After giving us Nightmare on Elm Street, making us Scream at least four times, and forcing us to run from the People Under The Stairs, writer/director Wes Craven passed away at the age of 76 earlier this year. 

It’s a major loss to the entertainment industry when a prominent figure dies, but during his time as the master of horror, Craven helped launch the careers of a slew of memorable actors and actresses. Below are five of the most impressive.

Johnny Depp

Before he became gangster James "Whitey" Bulger in Black Mass or Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp was Glen Lantz in Nightmare on Elm Street. Glenn was the boyfriend to the film’s final girl, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp). In his first feature role, Depp had to show his likable charm and bring in a sense of tragedy to Glenn. Thanks to Nightmare on Elm Street, plus showing up in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Depp gained mainstream success and earned himself an Oscar nomination for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Mitch Pileggi

Way before FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner came around on The X-Files, Mitch Pileggi was serial killer Horace Pinker in Craven’s underrated cult classic, Shocker. As the next Freddy Krueger, Pinker’s twisted soul found itself stuck inside the television screen. Whenever you turned on the TV, Pinker was ready to jump out and get you. Thanks to Shocker, Pileggi continued his tough guy streak on Sons of Anarchy and in the Dallas remake. We wish there was a Shocker sequel, but at least there’s the upcoming X-Files revival.

Ving Rhames

Before he was delivering those awesome Quentin Tarantino-written lines in Pulp Fiction, Ving Rhames started out with his first big screen role in Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs. Rhames played Leroy, the thief who wanted to break into the Robeson’s fortified household. Not only was the Dawn of the Dead actor playing the cool tough guy you don’t mess around with, he also showed his knack for physical slapstick comedy. There is a laugh-out-loud moment in the horror flick when Leroy accidentally electrocutes himself alongside Fool. Thanks to his start in The People Under the Stairs, Rhames became an action star in the Mission: Impossible movies.

Rachel McAdams

Yes I do know that Rachel McAdams was already making it big, thanks to Mean Girls. But McAdams could have been stuck as the romantic lead if it wasn’t for Craven’s claustrophobic thriller, Red Eye. With her father’s life on the line, Lisa Reisert (McAdams) had to stay one step ahead of hired assassin, Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy). McAdams continued to kick butt as the no-nonsense, tough-as-nails Ani Bezzerides in the second season of True Detective.

Neve Campbell

Though her show was critically acclaimed, Neve Campbell’s Party of Five was one of the lowest rated TV shows ever. But then, the box-office success of Scream put Neve Campbell on the map, making her a big star. We should definitely pay attention to Willa Fitzgerald in the MTV series, Scream. Sydney Prescott’s shoes are pretty big to fill and as we all know, you can’t just put anybody as the final girl. We should be expecting big things as well for Willa Fitzgerald because Craven was executive producer on the show.