Stephen King's Biggest Acting Role Was Inspired By A Looney Tunes Character

George A. Romero and Stephen King: a match made in horror movie heaven. It was probably inevitable that Stephen King would break into the movies, and the master of horror finally had his first screenplay produced in the form of Romero's "Creepshow," one of the best horror anthology movies ever made. King had penned scripts before (for instance: he wrote a draft of the screenplay for "The Shining" that Stanley Kubrick rejected), but "Creepshow" was the first original King script to make it to the screen. King and Romero originally met when Romero was being courted to direct the TV adaptation of King's vampire novel "Salem's Lot," and while Romero ultimately didn't direct the miniseries (those duties ultimately fell to "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" filmmaker Tobe Hooper), he and King became friends. Eventually, the two decided to make a movie together, with King penning the script and Romero directing. 

The idea they struck upon was to pay tribute to the pulpy EC horror comics that had so influenced King when he was growing up. King churned out the script in two months, delivering a 142-page draft with five segments (well, technically, six, if you want to count the wraparound story that frames the anthology). Romero usually worked cheap, and the "Creepshow" budget ended up being around $8 million — which Romero was happy with. "It was enough money to do everything we wanted to do," Romero is quoted as saying in Jessie Horsting's book "Stephen King at the Movies." 

Romero assembled a cast of well-known actors for "Creepshow," including Hal Holbrook, Adrienne Barbeau, Leslie Nielsen, E. G. Marshall, Ted Danson, and Ed Harris. But for the segment "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill," an unlikely actor took the lead role: Stephen King. King has made cameo appearances in many adaptations of his works over the years, and even popped up on the TV series "Sons of Anarchy." But "Creepshow" features his most prominent movie performance. "I like to act — not that I'm much good at it, but I suspect most writers do," King said years later.

Adapted from King's short story "Weeds," "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" is a gross, somewhat depressing story of a dimwitted farmer, played by King. One day, a meteorite crashes on Jordy Verrill's farm. Not being very bright, Jordy immediately touches the meteorite, which instantly burns his fingers. Jordy assumes he might be able to sell the meteorite to scientists and use the money to pay off a loan, but unfortunately, that's not what happens. Instead, the meteorite causes a grassy-green moss-like substance to start growing on everything — including Jordy. By the time the segment ends, Jordy has been completely covered in the strange vegetation from the meteorite. Desperate and broken, he shoots himself with a shotgun. It's a rather bleak installment if you start to think about it, but one thing keeps the mood light: King's very silly performance. 

Stephen King is a great writer, but I don't think anyone will ever accuse him of being a great actor. For "Creepshow," King goes big. He's constantly bugging his eyes out and letting his mouth hang agape. It's all very comical — cartoonish, even. But to be fair to King, he was just doing what he was told. Because it seems like "cartoonish" is exactly what director George Romero was looking for. 

In Jessie Horsting's book "Stephen King at the Movies," King reveals the acting advice he got from Romero. "I had a little trouble at first — George wanted a caricature of a dirt farmer, not a real one, and I had a little trouble giving it to him at first," King says. "He took me aside and said, 'Steve, you know the Roadrunner cartoons?' I said I did. He said, 'You know how Wile Coyote looks when he falls off a cliff?' I said I did. George said, 'Well, that's what I want.'"

And Romero was apparently happy with the performance. The director is quoted as saying, "Steve's wonderful, really good. In fact, I think he was a frustrated actor all along. He has great range and good comic timing. He did a terrific job."

"Creepshow" isn't exactly a movie that requires subtle, nuanced performances to begin with, so King did just fine with his human Looney Tunes impersonation. King would also return for a cameo in "Creepshow 2," where he plays a truck driver. That performance is very brief, and slightly less ridiculous.