Robert Englund

Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and voice-actor, best known for playing the fictional 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. Despite his reputation for appearing in horror films, Englund is a classically trained actor.

Trade Mark

Freddy Krueger of The Nightmare on Elm Street films.

Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger

Trivia

Father designed U-2 spy plane.

Attended UCLA (for three years) and The Academy of Dramatic Art (in Rochester, MI).

Parents: Kent and Janis (nee McDonald) Englund.

Member of Actors’ Equity Association (1968-), Screen Actors Guild (1973-), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, Directors Guild of America.

One-time TV/radio host.

Married three times, the first occurred during his college heyday. His second wife, actress Roxanne Rogers, had a small part in the only movie he directed, 976-EVIL (1988), and his third wife, Nancy Booth, worked on the same movie as set decorator..

Ranked the #40 top villain for the American Film Institution’s Top 100 list of 100 Heroes and Villains for his role as Freddy Krueger.

Is of Swedish descent.

Auditioned for the part of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars (1977).

Is an avid “King of the Hill” (1997) fan.

Cannot, despite popular belief, speak Swedish fluently.

His performance as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) is ranked #51 on Premiere Magazine’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

He is a keen surfer, and has been shown on “Entertainment Tonight” (1981) talking about surfing.

Shares graduation from Granada Hills High School with actor Ossie Beck and John Elway

Wrote an unused treatment for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987).

Is an avid fan of filmmaker Kevin Smith.

After failing to get the part of Luke Skywalker in Star Wars (1977), he suggested to a friend that he try out for the part. That friend was Mark Hamill.

In 1973 he returned to the Academy of Dramatic Art to teach a stunts and stage fight class while appearing at the nearby regional professional Meadow Brook Theatre.

While a student at the Academy of Dramatic Art he spent a summer teaching at Cranbrook Theatre School in Bloomfield Hills.

Ex-brother-in-law of Sam Shepard and Sandy Rogers.

Lives in Laguna Beach, California.

Children of the Corn (also known as Stephen King’s Children of the Corn) is a 1984 horror film based upon the 1978 short story of the same name by Stephen King. Directed by Fritz Kiersch, the film stars Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton. Set in the fictional rural town of Gatlin, Nebraska, the film tells the story of a demonic entity referred to as “He Who Walks Behind The Rows” which entices the children of the town to ritualistically murder all the adults to ensure a successful corn harvest. Stephen King wrote the original draft of the screenplay, which focused more on the characters of Burt and Vicky and depicted more backstory on the uprising of the children in Gatlin. This script was disregarded in favor of George Goldsmith’s screenplay, which featured more violence and a more conventional narrative structure. To date the film has spawned six sequels with a television remake.

Taglines:

• And a child shall lead them…
• An Adult Nightmare.
• The Children Rise…..

Trivia:

• On the dashboard of Burt and Vicki’s car is a copy of Night Shift, the Stephen King short story collection in which Children of the Corn originally appeared.
• In the original theatrical trailer, Stephen King’s name is misspelled as “Steven”.
• In the original ending of the story Linda Hamilton’s character Vicki was killed by the children. She joined “the blue man” on a cross and had her eyes cut out.
• Though real corn was used for most of filming, polyurethane corn had to be used for the more difficult action sequences.
• R.G. Armstrong filmed his scenes in one day.
• Michael and Corey Frizzell, the nephews of legendary country music stars Lefty & David Frizzell and Sons of Country Gospel great Allen Frizzell (once married to country star Shelly West), played extras at the age of 8 and 9. Michael was also Robby Kiger (Job) stunt double. Corey who is now an artist to country music stars was also a stand in actor for Robby Kiger (Job).
• In the original story, Isaac and Malachai’s names were William Renfrew and Craig Boardman, respectively.
• The tagline “And a child shall lead them” comes from Isaiah 11:6 in the Old Testament, which reads, “And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”