There have been lots of Stephen King movies made, but only a relatively small group of actors have played substantial roles in more than one. King is one of the most prolific authors ever, and also easily the most adapted, outside of those whose work is in the public domain like William Shakespeare and H.P. Lovecraft. King's novels and short stories have become big screen hits and small screen success stories, being produced by all manner of studios and debuting on just about every major entertainment platform.
Lots of actors and actresses have starred in King adaptations, but it's surprisingly few that end up playing important parts in more than one King project. With the amount of them that are made, one would think that kind of thing would happen more often. Of course, the list will only grow in size as the decades , with Hollywood showing no signs of ending its love affair with adapting King stories, even more than once.
Without much further ado, here's the full list of performers to star in more than one King movie. For clarity's sake, this isn't counting cameos or bit parts, only substantial roles in the story. Also, miniseries are being counted, but not regular weekly TV series. Finally, IT Chapter Two are being counted as one entity, since they're two halves of the same story.
Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates is one of the few to earn an Oscar nomination for a performance in a Stephen King movie, in her case winning the award for playing crazed literary fan Annie Wilkes in 1990's The Stand.
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is another actor to receive an Oscar nomination for a King movie, in his case for portraying resourceful prisoner Red in 1994's The Shawshank Redemption. His second King movie role wasn't nearly as acclaimed, appearing in the widely panned Dreamcatcher as relentless military villain Colonel Abraham Curtis.
John Cusack
John Cusack's first brush with King came in 1985's 1408, then starred in 2016's not so excellent zombie outbreak story Cell.
Ed Harris
Like Cusack, Ed Harris has also ventured into King's twisted world three times. The first was for one of his earliest roles, playing doomed husband Hank in the "Father's Day" segment of 1982's Needful Things, and made an uncredited cameo as General William Starkey in 1994's The Stand miniseries.
Gary Sinise
Gary Sinise starred as Stu Redman in The Stand miniseries, just prior to his signature role as Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump. He later played the small but pivotal role of prejudiced reporter Burt Hammersmith in 1999's The Green Mile, briefly reuniting with Forrest Gump co-star Tom Hanks.
Drew Barrymore
As a child, Drew Barrymore played titular pyrokinetic girl Charlene "Charlie" McGee in 1984's Firestarter adaptation. While King wasn't fond of the movie, he clearly liked Barrymore, as she was cast in another main role for 1985 anthology Cat's Eye, starring in story three, "General." Sadly, Barrymore never did any more King movies after she reached adulthood.
Thomas Jane
Thomas Jane first played lead Henry Devlin in the aforementioned flop Dreamcatcher, before starring as David Drayton in 2007's 1922 as Wilfred James, and will soon produce an adaptation of King's 2002 novel From a Buick 8.
Rob Lowe
Perennially youthful actor Rob Lowe first got acquainted with King material in The Stand miniseries, playing Nick Andros, a deaf mute man with a heart of gold who unfortunately meets a bad end. Ten years later, Lowe starred as lead Ben Mears in TNT's 2004 miniseries adaptation of Salem's Lot, which was fine but unremarkable.
Samuel L. Jackson
The MCU's resident Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson, boasts two King movies on his resume. He played hotel manager Gerald Olin in 1408, who tried to warn Mike Enslin that he was better off not going in the titular room. In 2016, he reunited with Cusack for Cell, making them an even rarer case of a pair starring in two King movies together.
Martin Sheen
Hollywood legend Martin Sheen has crossed paths with King twice, first playing psychotic politician Greg Stillson in 1983's The Dead Zone, a man destined to cause a nuclear holocaust. He later played Captain James Hollister, head of evil organization The Shop, in the Firestarter movie, although King thought his performance the second time was too similar to Stillson.
