Veteran actor Brad Dourif may have earned a reputation for playing depraved sociopaths over his extensive career, but his feature debut role of Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest earned him an Oscar nomination at the young age of 24. A distinct voice, impressive intensity, and a dynamic range have made Dourif […]
Veteran actor Brad Dourif may have earned a reputation for playing depraved sociopaths over his extensive career, but his feature debut role of Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest earned him an Oscar nomination at the young age of 24.
A distinct voice, impressive intensity, and a dynamic range have made Dourif a bit of a chameleon, making him one of the best actors of all time whose talents often go overlooked.
From sweet, quiet roles like Billy Bibbit to the grizzled yet morally pure Doc Cochran of Deadwood, Dourif can deftly handle it all. But it’s his high-intensity style that makes him so effective in horror, above all.
While he’s semi-retired now, save for mostly voice-acting work as a certain beloved horror icon, we look back at Brad Dourif’s 10 most memorable genre roles in celebration of his birthday on March 18.
Eyes of Laura Mars – Tommy Ludlow
Based on a treatment/source story by horror master John Carpenter, this murder mystery followed a photographer that develops an ability to see through the eyes of a killer. Dourif plays Ludlow, a colleague of Laura’s who is arrested and accused of being the killer. Ludlow is a troubled character and it’s easy to see why he’d be a great red herring, and Dourif handles the role of creep quite well. Eccentric and entertaining, it became rare where Dourif plays a character that appears more menacing than he actually is.
A role that Dourif didn’t even want to accept initially, out of fear of being typecast as the sociopath. David Lynch eventually convinced him to take the part, and he dove headfirst into researching the character and what made him tick. A twisted sadist, Dourif nails De Vries, even when the rest of the film didn’t fare as well critically or in terms of box office. It’s no wonder why Dourif would be cast in this type of role again, just as he feared, and that David Lynch would hire him again in Blue Velvet.
Graveyard Shift – Tucker Cleveland
Reception on this ‘80s Stephen King adaptation is typically ice cold or nostalgic warmth, but no matter which team you’re on there’s no arguing that the best part is Brad Dourif as Tucker Cleveland. He’s not even a lead character, but he steals every single scene he’s in as the exterminator that takes his job way too seriously. With bug-eyed intensity, Tucker Cleveland is operating on an entirely different level than just about everyone else in the film, and Dourif’s scene-chewing is so off the rails great that it elevates an otherwise unmemorable horror movie.
Death Machine – Jack Dante
Look, Death Machine is by no means a good movie. It’s frankly kind of terrible. It’s still worth seeing though, for Dourif’s unhinged, fully unleashed performance as deranged weapons designer and lead developer Jack Dante. Dante builds a cybernetically enhanced super soldier and unleashes it upon the executives that want to terminate his project and job in homicidal rage. It’s cheesy, and the horror references are shoehorned, but Dourif portraying the homicidal maniac with reckless abandon is so much fun.
The Exorcist III – James Venamun/The Gemini Killer
This sequel holds its own with the first film for many reasons, but most of it can be attributed to Brad Dourif’s turn as the unnerving Gemini Killer. Dourif switches from cool intelligence to fevered murderer in seconds with effortless ease, and his monologues in the film are some of the absolute best scenes. That he’s going toe to toe with the likes of George C. Scott and Scott Wilson makes his performance even more impressive.
The Lord of the Rings – Grima Wormtongue
As the only human character of the trilogy to turn evil, Grima Wormtongue is a bit of a terrible creep. Dourif nearly didn’t get the part. After auditioning five times, he lost the role to another actor who then backed out. That actor’s loss makes it our gain with Dourif in the role. Borrowing from childhood memories of getting bullied in boarding school, Dourif found a way to connect with a character that didn’t seem very relatable. He stayed in character on set so fully that when Peter Jackson heard his actual accent in between takes, he thought Dourif was joking around. In such a large, grand-sweeping epic, Grima Wormtongue is a small piece of the puzzle. But Dourif made him memorable.
Urban Legend – Michael McDonnell, Gas Station Attendant
Dourif’s role in this ‘90s slasher is really more of a cameo, so minimal and brief, but he’s so effective in it that it’s absolutely worth mentioning. It’s the perfect example of how he can develop a character from so little, his stutter and mannerisms making him simultaneously intimidating and empathetic. While Michelle Mancini might have been afraid of him that stormy night, he was just trying to warn her of the doom that awaited her in her own back seat. His character’s fate is revealed in a background news report, and thanks to Dourif’s performance, you actually care.
The X-Files: “Beyond the Sea” – Luther Lee Boggs
The relationship between death row criminal Luther Lee Boggs and Agent Scully was reminiscent of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, except Boggs was a high strung manic as opposed to the cool intellectual Lecter. Executive Producer Chris Carter and writer Glen Morgan felt it was vital for Brad Dourif to play the part, though the actor wanted more than what the show’s budget allowed. Willing to give up script fees to get Dourif into the part, Carter called up the president of Twentieth Century Fox on Thanksgiving Day to get the okay. It worked. Only someone like Dourif could make a killer like Boggs relatable and human, even with manic tendencies.
Halloween – Sheriff Lee Brackett
If there’s any character that Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake and sequel really improves upon over the original, it’s Sheriff Lee Brackett. That’s because he’s played by the amazing Brad Dourif. Even better is that Dourif gets to play against type here as the dutiful sheriff and doting father of Annie. There’s no trace of the sociopath that Dourif typically gets typecast as; just an honest, loving single father doing the best he can. It’s Sheriff Lee Brackett’s character that you truly invest in, and Dourif’s performance during an emotional scene in Halloween II is downright devastating. Even if you hate Zombie’s take on Michael Myers’ story, it’s impossible to hate what Dourif brought to the film.
Child’s Play – Chucky/Charles Lee Ray
This one is a complete no-brainer, as we have Brad Dourif to thank for turning Charles Lee Ray/Chucky into a horror icon who has endured throughout the decades. Yet, he almost didn’t get the part, due to filming Mississippi Burning at the time of Child’s Play casting and production. Someone else got the role, did the whole movie, and then tanked during test screenings; he’d taken Chucky too far into comedic territory right off the bat. Dourif, being Tom Holland’s first choice anyway, understood the right balance of serious and camp, making Chucky the iconic killer that he is today. He went on to voice the character in every single installment in the original Child’s Play franchise, as well as in all three seasons of the “Chucky” television series.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on March 23, 2018.
