Devon Sawa began his horror career in the mid-’90s as the human persona of “Casper the Friendly Ghost” before starring in two of the decade’s favorite horror films. In 1999, Sawa led the horror comedy “Idle Hands,” a film about a young stoner who finds one of his hands possessed by a demonic entity. Premiering just 10 days after the devastating Columbine school shooting shocked the world, “Idle Hands” was a box office bomb but has since gone on to become a cult favorite. Sawa followed this performance with “Final Destination,” playing a high school senior who cheats death with a prophetic vision of a devastating plane explosion. Though he only appears in the 2000 original, the film has become a wildly popular franchise spawning four additional sequels.
In the year 2000, Sawa also starred as the titular stalker in the iconic music video for Eminem’s “Stan,” playing an increasingly deranged fan who goes to horrific lengths to get his favorite rapper’s attention. The video was a pop culture phenomenon and created the term “stan,” now a part of our everyday vernacular. Not content to leave his horror legacy in the ’90s, Sawa recently made a resurgence in the genre with the grisly “Hunter, Hunter,” the Thanksgiving horror comedy, “Black Friday,” and multiple roles in the SYFY series “Chucky.” When asked about his return to the genre, Sawa told Men’s Health, “I always like going back to horror. It’s what I watch, so I want to be in it.”
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