ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Oz Perkins

Oz Perkins’s name has been everywhere lately thanks to his recent addition to the horror scene, Longlegs. But Perkins isn’t new to audiences, nor is he new to the horror scene -- it runs in his blood. 

Writer, Actor, Director, Osgood "Oz" Perkins, is the son of Norman Bates himself, film legend Anthony Perkins. Born in New York in 1974 and named after his stage actor grandfather, Oz made his debut on screen playing none other than his father’s iconic character. In 1983, at just 8 years old, Oz made a cameo as young Norman Bates in Psycho II. 

From his first acting role, Oz found himself in a collection of projects, acting in a variety of roles, the most famous of these no doubt being David from Legally Blonde (2001), the dorky but lovable law student that Elle meets on her first day at Harvard. 

Oz also appears in the 1993 Will Smith movie Six Degrees of Separation as well as the 2003 fantasy comedy Quigley where he played the guardian angel of Gary Busey. As he continued acting, his love for filmmaking developed. Oz dabbled in more than just acting, and his roles made a sharp turn from the light-hearted rom-com we all know him from. 

Horror became a favorite of Oz’s -- a generational passion, as he puts it. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in 2016, Perkins credits his father for his passion for horror, stating, “It was my father’s business,” he says. “As some children go into banking because their fathers are bankers, and some people become dentists because their fathers are dentists, one of my ways of connecting with my old man — who I couldn’t always connect with — was through the fact that he was an icon in this genre.”

He may have been inspired by his father, but Oz’s horror has taken on a style of its own. His first horror movie, Removal, came out in 2010, which he both wrote and acted in. The movie followed a pill-addicted janitor working a job in a mansion that has a bizarre history. 

After his first horror movie, Oz hit the ground running. In just 6 years, Oz wrote and directed four more horror films: Cold Comes The Night (2013), The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015), The Girl In The Photographs (2015), and I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016). 

In 2015, with The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Oz made his directorial debut. Oz’s script for the film was said to be so terrifying that star Emma Roberts stated on "Today" that couldn’t sleep after reading it. 

After this late-2010s streak of films, Oz wrote an episode for Jordan Peele’s "The Twilight Zone" and even made an appearance in Peele’s 2022 film, Nope. 

Then, in 2024, Oz penned another film. One that has been shocking audiences even before its release. One that has been fostering excitement and fear alike. Longlegs. 

The terrifying film released this month and was immediately met with a rave rating from Rotten Tomatoes. 

Longlegs is a mastery of the typical horror, and, as Oz’s work goes, a playful approach to the genre as we know it. Longlegs is not only a showcase of his filmmaking abilities but a sensation felt throughout our culture. Longlegs promises something too… that Perkins is back to writing. May our silver screens beware!