Bruce Campbell

Since his career-defining role in the 1981 horror film The Evil Dead, Bruce Campbell has worked hard at becoming the most well-known B movie actor in the business. Campbell grew up making home movies with a group of friends that included Sam Raimi, now known as the director of the blockbuster Spider-Man movies starring Tobey Maguire. Campbell's comic book handsomeness and experience in regional theater earned him the lead role in Raimi's first feature, The Evil Dead, a low-budget horror film that got nationwide distribution and led to two sequels, including 1992's Army of Darkness. Campbell has worked steadily in films and television ever since, often in bit parts or cameo roles, but sometimes as a dashing comic lead. On television he starred in the short-lived series The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. (1993-94) and had a recurring role as Autolycus, the King of Thieves, in both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-99, starring Kevin Sorbo) and Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001, starring Lucy Lawless). On the big screen he shows up occasionally in Coen brothers' movies, including The Hudsucker Proxy (1994, starring Tim Robbins) and The Ladykillers (2004, starring Tom Hanks), and he often makes cameo appearances in Raimi's movies, including Spider-Man (2002, as the fight announcer) and Spider-Man 2 (2004, as the "Snooty Usher"). After 20 years of making movies, Campbell was able to exploit his cult status with a well-received autobiography, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor (2002), occasional gigs writing comic books and steady TV work, including the cable TV series Burn Notice (2007).

Extra credit: In 2005 Campbell published his first novel, Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way... He and his wife, Ida Gearon, made the 2005 documentary A Community Speaks, about land management issues in the woods of southern Oregon.