Top 9 Actors to Play Real Life Serial Killers
Steve Barton
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Brian Dennehy – John Wayne Gacy – To Catch A Killer
To Catch A Killer was a 1992 two-part made-for-television movie directed by Eric Till. Dennehy stars as John Wayne Gacy, continuously outfoxing the police department. Other standout actors appearing in the film were Michael Riley, Margot Kidder and Meg Foster. Dennehy would go on to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Special. Gacy would be executed via lethal injection in 1994, convicted on 33 counts of murder and sentenced to death for 12 of them.
Michael Badalucco – David Berkowitz – Summer of Sam
One of Spike Lee’s more unique films is Summer of Sam, the story of not only the crimes of David Berkowitz, but how they affected New York City at the time. The crimes of the .44 Caliber Killer were more of a backdrop to the crime-drama/thriller. Aside from Badalucco as Berkowitz, the film also starred John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino and Jennifer Esposito. The movie itself was quite polarizing and received mixed reviews with extreme opinions both positive and negative. As for David Berkowitz, his final tally of victims was six dead and seven wounded. He was arrested in 1977 and is currently serving six consecutive life sentences for his crimes. In 1996 Berkowitz changed his confession, saying he was part of a Satanic cult that orchestrated the killings. An investigation was launched into the claims, but it was suspended indefinitely after inconclusive findings.
Ian Holm – Sir William Gall (Jack the Ripper?) – From Hell
Although we’ll never really know who Jack the Ripper actually was, there are as many theories trying to answer the question as there are explaining the Zapruder Film. Starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham, From Hell certainly featured its share of beautiful people, but the focus of the film was terribly ugly. Ian Holm played Sir William Gall, Jack the Ripper according to this graphic retelling of the tale. From Hell was released in 2001 and brought in nearly $75 million at the box office, more than doubling its $35 million budget. And although this film (and the graphic novel it’s based on) point to Gall as the killer, history has basically dismissed this possibility which also involved the royal family and Freemasons.
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