Robert Englund
Robert Englund
Robert Barton Englundis an American film and stage actor, voice-actor, singer, and director, best known for playing the character of infamous serial killer Freddy Krueger, in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in 1987 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master in 1988. Englund is a classically trained actor...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth6 June 1947
CityGlendale, CA
CountryUnited States of America
I have friends that are much better actors than I am that had to quit the business because they couldn't survive the auditions or the rejections, or people just didn't realize how good they were.
I'm basically a movie actor now, and my big roles are mostly horror movies - unless I'm doing a guest star or something - and occasionally I try to get back into television.
Many great horror stories are period pieces and English actors have a facility for historic characters.
I'm a big fan of Brian De Palma's 'Sisters,' and I also love 'Let The Right One In.'
I never played Freddy as real. In the true bible of Wes Craven's outline for the films, Freddy only manifests himself in dreams. And a lot goes into a dream, not the least of which is imagination. So Freddy is secondhand information. Freddy is an urban legend that's been handed down to these teenagers over the years.
Its a new world, but I figure . . . you know . . . a good way to keep young is to keep new challenges going.
It's real simple - we all have nightmares, and the idea you can be in real jeopardy in them is a great gimmick. It's universal.
The truth of it is when you get an audience to laugh and camp along with you, it's much easier to scare 'em again because they're using two sides of their emotions. It's much easier to set them up for a good cheap thrill scare again.
What's great about Freddy in this is when he gets to comment and manipulate the back stories and the fears of the characters - especially with Jason.
We all have to change with the times... it keeps you younger; it's a new challenge.
The roughest make-up I ever wore was for 'Phantom of the Opera' because the phantom's face was all disfigured, and he's trying to pass in public so he can attend his beloved opera. That was make-up over make-up.
Any film you make is a crap shoot.
As an actor, you need everything you can get to be truly scary and truly memorable.
As a jobbing actor, you can't afford to be choosy; if you're typed, you're generally working. I still feel that way, and the thing is, even within the horror genre, I now get to play all kinds of different roles.