Freddy Krueger Costume Guide? The 192 Top Answers

In Wes Craven’s original Nightmare on Elm Street screenplay, Freddy Krueger’s sweater featured alternating colors of red and yellow, as opposed to the red and green that the character later became known for.

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Freddy Krueger – the demonic antagonist of the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise – is arguably one of the most well-known horror villains of recent history. He’s certainly up there with the likes of the Xenomorph, not to mention his slasher contemporaries Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers from Friday The 13th and Halloween, respectively.

There are probably a number of aspects that also make him one of the most memorable fictional killers in film history: his attacks, which hit the psyche of his audience (sacrificing people in their sleep when they are most vulnerable), his grotesque appearance, his Trademark shaving glove and of course his unforgettable red and green sweater.

But what is this sweater all about? Why is it striped red and green? Well, the folks at Screen Rant have now offered an answer, and it turns out it’s no coincidence. It may have garish looks (not to mention it’s a little reminder of Christmas this time of year), but Wes Craven, creator of A Nightmare On Elm Street, has said in the past that he got these colors from a specific reason chose.

Freddy Krueger pays a visit to the Goldbergs in the new Halloween episode, Photos 1 of 14

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The story goes that the legendary horror director read an article in a magazine that said the combination of red and green are the most difficult colors to see side by side, so the striped color scheme was chosen to give a feel of creating discomfort for audience.

Even the shades of the colors are not random. Because both the red and green stripes are rendered in a darker hue, viewers may not be able to clearly tell what color Krueger’s sweater is supposed to be. It’s definitely red and green, but that subtle insistence that it could be something else (some people say it shows up as red and black under certain lights) only adds to the uneasiness. Interesting right?

And it looks like we may be seeing the iconic sweater back soon too, as the much-discussed Nightmare on Elm Street reboot is reportedly going well, with Robert Englund seemingly returning to the role. We don’t know much about what to expect just yet, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed for more updates on this in the new year.

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Main antagonist of the A Nightmare on Elm Street film series

Fictional Character

Freddy Krueger ( ) is a fictional character in the film series A Nightmare on Elm Street. Created by Wes Craven, he debuted in Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as the ghost of a child killer who was cremated by his victims’ parents after escaping prison.[2] Krueger murders his victims in their dreams and also causes their deaths in the real world. In the dream world, he is a powerful force and seemingly invulnerable. However, whenever Freddy is drawn back into the real world, he has normal human vulnerabilities and can be destroyed.[3] He is commonly recognized by his burned, disfigured face, dirty red and green striped sweater and brown fedora, and trademark metal claws, brown leather, and right glove. This gauntlet was the product of Krueger’s own imagination, having welded the blades himself before using them to murder many of his victims, both in the real and dream worlds. Over the course of the film series, Freddy has battled several recurring survivors, including Nancy Thompson and Alice Johnson. The character was consistently portrayed by Robert Englund in both the original film series and the television spin-off Freddy’s Nightmares. Englund has stated that he feels the character represents neglect, particularly that of children. The character also represents unconscious fears more generally.

The character quickly became a pop culture icon[5] and later appeared in toy lines,[6] comics,[7] books,[8] sneakers,[9] costumes,[10] and video games[11][12] since his Debut. In 2003, Krueger appeared in Freddy vs. Jason alongside fellow horror icon Jason Voorhees. A reboot of the film starring Jackie Earle Haley was released in 2010.

Wizard magazine ranked Freddy the 14th greatest villain of all time; [13] British television network Sky2 listed him at number 8, [14] and the American Film Institute ranked him at number 40 on its “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villains”. List.[15] In 2010, Freddy was nominated for the Best Villain (formerly Most Vile Villain) award at the Scream Awards.

Appearances [edit]

movie [edit]

In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Freddy is introduced as a serial child killer from the fictional town of Springwood, Ohio, who kills his victims with a bladed leather glove he made in a boiler room where he used to take his 20 victims. He is captured but released on a technicality when it turns out the search warrant was not signed in the right place. Hunted by a mob made up of the town’s vengeful parents, he is cornered in the boiler room. The mob douses the building with gasoline and sets it ablaze by throwing Molotov cocktails, burning him alive. As his body dies, his spirit lives on in the dreams of a group of teens and youngsters on Elm Street whom he hunts by invading their dreams and killing them, fueled and empowered by the town’s memories and fear of him by a trio of “Dream Demons” to be her willing instrument of evil. He is apparently destroyed by protagonist Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) at the end of the film, but the final scene shows he survived. He continues to anger the teenage protagonists of the film’s sequels, including Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton), Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette), Alice Johnson (Lisa Wilcox), and Lori Campbell (Monica Keena).

In A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, more of Freddy’s backstory is revealed by the mysterious nun who repeatedly kills Dr. Neil Gordon (Craig Wasson) appears. Freddy’s mother, Amanda Krueger (Nan Martin), was a nurse at the asylum featured in the film. At the time she was working there, a largely deserted, run-down wing of the institution was holding hordes of the craziest criminals at once. When Amanda was young, she was accidentally locked in the room with the criminals over a holiday weekend. They managed to keep her hidden for days and repeatedly raped her. When she was finally discovered, she was barely alive and pregnant, leading to Krueger being considered “the bastard son of a hundred lunatics” as it could not be determined which of the rapists was his biological father. However, it is implied in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child that Freddy had identified which of them was his biological father (also portrayed by Englund in a dream sequence) and hates his mother for rejecting him. Later, in Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, it is revealed that he was adopted by an alcoholic named Mr. Underwood (Alice Cooper), who abused him throughout his childhood until Freddy finally murdered him as a teenager. Freddy tortures animals and commits self-mutilation and becomes a serial killer by murdering the children of people who bullied him as a child. Before his assassination, he was married to a woman named Loretta (Lindsey Fields), whom he eventually murdered. He also has a daughter, Katherine (Lisa Zane), who is trying to end her father’s horrific legacy once and for all by killing him at the end of the film.

After a hiatus following the release of The Final Nightmare, Krueger was brought back in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare by Wes Craven, who had not worked on the film series since the third film, Dream Warriors. New Nightmare coincides with the upcoming anniversary of the first film’s release. Robert Englund, who portrayed Krueger throughout the film series and its television spin-off, also took on the role as a fictionalized version of himself in New Nightmare; It is implied that Englund was being pursued by his character, who is an ancient demonic entity that took the form of Wes Craven’s creation and was brought to life from the fictional world of the film series. Because the entity has appeared in various guises over the centuries and can be captured through storytelling, it is implied that she was once in the form of the old witch from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel when she was held captive in this allegory. Englund describes to his former co-star and girlfriend, Heather Langenkamp, ​​that this embodiment of Freddy is darker and more evil than he was portrayed in the films; Struggling to keep his sanity from Krueger’s torment, he goes into hiding with his family. Krueger wants to prevent another film in the franchise from being made by eliminating the film’s crew members, including Langenkamp’s husband Chase Porter (David Newsom), after he stole a prototype bladed gauntlet from him, and causing nightmares and making threatening phone calls to the Producer Robert Shaye. The entity also follows Wes Craven’s dreams, to the point that he sees future events related to Krueger’s actions and then scripts them. Krueger sees Langenkamp as his main enemy because her character Nancy Thompson was the first to defeat him. Krueger’s attempts to transition into reality cause a series of earthquakes throughout Los Angeles County, including the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Langenkamp, ​​with the help of her son Dylan (Miko Hughes), manages to defeat thewesen and seemingly destroy him. However, Krueger’s creator reveals that he is once again imprisoned in the fictional world, indicated by the character’s later appearances in films and other media.

In 2003, Freddy battled Friday the 13th horror icon Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger) in the theatrical release Freddy vs. Jason, a film that officially raised both characters from their respective deaths and then sent them to Hell . Early in the film, Krueger is frustrated with his current inability to kill as knowledge of him has been hidden in Springwood, leading him to trick Jason into killing in his stead, hoping the resulting fear will spread others will remember him so he can resume his own killing spree. However, Freddy’s plan proves too effective when Jason starts killing people before Freddy can, leading to a group of teenagers learning the truth and Freddy and Jason moving to Camp Crystal Lake in hopes of that they can drag Freddy into the real world so Jason will kill him and stay “home”. The film’s ending remains ambiguous as to whether or not Freddy is actually dead; Despite being decapitated, Jason looks on as his head emerges from the lake and winks at the audience. A sequel starring Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) from the Evil Dead franchise was planned but never made it to the big screen. It later became the Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash comic series from Dynamite Entertainment.

In the 2010 remake of the original film, Freddy’s backstory is that he was a groundskeeper at Badham Preschool who tortured and sexually abused the film’s teenage protagonists as children. When her parents found out about this, they locked him in a boiler room in an industrial park and set him alight with a Molotov cocktail from a gas can, killing him. As a ghost, he takes revenge on the teenagers by chasing their dreams; He is particularly obsessed with Nancy Holbrook (Rooney Mara), who was his “favorite person” as a child. Krueger’s power comes from his prey’s memories and emotions as they recall the abuse they suffered at his hands. His bladed gauntlet is made from discarded parts from his garden tools. Nancy destroys him at the end of the film by drawing his spirit into the physical world and slitting his throat. However, the final scene reveals that Freddy’s spirit survived.

television [edit]

Englund continued to portray Krueger in the 1988 television anthology series Freddy’s Nightmares. The show was hosted by Freddy, who did not participate directly in most episodes but occasionally showed up to influence the plot of certain episodes. Additionally, characters with disturbing dreams were a recurring theme in every episode. The series ran for 44 episodes over two seasons and ended on March 10, 1990.[16] Although Freddy did not play a major role in the storyline in much of the episodes, the pilot episode “No More, Mr. Nice Guy” follows the events of his trial and his subsequent death at the hands of Elm Street’s parents after his acquittal. In “No More, Mr. Nice Guy”, although Freddy’s case appears to be open and closed, a mistrial is declared based on arresting officer Lt. Tim Blocker (Ian Patrick Williams), who doesn’t read Krueger his Miranda rights, which is different than the original nightmare which said he was released because someone forgot to sign the search warrant in the right place. The episode also reveals that Krueger used an ice cream truck to lure children close enough for him to kidnap and kill them. After the town’s parents burn Freddy, he returns to haunt Blocker in his dreams. Freddy gets his revenge when Blocker is put under anesthesia at the dentist’s office and Freddy shows up and kills him.[17] The episode “Sister’s Keeper” was a “sequel” to that episode, although it was the seventh episode of the series.[18] The episode follows Krueger terrorizing Blocker’s identical twin daughters and framing one sister for the murder of the other.[17] In the second season of It’s My Party And You’ll Die If I Want You To, Freddy attacked a high school prom date who had stood him up 20 years earlier. He avenges himself by fulfilling his desire.[19]

Characterization [ edit ]

Wes Craven said his inspiration for the basis of Freddy Krueger’s power came from several stories in the Los Angeles Times about a series of mysterious deaths: all of the victims had reported recurring nightmares and died in their sleep. Additionally, Craven’s original screenplay characterized Freddy as a child molester, which Craven says was the “worst” thing he could think of. The decision was made to instead frame him as a child killer so as not to be accused of taking advantage of the spate of child abuse cases in California that were being brought to the public by the time A Nightmare on Elm Street went into production have.[21] Craven’s inspirations for the character included a bully from his school when he was young, a disfigured homeless man who scared him when he was 12, and the 1970s pop song “Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright. In an interview he said of the disfigured stranger: “When I looked down there was a man who looked a lot like Freddy walking down the sidewalk. He must have sensed someone looking at him and stopped and looked me straight in the face. He scared the living daylight out of me, so I jumped back into the shadows. I waited and waited for him to go away. Finally, I thought he must be gone, so I stepped back to the window. Not only was the guy still looking at me, but he tilted his head forward as if to say, “Yes, I’m still looking at you.” The man walked towards the entrance of the apartment building. I ran through the apartment to our front door as he entered our basement home. I heard him go up the stairs. My brother, who is ten years older than me, picked up a baseball bat and went out into the corridor, but he was gone.”[22]

Throughout the series, Freddy’s potential victims often experience dreams of young children jumping rope and singing a rhyme to the tune of “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”, with the lyrics frequently changing to “One, Two, Freddy’s coming for you”. is used as an omen of Freddy’s presence or as a precursor to his attacks. The character is shown in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors as the unwanted child of a rape, the son of a nun who was violently raped by dozens of mental institution inmates, and the “bastard son of a hundred maniacs”. Robert Englund has stated that the character represents child neglect.

In Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Freddy is characterized as a symbol of something powerful and ancient, and is given increased stature and muscle.[23] Unlike the six films before it, New Nightmare brings Freddy closer to what Wes Craven originally intended, toning down his comedic side and enhancing the more menacing aspects of his character.

In the 2010 remake, Krueger is portrayed as a sadistic pedophile who worked as a gardener at a local preschool. Unlike the original series, where he was a known child killer who evaded conviction on technical grounds, there was actual ambiguity as to Krueger’s guilt or innocence aside from testimonies from his victims. His guilt is confirmed when the adult survivors find the room where Krueger molested them.

appearance [edit]

The Dream Master, the fourth film in the series Freddy Krueger Sweatshirt from, the fourth film in the series

According to Robert Englund, Freddy’s appearance was based on Klaus Kinski’s portrayal of Count Dracula in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) and some works by Lon Chaney, while he based Freddy’s stance and gait on the “Cagney stance” originated by actor James Cagney. Freddy’s trait of keeping his gloved arm lower than the other was accidental as the knives were difficult for Englund to carry, forcing him to carry himself as such while playing the role. Freddy’s appearance has remained largely the same throughout the film series, although small changes have been made in subsequent films. He wears a red and green striped sweater (solid red sleeves in the original film), a dark brown fedora, his blade gauntlet, loose black pants (brown in the original film), and worn work boots to match his blue collar background. His skin is scarred and burned from being burned alive by Springwood’s parents and he has no hair at all on his head as it’s presumably all burned off. In the original film, only Freddy’s face was burned, while from the second film the scars have spread to the rest of his body. His blood is occasionally a dark, oily color or a greenish tint when in the dream world. In the original film, Freddy stays in the shadows and low light much longer than in the later frames. In the second film, there are some scenes where Freddy is shown without his bladed gauntlet and instead with the blades sticking out of his fingertips. As films began to emphasize the comedic, witty aspect of the character, he began donning various costumes and taking other forms, such as dressing up as a waiter or wearing a Superman-inspired version of his sweater with a cape (The Dream Child ), appearing as a video game sprite (Freddy’s Dead), a giant snake-like creature (Dream Warriors), and a hookah-smoking caterpillar (Freddy vs. Jason).

In New Nightmare, Freddy’s appearance is significantly updated, giving him a green fedora to match his sweater stripes, skin-tight leather pants, knee-high black boots, a turtleneck version of his signature sweater, a blue-black trench coat, and a fifth claw on his glove, which also does a lot has a more organic appearance, resembling the exposed muscle tissue of a real hand. Freddy also has fewer facial burns, although these are more severe due to numerous areas of his muscle tissue being exposed. Compared to his other incarnations, Freddy’s injuries more closely resemble those of an actual burn victim. For the 2010 remake, Freddy returns to his iconic attire, but the burns on his face are intensified with further skin blanching and exposed facial tissue on his left cheek, resembling actual third-degree burns more than they did in the original series.

Bladed Gauntlet [ edit ]

A Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Krueger “Freddy’s Dead Secondary Hero” gauntlet used in the sixth episode of

Wes Craven explained that part of the inspiration for Freddy’s infamous bladed glove came from his cat, as he watched it scratch the side of his couch one night.

In an interview, he said: “Part of that was an objective goal to make the character memorable, as it seems every successful character had some kind of unique weapon, be it a chainsaw or a machete etc. I also have a primal fear searched for, anchored in the subconscious of people of all cultures, on the one hand the fear of broken teeth, which I used in my first film, on the other hand the claw of an animal, like a saber-toothed tiger, reaching out with its massive hooks. I transferred this to a human hand. The original script had the blades as fishing knives.”[26]

When Jim Doyle, the creator of Freddy’s Claw, asked Craven what he wanted, Craven replied, “It’s like really long fingernails, I want the glove to look like something someone with boilermaker skills could make. [ 25] Doyle explained, “Then we looked for knives. We picked out this bizarre looking steak knife, we thought that looked really cool, we thought it would look even cooler if we flipped it and used it upside down. We had to remove the back edge and add another edge because we were actually using the knife upside down.” Doyle later had three duplicates of the glove made, two of which were used as stunt gloves on long shots.

For New Nightmare, Lou Carlucci, the effects coordinator, redesigned Freddy’s glove for a more “organic look”. He says, “I made the original glove on the first Nightmare and we intentionally created this rough and primitive look, like something that would be built in someone’s home workshop. As this is going to be a new look for Freddy, Craven and everyone involved it was decided that the glove should be different. This hand has more muscle and bone structure, the blades are shinier and retractable in a halyard. Everything about this glove looks a lot cleaner, it’s more of a natural part of his hand than a glove.” The new glove has five claws. [citation needed]

In the 2010 reissue, the glove is redesigned as a four finger bar metal glove but patterned after its original design. Because of this iteration of the character’s origins as a groundskeeper, she was from the start a gardener’s glove modified into a torture device, with blades modeled after a garden fork in the film.

Freddy’s Glove appeared over the door inside a tool shed in the 1987 horror comedy Evil Dead II. This was Sam Raimi’s response to Wes Craven showing footage of The Evil Dead in A Nightmare on Elm Street, which was a response to Raimi putting up a poster of Craven’s 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes in The Evil Dead. This in turn was in response to a torn Jaws poster in The Hills Have Eyes.[27] The Glove also appears in the 1998 horror comedy Bride of Chucky in a locker room that also contains the remains of the film’s villain Chucky, Leatherface’s chainsaw from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the masks of Michael Myers from Halloween and Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th

At the end of the film Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, the mask of the title character Jason Voorhees, played by Kane Hodder, is pulled underground by Freddy’s gloved hand. Freddy’s gloved hand was played by Hodder at the end.[28]

In popular culture[edit]

Amusement parks[edit]

At Six Flags St. Louis’ Fright Fest (then known as Fright Nights), Krueger was the main character for the event’s first year in 1988. He reappeared in his own haunted house, Freddy’s Nightmare: The Haunted House on Elm Street following two years. Freddy Krueger appeared alongside Jason Voorhees and Leatherface as Little Icons during Halloween Horror Nights 17 and again with Jason during Halloween Horror Nights 25 at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood. In 2016, Freddy Krueger returned to Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood along with Jason.

Other [edit]

Freddy Krueger had various appearances in Robot Chicken, voiced by Seth Green. In the episode “That Hurts Me”, Freddy appears as the roommate of “Horror Movie Big Brother” alongside other famous slasher movie killers like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Leatherface, Pinhead and Ghostface. In the Treehouse of Horror VI segment “A Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace”, the caretaker Willie played the role of Freddy Krueger, with his backstory toned down enough that he accidentally set himself on fire because Homer turned on the kettle and burned his parents to death ignore his cries for help and decide to get revenge by targeting their children for ruthlessly letting him burn to death. Krueger was eventually stopped by Maggie, who clogged his bagpipe spider form, causing him to bloat out of control and explode in the dream world, although it is implied at the end that this caused him to come back to life in reality, albeit much less threatening.

Freddy’s first appearance in a video game was in the 1989 NES game A Nightmare on Elm Street.[31] The game was published by LJN Toys and developed by Rare. Freddy Krueger appeared as a downloadable playable character for Mortal Kombat (2011), with Robert Englund reprising his role. He is the second non-Mortal Kombat character to appear in the game. The game depicts Krueger as a malevolent spirit inhabiting the dream realm who attacks Shao Kahn for “stealing” the souls of his potential victims. During the fight, he becomes drawn into the fictional representation of the game’s real world. The injured Krueger arms himself with two Razor Claws to continue fighting Kahn. After Krueger defeats him, Nightwolf sends him back to the dream realm, where he continues to haunt the dreams of his human prey.[34] In an interview with PlayStation.Blog, Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon cited the violent nature and iconic status of the character as a reason for including him in the game: “We’ve certainly had a number of conversations about guest characters over the years . At one point we had a conversation about having a group – imagine Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. We also wanted to introduce an unexpected character. This DLC thing opens the doors to realizing those ideas.”[35] Krueger became playable alongside Jason in the mobile edition of the game’s sequel, Mortal Kombat X, starting Friday the 13th.[36]

In October 2017, Krueger was released alongside Quentin Smith as a downloadable playable character in the seventh chapter of the asymmetrical survival horror game Dead by Daylight. The events of the chapter take place immediately after Nancy Holbrook’s escape from Krueger, prompting him to target Quentin Smith in revenge for his help. He invades Smith’s dreams and forces him to go to Badham Preschool, where the two are unknowingly brought into the Dead by Daylight universe by an unseen force.

The character returned to television in an episode of The Goldbergs entitled “Mister Knifey-Hands”, in which Englund reprized his role in a cameo. Freddy Krueger appears as an OASIS avatar in Ready Player One.[40] He is among the avatars seen in the Planet Doom PVP location, where he is shot by Aech.

The frog species Lepidobatrachus laevis has been given several nicknames, one of which is “Freddy Kruger frog” because of its aggressive nature.[41]

See also[edit]

For other people with similar names, see Robert England (disambiguation)

US-American actor

Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) [1] is an American actor and director best known for his role as supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in the regional theater[2][3] and made his film debut in the 1974 drama film Buster and Billie. After supporting roles in films such as Stay Hungry (1976), A Star Is Born (1976) and Big Wednesday (1977), he had his breakthrough role as resistance fighter Willie in the 1983 mini-series V and its subsequent sequel. After his appearance in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), he became closely associated with the horror film genre and is widely regarded as one of its iconic actors.[4]

Early life[edit]

Englund was born on June 6, 1947 in Glendale, California, to Janis (née MacDonald) and John Kent Englund, an aeronautical engineer who helped develop the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. He is of part Swedish and part Scottish descent. Englund began studying acting at the age of twelve, accompanying a friend to a children’s theater program at California State University at Northridge.

While at school, he attended Cranbrook Theater School (organized by the Cranbrook Educational Community) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He then attended UCLA for three years before dropping out and going to Oakland University in Michigan, where he trained at the Meadow Brook Theatre,[5] at the time a branch of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.[2] ][dead link]

Englund had five successful years performing in the local theater[9], including plays by Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw. In 1968 he married for the first time the nurse Elizabeth Gardner, from whom he divorced in 1972.[10] Shortly thereafter, he returned to the West Coast in search of film work and landed a supporting role in the film Buster and Billie, directed by Daniel Petrie.[9]

Career [edit]

In 1976, Englund auditioned for the roles of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. Although he didn’t get either role, he suggested Mark Hamill for the role of Luke.[11][12] Englund appeared in the 1977 film Eaten Alive, directed by Tobe Hooper. He then played Ranger in Galaxy of Terror, produced by Roger Corman, released in 1981. Since then, Englund has made over 100 appearances on film and television. In his early film roles, Englund was usually typecast as a nerd or redneck, and he first gained attention in the role of visitor technician and resistance fighter Willie in the 1983 miniseries V, as well as the 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle, and V: The Series, in which he was a regular cast member.

But after such typing, Englund went against type when he landed the role of Freddy Krueger, the psychotic burn victim and child killer, in 1984’s Wes Craven’s hugely successful A Nightmare on Elm Street. He reprized his role as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) and Freddy vs. Jason (2003).[13] His association with the genre led him to high-profile roles in The Phantom of the Opera (1989), The Mangler (1995) – another film directed by Tobe Hooper – and 2001 Maniacs (2005).

Englund in Gothenburg, Sweden in March 2005

Englund is one of only four actors to portray a horror character eight times in a row, the other three being Doug Bradley, who portrayed the Pinhead character eight times in the Hellraiser film series, [14] Tobin Bell, who played Jigsaw [citation needed] and Brad Dourif, who plays Chucky. Englund has said he enjoys the role of Freddy as it gives him a break from always being the nice guy; [citation needed] In fact, many people [who?] who have worked with Englund attest to his sympathy. Makeup artists in charge of Krueger’s makeup have commented that Englund was so friendly and talkative that the lengthy makeup application became a little more difficult.

Englund’s television credits include starring in the short-lived series Nightmare Cafe (1992), playing Blackie, the mysterious owner of the titular cafe, and reprising his role as “Freddy Krueger” in the series Freddy’s Nightmares – A Nightmare on Elm Street : The series. His guest starring roles include the sci-fi series Babylon 5, an episode of the MacGyver series as Tim Wexler, Masters of Horror, MadTV, Sliders and Knight Rider, where he appeared as a phantom in a movie studio, and Walking Tall: The Series, as well as a Guest star spot on the hit TV show Walker, Texas Ranger.

His work in voice-over animation includes the wizard Felix Faust in Justice League, The Riddler in The Batman, The Vulture in The Spectacular Spider-Man, and as Dormammu in The Super Hero Squad Show. In the witchcraft TV drama Charmed (Episode: “Size Matters”), he appeared as a demon who used the services of a servant to lure people into a run-down household (where he lived within the walls) and scale them down to the size of an action figure to shrink . He also appeared in an episode of Married… with Children as The Devil. Another appearance was in a 2010 season episode of TV spy Chuck, as a scientist who created a fear-inducing neurotoxin, a character similar to the Scarecrow, one of Batman’s enemies in the DC Comics (a character he later portrayed in the video game injustice 2).

Englund appeared three times from 1989 to 1991 as the presenter of the Horror Hall of Fame awards ceremony.

England in 2008

Englund made his directorial debut in the 1988 horror film 976-EVIL, co-written by future Academy Award winner Brian Helgeland and starring Stephen Geoffreys. During production, Englund met and married set decorator Nancy Booth.[8] His second feature film, Killer Pad, was released direct-to-DVD in 2008. In July 2013, he was in pre-production to direct The Vij, about a young priest who is tricked into committing murder by an evil spirit and falls in love with an old witch who is not who she is seems to be.

Englund also directed 2 episodes of Freddy’s Nightmares, first was Cabin Fever and the second was Monkey Dreams.

His memoir, Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams, transcribed by Alan Goldsher from his dictations, was published by Pocket Books on October 13, 2009.

He had also starred in the web series Fear Clinic,[15][failed review] where he appeared in five episodes as Dr. Andover occurred.[16][failed verification]

Englund noted in an interview with Forces of Geek’s Todd Sokolove that he would welcome a cameo appearance in the ABC revival of V. But before he could make such a guest appearance, the series was canceled.

In January 2010, it was announced that Englund would be returning as Jackson Roth for the Dee Snider’s Strangeland sequel, titled Strangeland II: Disciple. However, as of December 2010, there were no concrete dates or plans for the project.

Englund had a cameo appearance in the Bones episode “The Death of the Queen Bee”[19] and appeared as the quirky janitor at protagonist Dr. Temperance Brennan on.[20][failed review] His character, a friend of Brennan’s , and situation were introduced as “very scary… it’s scary like Freddy”. Englund was a special guest at the 2010 Streamy Awards [21] [failed review] and also appeared as a special guest at the CA Weekend of Horrors on October 8, 2010. [22]

Englund performed at Creation Entertainment Weekend of Horrors in May 2010.[23][Failed verification] In May 2010 he was signed to the American independent thriller Inkubus.[24][Failed verification]

Englund at Fan Expo Canada 2014

Englund appeared as himself in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies map, “Call of the Dead” as one of the playable characters, and played the role of a Halloween-themed serial killer in the 2010s revival of Hawaii Five-0 years. He also took part in a Halloween “Come dine with me” for Channel 4 in 2012. He also appeared in Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.[25]

Although the character of Freddy Krueger is considered one of the most terrifying in film history, Englund is often described by other actors and film crews as extremely kind and appreciative of his fans, with many admitting that his portrayal of Krueger terrified them as children.

He has starred in The Last Showing and Fear Clinic, the latter of which was released at the Screamfest Film Festival on October 22, 2014. Englund was also a special guest at Shock Comic Con on Valentine’s Day 2015.[26] In February 2016, Englund hosted a “Nightmare on Elm Street” marathon on the El Rey Network.[27]

Englund was featured in the 2019 documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, which explores the LGBT themes of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge and the life of actor Mark Patton.

As of 2020, Englund is hosting the Travel Channel show True Terror with Robert Englund, which features scary but true stories of the supernatural or weird.

In 2022, Englund appeared in the fourth season of the hit series Stranger Things as Victor Creel, a patient at Pennhurst Mental Hospital.

Filmography [ edit ]

movie [edit]

television [edit]

music videos[edit]

web [edit]

Year Title Role Notes 2009 Fear Clinic Dr. Andover 5 episodes

video games[edit]

Awards[edit]