Skeletons in the Closet

Based on an Italian novel, the English-language film places Everett's beleaguered cemetery groundskeeper against a perpetually rising army of zombies (every night new ones wake up, and every night he kills them). But when he falls in love with a woman who may or may not be dead, things get complicated. Everett is at the top of his charming game and at the height of physical form in this one — and it's fun to see him blowing holes in zombies and seducing hot Italian chicks just like any other dashing actor. Moody, unexpectedly poignant, and unique.

John Waters in Seed of Chucky (2004)

When gay screenwriter and Child's Play (1988) creator Don Mancini got his first directing gig (the 5th film in the series), he enlisted trash maestro John Waters to play a small role as a nosy — and doomed — tabloid reporter.

Is Waters the best actor? Who cares! We love John Waters because he's John Waters, and seeing his face get melted with acid is almost as delicious as knowing that he is enjoying it even more than we are. The film is a bizarrely off-kilter dark comedy about a gender-confused doll (seriously); I wasn't a fan, but others really went for the Grand Guignol humor.

Danny Pintauro in Cujo (1983)

Most of us know gay actor Danny Pintauro from his 8-year run as Jonathan on Who's the Boss? But Pintauro actually played a horror lead a year before landing his sitcom role, in the adaptation of Stephen King's killer-dog opus, Cujo. Danny played Tad, the little boy trapped in a station wagon with his mother (Dee Wallace Stone) by a rabid Saint Bernard. In the book, poor Tad dies of dehydration before his mom can save him, but the film has a happier ending. Pintauro doesn't have much to do other than look horribly miserable the whole time, but he does it well!