Robert Englund: More Than Your Worst Nightmare

When asked if horror legends influenced his Freddy Krueger role, Englund told a reporter.Englund told a reporter.He remembers looking through a book about horror icon Lon Chaney as a kid. "If anyone buried themselves in my subconscious, it might have been Lon Chaney," Englund said.

Englund loves the work of Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. Englund is sometimes compared to Price.Robert Englund described Elm Street.Englund said of Price, "If I have half the longevity he had, I'll be a happy cowboy."

In an interview,Robert Englund described how he auditioned for Freddy Krueger in the original *A Nightmare on Elm Street*.In an interview with WGN anchors in Chicago, Robert Englund described his audition process for Freddy Krueger in the original *A Nightmare on Elm Street*.Englund explained he wanted to work with Wes Craven and needed to impress the director for the part.Englund recalled, "I greased my hair back because my hair was all blond surfer boy," explaining he wanted to impress Wes Craven for the role.

Englund noted he was tan and muscular, not typical for Freddy Krueger. After putting his hair down, Englund rubbed cigarette ash under his eyes to make them look sunken. Englund's acting style impressed Craven.

Robert Englund describes his childhood in 1950s Los Angeles as happy and ordinary. Then everything changed.Everything changed for Englund when he got involved in drama.Englund immediately got the acting bug and was cast in leading roles. "It just clicked," Englund recalled in an interview.

Comedian Steve Allen came backstage and told Englund about his good performances. Peers liked Englund, even though he beat older kids for leading parts.In a 2023 documentary called *Hollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story*, the actor discussed his Freddy Krueger role and how the character changed over time. Regarding the 2010 remake starring Jackie Earle Haley, Englund referred to his replacement as “just so good, a wonderful actor.”Comedian Steve Allen came backstage. He told Englund about the good job he did in the shows. Peers liked Englund, even though he often beat older kids for leading roles.

In a 2023 documentary about Englund's life and career calledHollywood Dreams and Nightmares: The Robert Englund StoryThe actor talked about his Freddy Krueger role. He discussed how the character changed over time. About the 2010 remake starring Jackie Earle Haley,Englund said, "I think I can look back and remember making my mind up right then - that [acting] was what I was going to do the rest of my life."he said, “just so good, a wonderful actor.”

He also considered who could play the nightmare villain next. Surprisingly, he named Kevin Bacon:

He respects the genre. He thinks Englund is a great physical actor. The way Kevin moves and the silences would be interesting.

Robert Englund started teaching drama classes while he was still a student in the early 1960s. Englund still canvividly recallHe watched the girls' archery team practice outside his classroom window. He felt nostalgia for the summer before he started acting at age 12.

He said, “I can look back and remember making my mind up right then - that [acting] was what I was going to do the rest of my life.”

After taking every drama class and workshop in Los Angeles, Englund began teaching acting to other students. Englund was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art as a college student at UCLA.

Most people think Robert Englund started his horror film career inA Nightmare on Elm StreetEnglund somewhat accidentally joined another genre classic behind the scenes. In 1978, a friend asked Englund to help carry leaves to Pasadena for a movie set.

Englund told a reporterWe were working on the set of the originalHalloween, Englund threw dead leaves around." The man who made Freddy Krueger immortal six years later created much of the fall feeling in John Carpenter'sHalloween.

Robert Englund played many different roles before getting the part of Freddy Krueger. Englund toldHollywood Chicagothat he started as a Southerner after appearing in a Tennessee Williams play. Other early roles cast Englund as a redneck, the best friend, and the sidekick. Playing Freddy Krueger offered a good way to escape these types.

"I did not choose to be in horror movies," Englund told the reporter, "I just like to go where I'm wanted. The Freddy phenomenon was international; I had no control over it." Englund now controls the roles he accepts and happily embraces the horror genre.

The story of Robert Englund's relationship withStar Warshas changed over years through a Hollywood phone game, but both Englund and Mark Hamill corrected who told whom about the film in a 2019interview, Englund explained he told Hamill aboutStar Warsafter being briefly considered for Han Solo.

In a 2018interview, Hamill confirmed this, while saying his agent had already booked him an audition for Luke Skywalker. During the interview, Hamill quipped, "In Hollywood, you do not tell your friends about a role until you have been rejected yourself."

Though Englund was not cast in the film, he remained close friends with Hamill and told interviewers, "Mark shared all the great gossip about the making ofStar Wars." Hamill later helped Englund with green screen work using his experience with the technology.

In August 2020, Englund announcedvia Twitterthat he partnered with Dead Sled Coffee to make his "own signature brew."Dead Sled, which calls its products "Distinguished Coffee for the Exceptional & Unconventional," sells coffees named "Vampira" and "Resurrection." Englund's coffee is called the "Stay Awake Blend," and comes in striped packaging.

The company said in ablog post: "Over the past couple/few months or so, we have been sending Robert different coffees from both our current line and new roasts we are creating."

Englund tweeted that the coffee would "be strong enough to keep you awake."

Nearly ten years beforeA Nightmare on Elm StreetRobert Englund debuted in theaters. Englund auditioned for two top films in movie history but got no part. Englund was up for the surfer role inApocalypse NowHe thought he would get the role because he was an athletic surfer with a deep tan and long blond hair. The casting director told Englund he was "too old" for the part. Englund recalled the woman saying, "You might be right for something across the hall."

They were holding auditions forStar Warsin the same building. Internet rumors often claim Englund auditioned for Luke Skywalker, but he recentlycorrected the recordsaying he actually auditioned for Han Solo.

Englund has no hard feelings about losing the role to Harrison Ford. He said he even went to the set with Mark Hamill and has a vintage Imperial Walker in his office.

Robert Englund performed with the Fat Boys on the song "Are You Ready for Freddy?""Are You Ready for Freddy?"This was for their 1988 albumComing Back Hard AgainAmusic videoThe video shows the Fat Boys staying the night at the original Elm Street house to take over the estate of band member Prince Markie Dee's late "Uncle Frederick," whom Englund says his family never mentions. Englund as Freddy Krueger chases the Fat Boys through the abandoned house, stopping briefly to rap, letting the Fat Boys escape.

The song appeared that same year inA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.Heather Langenkamp's voice asks, "Who is Fred Krueger?" in the song's background.

The man who played a terrifying horror villain in film history fears teens who text and drive. On hiswebsite, Robert Englund answers fan questions. When asked what scares him, Englund said, "I used to say snakes, but then I did"PythonHe worked with a cute baby python that cured his phobia. Now he worries about teens texting behind the wheel.

An actor playing a grotesque, terrifying character like Freddy Krueger should fear daily dangers more than things from books and films.

By 1970, Robert Englund worked steadily as a stage actor for several years. He landed the role of Judas in a regional theater production ofGodspell. Englund said the show was so popular 200-300 people left any night. This was Englund's first fan following when aa group of nunsNuns camped outside his apartment to meet him.

Englund recalled a press interview where he said he liked Michelob beer. These nuns from the novitiate left him six packs of Michelob.GodspellandJesus Christ SuperstarHe believed his "groupie nuns" felt a connection to his portrayal of Judas.

Robert Englund earned a starring role in a feature film during his first Hollywood audition in 1974 for "Buster and Billie"."Buster and Billie"Englund worked with director Daniel Petrie, known for the 1961 film adaptation of "A Raisin in the Sun".A Raisin in the SunIn aninterviewEnglund remembered, "I beat out half the actors in LA to get the role."

Englund co-starred withJan-Michael Vincent and Joan Goodfellow, playing a redneck typecast role he later dropped. The film got mixed reviews upon release, but it sold well and was a big win for Englund, who had no prior screen experience.