“I’m just a little too old.”
“I always am asked if I feel bad about being typecast in horror,” says Englund.
The actor sits down to discuss some of his most notable roles, fromStay Hungryto Krueger toStranger Things.
Robert Englund.Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty
The actor’s co-stars includedJeff Bridges,Sally Field, and real-life Mr. Universe championArnold Schwarzenegger.
“I was his greaser.
I was always oiling Arnold up in the background,” says Englund.
“I remember the squirt bottle and a towel.
Arnold was this big sweet teddy bear who we all fell in love with.”
“We all wanted to take care of Arnold,” says Englund.
He wasalreadythis unbelievably successful entrepreneur.
So it was more like, ‘Arnold, can I borrow money from you?’
He didn’t needanyhelp."
Happy Daysstar Erin Moran and futureTwin Peaksactress Grace Zabriskie also appeared in the film.
“I would flatten the drawings out and pin them up because they were amazing stuff.
Well, it was James Cameron.
I wish I had kept it all now.
Those would be so valuable.”
Englund remembers asking Johnson for advice before auditioning for the role.
“I said, ‘Kenny, give me some advice here.
Give me some help.’
Ken Johnson looked at me and he said two words: ‘Gene Wilder.’
I went, ‘Ah!’
I just channeled Gene Wilder.
There was a hesitancy, and a bit of a stutter, and an innocence.
That was my audition.
I got the part, and that’s the show that made me an international actor.”
“I walk in the office and he’s resplendent in Ralph Lauren,” the actor continues.
“It’s an old stage trick.
It looks very natural.
It didn’t give me bags like I have now, but it sunk my eyes.
When Craven started telling Englund about his vision for the film, the actor stayed silent.
“I was smart enough to zip my lips and shut up.
I played a staring game with him,” he says.
I was also in love with the international aspect.
I loved that.”
I really respected Dwight, and I thought,Well, I’m in good hands with him.
But I said, ‘The makeup’s got to be great.’
“It was just a wonderful adventure,” says Englund.
“Wes couldn’t get the eels to do anything,” says the actor.
It’s called a ‘meal penalty.’
Wes was yelling at us to get the shot because he was pissed off about the ‘eelpenalty.’
Wes [was] the horrific punster from hell."
I loved the conceit of it.
It’s a great little film and I think it really holds up."
" remembers the actor.
“He had a full-torso tattoo of Freddy wrestling with Jason, from his neck to his knees.
“They went through a lot of scripts.
They couldn’t quite get it right,” says Englund.
“It took the genius of Ronnie Yu.
I’m really proud of that film.
“Lo and behold, years later, he came to me with a completed script.
The movie was shot in Georgia, a locale chosen at the very last minute.
“We rushed off to Georgia and found this town made of old, antebellum buildings.
So that was the home of the maniacs!”
“I kind of got steered wrong on it, I think,” he says of that audition.
“Then, she was right there, on the other side of the cell bars.
I was like a fanboy.”
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Storypremieres on Screambox and Digital June 6.
Watch the film’s trailer below.
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