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Kelly Rowland
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures/REX/Shutterstock

Kelly Rowland went toe-to-toe with two famous monsters in Freddy vs. Jason, which some fans consider to be a Friday the 13th movie. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well for the former Destiny’s Child singer. One could say she wasn’t much of a ‘survivor.’ 

April 13, 2018, 12:33PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Danielle Panabaker,

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Danielle Panabaker,
REX/Shutterstock

Danielle Panabaker, aka Dr. Snow on The CW’s The Flash, was also in the 2009 version of ‘Friday The 13th. Let’s just say, she needs a superhero’s help by the end of the movie…and an ambulance. 

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Davide Cronenberg

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Davide Cronenberg
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Davide Cronenberg is used to making audiences retch in horror with his own movies, but he wound up on the OTHER side of the gore in JASON X. That’s the one where he goes to space.

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Jared Padalecki

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Jared Padalecki
REX/Shutterstock

Jared Padalecki is used to dealing with creeps and monsters on Supernatural, so he was put to the test in 2009’s reboot. He didn’t get any help from Dean Winchester on this adventure, unfortunately — though, when do we get a Supernatural Vs. Jason film?

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Kelly Hu

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Kelly Hu
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures/REX/Shutterstock

Kelly Hu should have stayed in New Jersey, as things didn’t go well for her when she appeared in Friday The 13th Part XIII: Jason Takes Manhattan. Known for her roles on The Vampire Diaries and The CW’s Arrow, she winds up on the wrong side of Mama Voorhees’ baby boy. 

 

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Leslie Jordan

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Leslie Jordan
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Leslie Jordan, known to many for his role on ‘Will & Grace,’ actually had a role in ‘Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday. He plays Shelby, a cook who winds up closer to the deep fryer than he’d like to, thanks to Jason.

April 13, 2018, 12:24PM
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Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Jason Ritter

Friday the 13th Stars Then & Now: Jason Ritter
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures/REX/Shutterstock

Okay, forget the Supernatural crossover. Let’s get Gravity Falls Vs. Jason. Jason Ritter, who voiced Dipper Pines in the animated series (and has played Mark Cyr in Parenthood, Pat in Raising Dion, and a bunch of other shows), appeared in Freddy Vs. Jason.

April 13, 2018, 12:34PM