EXCLUSIVE!!!!
ROBERT ENGLUND
Born in Glendale, California, USA on June 6, 1947, Robert Englund made his debut in 1968 with a role in the play The Apple Cart. From 1969 to 1972 he played at The Shakespeare Festival.
Between 1974 and 1978 he appeared as Whitey in the movie 'Buster & Billie', as Michael Sutherland in the movie 'Sunburst', as Franlin in the movie 'Stay Hungry', as Buck in the movie 'Eaten Alive', as Beebo Crozier in the movie 'The Great Smokey Roadblock' and as Benny in the movie 'The Fifth Floor'. Robert was in 1975 featured in the plays Godspell and Saint Joan. Between 1975 and 1979 Robert also had roles in the films ‘Hustle’, ‘St. Ives’, ‘A Star Is Born’, ‘Big Wednesday’ and ‘Bloodbrothers’, the TV Films ‘Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy’, ‘The Courage and the Passion’, ‘The Ordeal of Patty Hearst’ and ‘Mind Over Murder’ and the miniseries ‘California Fever’.
Between 1981 and 1989 he starred in films such as Harry in 'Dead & Buried', as Ranger in 'Galaxy of Terror', as Tripper in 'Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder', as Freddy Krueger in 'A Nightmare on Elm. Street 1 to 5 ', as Riley in' Never Too Young to Die 'and as Erik Destler/The Phantom in' The Phantom of the Opera ', in TV-Movies as Charlie in ‘The Fighter’, as Sam Cooper in 'I Want to Live' and as Scott in 'Infedility', in miniseries like Willie in 'V' and 'V: The Final Battle' and TV series like Willie in “V: The Series”, as Dennis Shothoffer in “Downtown” and two seasons as Freddy Kruger in "Freddy's Nightmares". Robert was also involved with the latest as a series consultant and he directed two episodes of the TV series. In 1987 Robert appeared in the music video Dream Warriors from Dokken. He directed in 1988 the movie ‘976-Evil’. Between 1982 and 1989, Robert also had roles in the movie ‘C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud’, the TV-Movies' Thou Shalt Not Kill', 'Mysterious Two', 'Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land' and 'Hobson's Choice' and the miniseries ‘North and South, Book II’. In 1987 Robert produced the play Savage in Limbo and released as Freddy Krueger the CD "Freddy's Greatest Hits".
Between 1991 and 1999 he had roles in films such as Freddy Krueger in 'Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare' & 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare', as Anthony Wager/Madame in 'Dance Macabre', as Marquis De Sade/Paul Chevaller in 'Night Terrors’, as Bill Gartley in ‘The Mangler’, as prison director in ‘Killer Tongue’, as Crazy Man Cooper in ‘The Paper Brigade’, as Father O'Neill in ‘Starquest 2’, as Colonel Shakwell in ‘Perfect Target’, as Raymond Beaumont in ‘Wishmaster’, as Nemo in ‘Meet the Deedles', as Jackson Roth in 'Strangeland' and as Kratski in 'The Prince and the Surfer', in TV Movies as Dr. Ralph Wannamaker in ‘Mortal Fear’ and as Ernest Trainor in ‘The Unspoken Truth’ and in the TV series as Blackie in "Nightmare Cafe". Between 1990 and 1998, Robert also had roles in the films ‘The Adventures of Ford Fairlane’ and ‘Urban Legend’ and the TV movie ‘A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle’.
Between 2000 and 2017 he had roles in films such as Bernie Garces in ‘Wish You Were Dead’, as Freddy Krueger in ‘Freddy vs. Jason’, as Professor in ‘Like a Bad Dream’, as Jack Sampson in ‘Nobody Knows Anything!’, as Mayor Buckman in ‘2001 Maniacs’, as Sampson in ‘Hatchet’, as Doc Halloran in ‘Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon’, as Sheriff Richard Berger in ‘Heartstopper’, as Professor Gordon Crowley in ‘Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer’, as Ian in ‘Zombie Strippers!’, as The Prince in ‘Night of the Sinner’, as Hezekiah Confab in 'The Moleman of Belmont Avenue', as Inkubus in 'Inkubus', as Sam in 'Sanitarium', as Stuart in 'The Last Showing', as Dr. Androver in ‘Fear Clinic’, as John in ‘Kantemir’, as Warden in ‘The Funhouse Massacre’, as Dr. Harding in ‘The Midnight Man’ and as Jacob in ‘Nightworld’, in TV Movies as Dr. Anton Rudolph in ‘Python’, as Scratch in ‘Windfall’, as Eli Giles in ‘Black Swarm’ and as Jim Bickerman in ‘Lake Placid: The Final Chapter’ & ‘Lake Placid vs. Anaconda’ and in TV series such as Presenter/Freddy Krueger in “A Nightmare on Elm Street: Real Nightmares” and as Dr. Andover in “Fear Clinic”. In 2008 Robert directed the movie ‘Killer Pad’. Between 2002 and 2012 he also had roles in the films ‘Cold Sweat’, ‘Red’, ‘I Want To Be a Soldier’, ‘Good Day for It’, ‘Strippers vs. Werewolves’ and ‘Zombie Mutation’ and the Italian film ‘Il ritorno di Cagliostro’. Between 2010 and 2017, Robert voiced the video games Call of Duty: Black Ops, Mortal Kombat, Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, Call of the Dead, Master of Orion: Conquer the Stars and Injustice 2. He won in 1995 the prize for Best Actor at the Fantafestival for his role in the film ‘The Mangler’. He also won in 2001 the Life Career Award, in 2007 the Time-Machine Honorary Award, in 2010 the Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2020 the CinEuphoria. Robert has worked at the short films ‘Fat Boys: Are You Ready for Freddy’, ‘Dubbed and Dangerous 3’ and ‘The Sexy Dark Ages’ and guest-starred on the TV series “The Simpsons”, “Justice League”, “Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!”, “The Batman”, “Justice League Unlimited”, “The Spectacular Spider-Man”, “The Super Hero Squad Show”, “Regular Show”, “Green Lantern: The Animated Series”, “Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, “Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.”, “Uncle Grandpa”, “Spy Kids: Mission Critical” and “JJ Villard’s Fairy Tales”. He has guest-starred on TV series such as “The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries”, “Police Woman”, “Police Story”, “Soap”, “Paris”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Flo”, “CHiPs”, “Walking Tall”, “Harten 2”, “Cassie & Co.”, “Simon & Simon”, “Manimal”, “Alice”, “Hollywood Beat”, “Night Cort”, “Hunter”, “MacGyver”, “Knight Rider”, “D.C. Follies”, “Legend”, “Walker, Texas Ranger”, “Babylon 5”, “Sliders”, “Married with Children”, “The Jamie Foxx Show”, “The Hughleys”, “The Nightmare Room”, “Charmed”, “I’m with Her”, “Masters of Horror”, “Bones”, “Chuck”, “Supernatural”, “Hawaii Five-O”, “Criminal Minds”, “Workaholics” and “The Goldbergs”. Perry from Moov.nl was given the opportunity to interview Robert Englund for the internet site.
001.You act in TV series (“V” from 1984), movies ('A Nightmare on Elm Street' from 1984), do theater (The Apple Cart from 1968), do voice work
(with a guest role in the TV series “The Batman” from 2005), lends your cooperation / voice work on video games (Call of the Dead from
2011), is a host (“Shadows of History” from 2020), singer (the CD “Freddy's Greatest Hits” from 1987), director ('976-EVIL' from 1988) and
series consultant (“Freddy's Nightmares” from 1988). If you have to make a choice from all your activities, which you most like to do. What
would this be?
The most fun job ever is performing comedy on stage. You get immediate reaction to your work. I also love the adventure of filming a moie on
location. It is great to visit a country as more than a tourist and to have the opportunity to settle in and learn something about a new place. It would
be fun to do a play for one night, but I don't think I have the stamina or discipline for a long run.
002.You sometimes hear that every character that an actor or actress plays contains something of itself. Can you name a agreement in
character traits between yourself and Dennis Shothoffer from the TV series “Downtown” of 1986?
Every actor tries to incorporate an element of his own personality in every role. For example, Dennis from the TV series “Downtown” reflected my
natural shyness, which motivates most actors’ ambition.
003.At what point in your career are you so far most proud and/or do you keep the best memories?
I am most proud of the long life of my career which started in 1968. My best memories include working on the TV series "Nightmare Café" from 1992
in Vancouver, Canada with Wes Craven. It was a rich experience to shoot the film ‘Stay Hungry’ from 1976 on location in Alabama for three months
and to spend time with that great cast. My first experience with fan adulation was with the play Godspell from 1975. Young nuns would wait to meet
me at the stage door. Quite heady for a young actor. It is important that the audience respond to your playing. You cannot act in a vacuum, you need
feedback.
004.Over the years you have worked with many Hollywood stars. However, who impressed you the most?
I had the privilege of starring with the great movie star Henry Fonda in the movie ‘The Great Smokey Roadblock’ from 1977. He is a generous actor
to share a scene with. And between shots, I enjoyed hearing his stories about the Golden Age of Hollywood. Jeff Bridges on the film ‘Stay Hungry’
from 1976 and Finn Jones on the film ‘The Last Viewing’ from 2014 were also a pleasure to work with. I was nervous about working with Andrew Dice
Clay on the film ‘The Adventures of Ford Fairlane’ from 1990. But he turned out to be a teddy bear and a gentle man. I would like to work for directors
Guillermo del Toro and Jordan Peele. They have strong visions and make interesting films.
005.In 1988 you directed the movie ‘976-EVIL’ and in 2008 the movie ‘Killer Pad’. How do you look back on these films and how did you
experience directing?
Directing is a difficult experience because you are always racing against the clock. And the work is a collaboration, so there is always a compromise. I
would never want to direct myself on film because there are too many responsibilities for a director. Movies takes a year or more from pre-production
to shooting to post-production. I haven't found something I'm passionate enough about to spend so much time on. I would enjoy to direct something
for the stage.
006.How long did it take to get into make-up Freddy Krueger?
Freddy's make-up takes about six hours. That's less time than the make-up for the films ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ from 1989 or ‘The Mangler’ from
1995. The process for Freddy was to sit in a chair beginning at dawn and be poked and prodded by stiff brushes and cold glue. The make-up is a
jigsaw puzzle of twelve or more pieces of pre-painted foam latex glued to my face. Not a fun process at all.
007.In 2003 you were last seen as Freddy Krueger in a movie, ‘Freddy vs. Jason’. What was the reason you didn't play the part of Freddy in the
movie ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ from 2010?
I feel like the movie ‘Freddy vs. Jason’ from 2003 brought Freddy back to the eternal fan question ... "what if Freddy fought ...?" and therefor the
movie ‘Freddy vs. Jason’ was a good ending of Freddy. Actors rarely do remakes of their own performances. Michael Bay (the producer of the new
version, ed.) had his own vision for the movie and wanted to reboot the franchise. It is inevitable that movies get remade. There are only so many
stories. I like the new version. Although I was a little disappointed by the dream sequences. Today, anything you can imagine you can see on the
screen and I don't think the producers went far enough. Jackie Earle Haley who played Freddy in the new version is a great actor. I don't agree with
the choice to try to make Freddy sympathetic. Freddy likes his job, he likes killing children and he doesn’t apologize.
008.What can we expect from you in the future in showbiz?
In April 2021 the documentary ‘Nightmares in the Makeup Chair’ will be released in America. I am excited to be joining the cast of the TV series
"Stranger Things" as a recurring member in the role of Victor Creel for Season 4, which will come out in 2021. Also I continue to be busy doing voice
over work for games and cartoons.
For more information about Robert Englund, visit https://www.robertenglund.com/.
For more information about the CD "Freddy's Greatest Hits", please visit https://www.amazon.nl/FreddyS-Greatest-Street-Robert-Englund/dp/B077P3XX72.
Interview: Perry Krootjes
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