Robert Englund - Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams

HOLLYWOOD MONSTER

A WALK DOWN ELM STREET WITH THE MAN OF YOUR DREAMS

ROBERT ENGLUND
WITH ALAN GOLDSHER

WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY
WES CRAVEN AND TOBE HOOPER

Pocket Books A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2009 by Robert Englund

Freddy Krueger Glove from A Nightmare on Elm Street used courtesy of
New Line Productions, Inc. MMIX New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Designed by Renata Di Biase

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Englund, Robert
Hollywood monster : a walk down Elm Street with the man of your dreams /
Robert Englund with Alan Goldsher ; with introductions by Wes Craven and
Tobe Hooper.
p. cm.
1. Englund, Robert. 2. ActorsUnited StatesBiography. I. Title.
PN2287.E545A3 2009
791.43028092dc22
[B] 2009026576

ISBN 978-1-4391-5048-1
ISBN 978-1-4391-6325-2 (ebook)

I FIRST MET ROBERT ENGLUND WHILE casting for the actor to play my archvillain, Freddy Krueger, in A Nightmare on Elm Street. At that time, I didnt know exactly what Freddy would look like, or sound like, or even act like. I just knew I wanted him to be evil, and smart. The devils not stupid. Thats what makes him scary.

I was leaning toward finding someone old. An old, evil man who delighted in the torment of childrenreveled in the destruction of innocence itself. And he needed to be physically intimidating, of course.

So I was looking at old stuntmen.

It wasnt working out well. I was discovering that stuntmen were not particularly drawn to being cruel, nor did they get enthusiastic about taking delight in murdering children. Same for older men. They, like the stuntmen, had seen a lot of life, knew how fragile it was, and just couldnt put themselves into such a state of mind. Too uncomfortable.

Then in walked Robert.

ID SEEN HIM IN his role of Willie, the friendly alien in the television movie V, and in the subsequent miniseries of the same name. A nice, sympathetic alien, with twinkling eyes and an earnest, almost shy personality. And Robert pretty much looked like that. Friendly, chatty, brimming with humor and energy. Thats not Freddy Krueger, I told myself inwardly. Hes too nice. And young.

But what overwhelmed my doubts was Roberts enthusiasm for the role, his unabashed eagerness to play someone really evil. He saw the role, and the script as a whole, pretty much as I saw it, as some kind of black comedy, and as the telling of a story about iconic figures locked in the eternal human struggle between good and evila modern myth, disguised as a scare-the-pants-off-you horror movie. Robert got it.

And he got the role.

WHAT FOLLOWED WAS PURE pleasure on my part, and pure hard work on Roberts. For openers, Freddy wasnt a man without dermatological problems. In his past incarnation, while still on earth, hed been burned alive by the equivalent of a lynch mob and was horribly scarred. The mask of scar tissue would give him both the power of the typically masked villainsuch as Jason, and Michael Myers, and a multitude of othersbut it would also allow him the freedom of expression that a rigid mask would not. Unfortunately for Robert, that meant three hours in the makeup chair every morning before he even got a chance to act. And the stuff stayed on all day. Try eating lunch through latex sometime.

Its not pleasant.

But once he was on camera, Robert Englund disappeared, and this strange, powerful, wickedly funny, and terrifyingly dangerous man emerged: Freddy Krueger. And from that moment on until the makeup was pulled off at days end, Freddy ruled the set. Into the basic character Id invented, Robert poured a host of improvisationswisecracks and scary stances and poses, and a chilling sort of creeping walk that just made your blood run cold.

It was astonishing to watch, and I knew right away that the picture and the villain that brought it to life were going to be classics.

BUT ROBERT HAD ANOTHER surprising side as well: the gentle, affable, and patient starand thats what he quickly became, a stara man who liked kids and didnt mind signing endless autographs, or doing other things that took him far out of his way, just to spread happiness their way. Ill tell you a story.

Once a psychiatrist wrote me. He had a young patient who had heard of Freddy Krueger and was having nightmares about him. I really wanted to help, so I got in touch with Robert and asked if he would say a few words to the kid into a vidcam. Not only did Robert do that, but he did it while he was being put into, and then out of, his Freddy makeup, describing each step of the way how Freddy was nothing more than latex and glue, and nothing to be worried about.

Shortly after I mailed the tape to the doctor, I received a letter in return. The youngster was not only cured, he wanted to watch a Freddy movie!

Over the years Ive spent many hours with Robert, especially in foreign cities for film festivals, and have constantly marveled at the scope of his celebrity. Hes recognized everywhere, and the huge grins that spread across peoples faces when they see him are priceless. Robert Englund is one of those rare walking contradictions: scary as heck when hes working; and delightful, witty, and erudite when hes notand he always makes time for the fans who are eager to shake his hand.

So long as he does it without the glove.

IN 1974, NOT TOO LONG AFTER I SHOT THETexas Chain Saw Massacre, I was checking out a movie at an art theaterat least thats what they called em around Austin, Texas, college campuses, art theaters; I dont know what they called em in New York or wherevercalled Buster and Billie. It starred some hot guy and a good-looking girl, and they were great, but there was this little albino costar, a high-powered fireball of mischief and energy. I watched this man smoke up the screen and thought, Who the hell is this? The energy that he has, the passion, the verisimilitude, the chops, man, this cat is great!

That was the first time I ever saw Robert Englund. And, man, I hoped it wouldnt be the last.

A COUPLE YEARS LATER, I was in a casting session for a movie I was directing called Eaten Alive. I was wrapping up a rambling conversation with the great character actor Neville Brand, during which time he convinced me that he should play the lead, when in walked Robert, and I thought,