Robert Englund

The actor who embodies the undead killer haunting the dreams of Springwood teenagers.

Robert Englund stars as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street, the 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven. This installment launched a franchise where Englund portrays an undead child killer who murders teenagers through their dreams as retribution against their parents for burning him alive. The character appears alongside stars Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, and Johnny Depp in his film debut. Englund's performance anchors the plot of a group of targeted teens facing a villain whose nature is defined by the struggle between dreams and reality.

Quick Facts

Character portrayed: Freddy Krueger
First appearance: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Lore & Background

In the narrative, Freddy Krueger was originally a child murderer who killed 20 children but was released on a technicality. The victims' parents along with other Elm Street residents sought vigilante justice and burned him alive in the boiler room where he committed his crimes. However, Krueger returned as an undead entity capable of entering dreams to kill. His power is fueled by fear; when Nancy Thompson realizes this, she calmly turns her back on him, causing Krueger to evaporate. The story reveals that Krueger targeted the teenagers specifically because their parents were accomplices to his homicide. Marge Thompson discloses these details after Nancy pulls a fedora with the name "Fred Krueger" from a nightmare into the real world.

Reader's Guide

Wes Craven based the screenplay loosely on news stories about Asian refugees dying in the middle of nightmares, specifically Hmong refugees suffering from "Asian Death Syndrome" after fleeing war in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The condition afflicted men between ages 19 and 57 and was linked to sudden unexplained death or Brugada syndrome. Craven also drew inspiration from a 1968 student film project by his students at Clarkson University filmed along Elm Street in Potsdam, New York.

For the character's design, make-up artist David B. Miller used photographs of burn victims from UCLA Medical Center. Craven chose red and green for Krueger's sweater after reading a 1982 Scientific American article stating these are the most clashing colors to the human retina. The iconic glove was developed after Craven considered a sickle; he asked special effects guy Jim Doyle to create a "glove with steak knives." Two models were built: a hero glove for cutting and a stunt glove to prevent injury.