Biography
Like Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in the 1930s, Englund's name has become closely linked with one monstrously popular movie character; in recent horror film history, only Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates has struck such a resonant chord with the film-going public. (In contrast Jason of the "Friday the 13th" series, Michael Meyers of the "Halloween" films, and Leatherface of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" series remain anonymous to all but the …
Career Milestones
| Acted and directed in theaters around the country | ||
1972 | Breakthrough stage role in Cleveland stage production of "Godspell" | |
1973 | Traveled to Los Angeles to audition for Terrence Malick's "Badlands"; failed to win the part but stayed in LA | |
1974 | Film debut, "Buster and Billie" | |
1977 | First part in a horror feature, "Eaten Alive" directed by Tobe Hooper | |
1977 | TV-movie debut, "Young Joe, the Forgotten Kennedy" | |
1983 | First played the role of Willie, a sympathetic alien visitor, on NBC's two-part sci-fi telefilm "V" | |
1984 | Breakthrough film role of Freddy Krueger in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" | |
1984 | Reprised the role of Willie for "V: The Series" | |
1984 | Reprised the role of Willie for the miniseries sequel "V: The Final Battle" (NBC) | |
1986 | Cast as Dennis, a series regular on the CBS detective show, "Downtown" | |
1988 | Reprised role of Freddy Krueger to host the syndicated horror anthology series, "Freddy's Nightmares"; also directed an episode entitled Cabin Fever | |
1989 | Feature directing debut, "976-EVIL" | |
1990 | Hosted "Shadow Theater" a horror compilation and interview series on the USA Network | |
1990 | Hosted the syndicated awards show, "The Horror Hall of Fame" | |
1992 | Starred in Wes Craven's supernatural quasi-anthology series, "Nightmare Cafe" | |
1994 | Returned as Freddy Krueger in "Wes Craven's New Nightmare" | |
1995 | Portrayed Bill Gartley in the horror feature "The Mangler" | |
1997 | Dropped the evil persona to play Father O'Neill in the sci-fi series "Starquest II" | |
1997 | Re-teamed with Wes Craven in the horror demon feature "Wishmaster" | |
1998 | Co-starred in the summer teen hit "Urban Legend" | |
2000 | Cast in the feature "Python" | |
2003 | Had Freddy Krueger character resurrected to fight Friday the 13th's Jason in "Freddy vs Jason" | |
2004 | Hosted "Nightmare on Elm Street: Real Nightmares," a CBS reality show, where viewers can confront their worst fears | |
2007 | Had a brief cameo in Scott Glosserman's "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" | |
2008 | Co-starred with Jenna Jameson in the comedy horror film, "Zombie Strippers" | |