In his early film roles, Englund was usually typecast as a nerd or a redneck, and he first gained attention in the role of Visitor technician and resistance fighter Willie in the 1983 miniseries V, as well as the 1984 sequel V: The Final Battle, and V: The Series, in which he was a regular cast member.īut after such typecasting, Englund went against type when he accepted the role of Freddy Krueger, the psychotic burn victim and child murderer in Wes Craven's hugely successful A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984. Since then, Englund has made over 100 appearances on film and television. He then played Ranger in Galaxy of Terror, produced by Roger Corman, which was released in 1981. Englund appeared in the 1977 film Eaten Alive directed by Tobe Hooper. While he didn't get either part, he suggested Mark Hamill for the role of Luke. In 1976, Englund auditioned for the role of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. Shortly afterward, he returned to the West Coast in search of film work, and landed a supporting role in the film Buster and Billie, directed by Daniel Petrie. He married for the first time in 1968 to a nurse Elizabeth Gardner, whom he divorced in 1972. Įnglund had five successful years performing in regional theater including plays by Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw. He then attended UCLA for three years, before dropping out and transferring to Michigan's Oakland University, where he trained at the Meadow Brook Theater, at the time a branch of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. While in high school, he attended Cranbrook Theatre School (organized by the Cranbrook Educational Community) in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Englund began studying acting at the age of twelve, accompanying a friend to a children's theater program at California State University, Northridge. He is of part Swedish ancestry and part Scottish ancestry. Early life Įnglund was born on June 6, 1947, in Glendale, California, the son of Janis ( née MacDonald) and John Kent Englund, an aeronautics engineer who helped develop the Lockheed U-2 airplane. Following his performance in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, he became closely associated with the horror film genre, and is widely-regarded as one of its iconic actors. After supporting roles in films in the 1970s such as Stay Hungry, A Star Is Born, and Big Wednesday, Englund had his breakthrough as the resistance fighter Willie in the miniseries V in 1983. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in regional theatre, and made his film debut in Buster and Billie in 1974. Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor and director, best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series.
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