Any Famous People Come From Saw?
The Saw movies are one of the most gruesome and sadistic horror franchises of them all! As much as the franchise focuses on the torture and suffering of its death scene victims…a few talented performers had their break out role in a Saw movie. Here are some of the most prominent actors and actresses which got their real start from dying in a Saw movie…
Leigh Whannell
Wayne is well known today for his roles in the Insidious franchise, among other films. Before Insidious, however, Leigh played Adam Faulkner-Stanheight in the original Saw movie…where all his magic began!
Erik Knudsen
The younger actor playing Detective Matthew’s son in Saw II, Erik Knudsen, saw a plethora of opportunities after his performance in the Jigsaw torture house! Being that Erik was only 16 at the time of the first Saw movie, he has had the opportunity to grow more diversely into the opportunities that have been presented. Some of Erik’s more recent work includes: Youth in Revolt (2009), Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010), and Scream 4 (2011).
Shawnee Smith
Although Shawnee was known from the movie “The Blob” in 1988, it was not until she assumed her role of Amanda Young in the Saw franchise that she received mainstream success. Although she would receive many other roles in a number of other projects after the original Saw, she would also go on to play Amanda 3 more times in Saw II, Saw III and Saw VI.
Tobin Bell
There may be a little hesitation in adding Tobin Bell to this list, as he did have a huge acting history before Saw (dating all the way back to 1979, in fact). Truth be told, however, most of Tobin’s roles were uncredited or too insignificant to land him mainstream publicity. Playing John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) in Saw (2004), nearly 25 years after his first movie role, landed Tobin his international fame and household recognition status. Tobin would reap continued success from the Saw franchise for years to come.
Michael Emerson
Michael is another actor who had many roles before Saw, but did not seem to achieve mainstream success until making an appearance in Saw. After his role in the first Saw movie, Emerson would be picked up for a number of big projects and lead roles including: 4 seasons of Lost (TV), 5 seasons of Person of Interest (TV), and even the Joker in the 2013 Batman movie!
Final Notes
The Saw franchise is most notorious for the torture devices and creepy Jigsaw killer (doll included). Although the number of actors and actresses which get funneled through the death scenes is rather large, very few of the faces seem to turn up mainstream success afterwards. Still, the movies are made in an extremely realistic fashion and all actors or actresses who die a Jigsaw death deserve a round of applause!
Tritone’s love of horror and mystery began at a young age. Growing up in the 80’s he got to see some of the greatest horror movies play out in the best of venues, the drive-in theater. That’s when his obsession with the genre really began—but it wasn’t just the movies, it was the games, the books, the comics, and the lore behind it all that really ignited his obsession. Tritone is a published author and continues to write and write about horror whenever possible.
