Why The Freddy Krueger Actor Was Never The Same After The Role

Decades after Freddy Krueger 's chilling debut as one of horror's most notorious monsters, Robert Englund still credits his time as the character for taking his career to new heights. However, taking on the role of Freddy Krueger also completely changed the actor's life.

Robert Englund never set out with the intention of playing a monster like Freddy Krueger. In fact, his earliest work was in theater, and from there, he often found himself playing sidekicks in supporting roles. He also played some unsavory characters in films like Eaten Alive and appeared in controversial movies like Dead & Buried, but playing Freddy was an entirely new experience. Englund told Hollywood Chicago:

"I had gotten typed early in Hollywood as a Southerner. [...] Then it was the 'best friend' and 'sidekick' roles."

Although playing Freddy was a big step up from his previous parts, Englund has said that the reason he got the role was simply because of typecasting. He had experience working in the horror genre, and this time, he just got to play the main villain instead of a side character.

One of the perks of playing an iconic monster like Freddy Krueger? Englund may not be winning Oscars or raking in the biggest salaries in Hollywood, but even though he's in his early 70s, he never finds himself wanting for work, and he has plenty of freedom to choose the projects he wants.

Englund acknowledges that if he'd never gotten the opportunity to play Freddy, he probably wouldn't be enjoying the same level of success today. He's been consistently working in Hollywood since landing a supporting role in the 1974 film Buster and Billie, but after playing Freddy, the offers started flooding in. As a result, he's acted in movies like The Phantom of the Opera and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, TV shows like Bones and Supernatural, and in 2020 he hosted a show on the Travel Channel called True Terror.

#FreddyKreuger #RobertEnglund

Career saved by typecasting | 0:19
Endless opportunities | 1:23
Celebrity status | 2:56
Using his roots | 4:18
Going international | 5:06
Missed out on comedies | 6:53
Haunted by Freddy | 8:02
Horror connoisseur | 9:13
Leaving a legacy | 12:01

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