Robert Englund

Robert Englund Acting Credits

About Robert Englund

After five years of success in regional theater Robert Englund returned to the west coast where he had grown up. His very first audition landed him a starring role in the 1973 film Buster and Billie directed by Daniel Petrie.

Far from living the classic hand to mouth existence of a struggling actor, Englund worked steadily through the 70’s playing best friends, bad guy #1 and southern red-necks and starring opposite Henry Fonda, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Bridges, Sally Field and Arnold Schwarzenegger among others.

In the 70’s, regarded as the second Golden Age of American movies, Englund was privileged to work for such classic film directors as Robert Aldrich, Robert Mulligan, J. Lee Thompson, Bob Rafelson and John Milius.

During this time Englund was living in Malibu, fishing off his porch at high tide and surfing when not slogging through traffic on the seemingly endless rounds of interviews and call-backs that fill the days of every working actor. He guest starred in scores of TV shows as well as working alongside some of the biggest stars of that decade including Barbra Streisand, Richard Gere, Burt Reynolds and Charles Bronson.

Finally audiences could put a name to his familiar face when Englund was cast as Willie the friendly alien in the hit mini-series and subsequent weekly TV show “V”. Within weeks, Englund went from questions like: “Didn’t I go to high school with you?” to “Aren’t you that lizard guy on TV?”. Decades later Willie still generates fan mail from science fiction devotees both in America and around the world.

The series was a huge success. As a result Englund figured he would be eternally typecast as a sweet and lovable alien. To counter-balance this public image, he looked for a role that would allow him to demonstrate another side of his talents. During one hiatus from filming the series, he auditioned for a hot young director making an interesting low budget horror movie for the independent studio New Line Cinema. Englund’s interview with Wes Craven landed him the role playing the burn scarred dream demon Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street and launched him into horror history.

An international hit, the movie made New Line Cinema a major Hollywood player and prompted seven sequels and a syndicated TV series. The character of Freddy Krueger has appeared on talk shows, comic books, rap videos, and even cartoon appearances as a guest on “The Simpsons,” “South Park,” and “Family Guy.” There are numerous Freddy Krueger action figures, dolls, and attendant merchandising including video games. Gottlieb came out with a very popular pin-ball machine based on the movies.

Englund’s portrayal of Freddy Krueger blasted him into the pop culture vernacular as heir apparent to the horror icons of the past, destined to stand alongside Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera and Boris Karloff’s monster in Frankenstein.

In the mid 80’s Englund starred in the hour-long network TV series “Downtown,” a serio-comic look at parolees. The short-lived series also starred Blair Underwood and Marishka Hargitay.

Acting on the small screen afforded Englund the opportunity to work with such diverse talent as Lillian Gish, Jack Warden, Sissy Spacek, Martin Balsam, Richard Thomas, James Earl Jones, Bruce Davidson, Lou Gosset, Jr and Hal Holbrook.

The international success of “V” and the Nightmare on Elm Street sequels opened the door for film work abroad. Englund has starred in movies shot in such exotic locales as Budapest, Bucharest, St. Petersburg, Tel Aviv, Johannesburg, Madrid, Palermo, Barcelona and Zagreb.

Englund is sought after as a guest at film festivals all over Europe and has served on juries and been celebrated with awards at festivals in Paris, Rome, Brussels and Sitges (Spain) to name a few.

After over 75 feature length films, four TV series and countless episodic guest star roles, Englund is now directing as well as acting, and exploring the world of reality TV, internet programming and voice-over work. "Most of my nightmares involve forgetting my lines in a stage play."

Latest 'Robert Englund' News

Robert Englund Still Thinks Freddy Krueger Needs an Elm Street Prequel

A Nightmare on Elm Street star thinks Freddy Krueger's origin story should be explored in a prequel movie.

Oct 12, 2018

Insane Freddy Krueger Photos Show Off The Goldbergs Halloween Episode

Robert Englund is back as Freddy Krueger for the first time in 15 years in a set of new photos from The Goldbergs upcoming Halloween episode.

Oct 9, 2018

Robert Englund Announces The Goldbergs Halloween Freddy Krueger Episode Premiere Date

The premiere date for The Goldbergs Halloween special featuring the return of Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger has been revealed.

Oct 5, 2018

Freddy Krueger Episode of The Goldbergs Starring Robert Englund Gets an Official Synopsis

Robert Englund is back as Freddy Krueger for the special Halloween episode of The Goldbergs appropriately titled Mister Knifey-Hands.

Oct 4, 2018

Iconic Freddy Krueger Elm St Photo Recreated for The Goldbergs Halloween Episode

ABC has released a promo photo for the Halloween episode of The Goldbergs which will feature the return of Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger.

Sep 24, 2018

Robert Englund Returns as Freddy Krueger in Goldbergs Halloween Episode

The Goldbergs have convinced horror icon Robert Englund to get back into the Freddy Krueger makeup for their annual Halloween episode.

Sep 21, 2018

Unseen Freddy Vs. Jason Robert Englund Make-Up Chair Interview [Exclusive]

We've got never-before-seen footage of the set and an interview with Robert Englund in the make-up chair on the set of Freddy vs. Jason.

Sep 13, 2018

Freddy Krueger Day Proclaimed by LA Mayor 27 Years Ago and Some People Hated It

Mayor of Los Angeles Tom Bradley officially declared September 13 as Freddy Krueger Day and true fans have been celebrating ever since.

Sep 13, 2018

Here's How Robert Englund Would Reboot Freddy Krueger and A Nightmare on Elm Street

Robert England, the actor who made Freddy Krueger a horror icon in the 1980s, has an idea for how to reboot the Elm Street franchise for the 21st Century.

Jul 30, 2018