# Who is this generation's Boris Karloff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2006, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201 "2006-08-03T15:51:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2006, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/21 "2006-08-03T23:39:09Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > One of my favorite actors even though I haven’t seen much of his horror work, but can he be called “this generation’s” anything? Lee is in his mid-80s. Thanks, **Marley23** , for making me feel positively ancient. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![davmilasav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@davmilasav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davmilasav)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2006, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/22 "2006-08-03T23:42:22Z")
I dunno who he is, but keep him far away from this generation’s Jonathan Brewster! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/23 "2006-08-04T00:34:06Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > Thanks, **Marley23** , for making me feel positively ancient. 😃 Nothing personal, Gramps (:D), but I was curious and trying to set some parameters. If Christopher Lee is in the same generation as Gary Oldman (35 years younger than Lee), than he’s probably in the same generation as Karloff (35 years older than Lee). If we want to toss that aside and give it to Christopher Lee, I won’t complain. I could listen to that man read the phone book. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/24 "2006-08-04T02:42:50Z")
John Malkovich ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/25 "2006-08-04T11:35:30Z")
Wow, some great choices! I definitely would add Gary Oldman and Alan Rickman and John Malkovich to the list of contenders. Ron Perlman is potentially up there, I just haven’t seen enough of his movies to tell if I personally would include him. I’m tempted to disallow Max von Sydow (definitely a great actor) for the same reasons that **Marley23** (correctly, IMO) disallowed Christopher Lee. This of course brings up a sticky question; what, exactly, is the cutoff point for an actor of “this generation?” I said initially that Anthony Hopkins was one of my primary candidates, and he’s not _that_ much younger than von Sydow. Christopher Walken started acting in the 50s, although he really didn’t start coming into his own until the 60s. I’m tempted to say that, with reasonable exceptions, we should say that the actor/actress had to start his/her film acting career in the 60s. What exceptions? Well, someone who technically began acting in the 50s but has been very active during the 70s, 80s and beyond would get an exception from me. I’d still probably disallow Lee because he really first hit it big in the 40s and 50s. That’s just a little too old to be on this list IMO. I don’t know; it’s difficult to come up with a set of rules that I’m satisfied with here; acting careers span so many decades sometimes that someone like Lee or Sydow can have several phases of his career. Any suggestions for guidelines are welcome. I hadn’t even thought of the _female_ Karloff; of course, that would have to be more like “this generation’s Theda Bara” or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/26 "2006-08-04T14:04:01Z")
Hopkins was the first name to come to mind. He’s the best actor who comes closest to also being a “horror-genre” actor, although Oldman and Walken do come close. Nicholson and DeNiro have taken pretty decent stabs also. If Jeremy Irons had wanted to go that route, he’d have been excellent- hell, he looks much like Karloff! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/27 "2006-08-04T16:05:38Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Hopkins was the first name to come to mind. He’s the best actor who comes closest to also being a “horror-genre” actor Aside from Hannibal Lecter, is he really a horror genre actor? For having played such monstrous characters as C. S. Lewis, John Quincy Adams, Richard Nixon, and Zorro? (Okay, maybe I’ll give you Nixon.) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/28 "2006-08-04T16:57:02Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > Aside from Hannibal Lecter, is he really a horror genre actor? For having played such monstrous characters as C. S. Lewis, John Quincy Adams, Richard Nixon, and Zorro? (Okay, maybe I’ll give you Nixon.) Yeah, I was using the term “Horror” too loosely, BUT he does have a significant body of Dark work. Besides the Lecter Trilogy, Hopkins films that are at least “dark & weird”, if not all-out “horror”- MAGIC AUDREY ROSE BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA FREEJACK THE ELEPHANT MAN HEARTS IN ATLANTIS BEOWULF (upcoming) TITUS (ya wanna tell me that Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus ISN’T Horror? 😃 ) THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (yeah, I admit that’s reaching!) THE BUNKER (Hitler!- and a damn fine scary one at that.) THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/29 "2006-08-04T17:42:54Z")
Donald Pleasance ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/30 "2006-08-04T19:12:32Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Not Horror, but how about Alan Rickman? He’s often cast as the baddie - Hans Kruger, The Sheriff of Nottingham, Severus Snape, etc - and is brilliant in the role, though he’s been a hero a time or two (Colonel Brandon). But he was so sweet as Jamie in **Truly Madly Deeply**. That overshadows everything for me. Julian Sands has increasingly become a weird creepyman in recent years. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2006, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/31 "2006-08-04T20:05:25Z")
Karloff? Karloff did not deserve to smell my shit! That limey cocksucker can rot in Hell for all I care! How dare you bring up Karloff? You think it takes talent to do Frankenstein? It’s all makeup and grunting! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/32 "2006-08-05T01:00:38Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Karloff? Karloff did not deserve to smell my shit! That limey cocksucker can rot in Hell for all I care! How dare you bring up Karloff? You think it takes talent to do Frankenstein? It’s all makeup and grunting! > > 😛 Sounds like Bela needs his “medicine.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/33 "2006-08-05T01:41:56Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Brad Dourif, maybe? His reputation is based almost totally on horror movies and creepy roles. I came in to mention him as well. After One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, he settled into horror and villain roles. He’s a great actor. His Grima Wormtounge was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/34 "2006-08-05T13:59:52Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Donald Pleasance Not “this generation’s” as he is the late Donald Pleasance. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/35 "2006-08-05T14:06:41Z")
> [@Dr. Rieux](#): > > Sounds like Bela needs his “medicine.” PULL THE STRINGS! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/36 "2006-08-05T14:32:17Z")
I don’t fully grasp the OP’s premise, as I haven’t really seen any of Boris Karloff’s work, but I’ll try. I’d say it’s a toss-up between Sam Neill and Johnny Depp, although I’ll also at least mention Crispin Glover. Sam Neill The Omen (all of them) Event Horizon In the Mouth of Madness Jurassic Park (?) Snow White: A Tale of Terror (never saw it) Dead Calm Johnny Depp Secret Window From Hell Sleepy Hollow Ninth Gate Astronaut’s Wife Nightmare on Elm Street 1 & 6 Both have extensive horror / thriller experience, and both are solid actors. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201/37 "2006-08-05T14:51:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Who is this generation’s Boris Karloff? Why just one? Each & every Goth club in American has its local champ. If they weren’t so sullen, I’d say organise a competitive league. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-this-generations-boris-karloff/367201.md?page=1)