If filmmaking is a puzzle, casting is a corner piece that, when chosen correctly, helps hold everything together. I recently told you about Coil’s Hellraiser soundtrack that almost was, but what about the cast? Clive Barker captured lightning in a bottle with his 1987 directorial debut, but here are some casting choices that could have impacted Hellraiser significantly.
Doug Bradley as Mover
Barker has known Doug Bradley since high school, so he allowed him his choice between two roles in Hellraiser: the Lead Cenobite (who, of course, would come to be known as Pinhead) or one of the mattress movers. As this was his first film, Bradley nearly chose to play the mover, because he thought it was important for the audience to see his face.
Thankfully, Bradley decided on the Lead Cenobite, and the rest is history. He became a horror icon, reprising the role in the next seven sequels, while Dave Atkins and Oliver Parker (who went on to direct Johnny English Reborn) played the movers. Although other actors have since donned the Pinhead makeup, it’s hard to imagine anyone but Bradley in the original.
Lance Henriksen as Frank
While Pinhead ultimately became the face of the franchise, Frank Cotton is the main antagonist in Hellraiser. New World Pictures initially offered the role to Lance Henriksen, who at that point had already racked up notable credits in Aliens, The Terminator, Damien: Omen II, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Henriksen turned it down, reportedly because he didn’t want to commit to sequels if the original was a success. Incidentally, he would later star in the franchise’s eighth installment, Hellraiser: Hellworld. Sean Chapman ended up playing Frank, with Oliver Smith embodying his skinless counterpart.
Jennifer Tilly as Kirsty
A young Jennifer Tilly was among the up-and-coming actresses who auditioned for the role of Hellraiser‘s protagonist, Kirsty Cotton. She was fairly new to the industry at the time, with her most well-known credit being her co-starring role in the 1985 teen comedy Moving Violations.
The part eventually went to Ashley Laurence, in her film debut, and she reprised the role in three sequels. But perhaps Tilly was destined to find her place in the genre, as she would later become horror royalty for her work in the Chucky franchise.
Stunt Performers as Cenobites
New World wanted to hire stunt performers to play the Cenobites, as they are less expensive than actors. Barker insisted on hiring actors, as he knew that – despite the common misconception that anyone can play a role that’s under heavy makeup and without dialogue – an actor can convey emotion through body language.
Barker cast Nicholas Vince as Chatterer, Simon Bamford and Butterball, and Grace Kirby as Female Cenobite. Vince and Bamford returned for Hellbound: Hellraiser II, while Barbie Wilde took over for Kirby, who was uncomfortable being in the makeup for so long.
Alternate Titles
Barker intended for the film to be titled The Hellbound Heart, as that’s the name of his novella on which it’s based, but the studio thought audiences would mistake it for a romance film. Barker offered a cheeky alternative, Sadomasochists from Beyond the Grave, which was rejected for its overt sexuality. A female crew member reportedly suggested What a Woman Will do for a Good Fuck – which, accurate though it may be, doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as Hellraiser.
While it’s fun to imagine the what-ifs and could-have-beens, I think we can agree that everything worked out for the best.
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