Description
ROBERT ENGLUND BIOGRAPHY:
Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor, voice actor, and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in 1987 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master in 1988, and won a Fantafestival Award for The Mangler in 1995. Englund is a classically trained actor.
Career
Englund was briefly considered for a part in the 1977 film Star Wars. Englund appeared in the 1977 film Eaten Alive directed by Tobe Hooper. He then played Ranger in Galaxy of Terror, produced by Roger Corman, which was released in 1981. Since then, Englund has made over 100 appearances on film and television. 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. But 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. His association with the genre led him to top-billed roles in The Phantom of the Opera (1989), The Mangler (1995) – another film directed by Tobe Hooper, and 2001 Maniacs (2005). He reprised his role as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) and Freddy vs. Jason (2003). Englund is one of only three actors to portray a horror character eight consecutive times, the other two being Doug Bradley, who portrayed the Pinhead character eight times in the Hellraiser film series and Tobin Bell who played Jigsaw. Englund has said that he enjoys the role of Freddy as it gives him a break from always acting out the nice guy; indeed, many people who have worked with Englund attest to his congeniality. Makeup artists responsible for the Krueger makeup have commented that Englund was so friendly and talkative that it made the lengthy makeup application slightly more challenging. Englund’s TV appearances include starring in the short-lived series Nightmare Cafe (1992), in which he played Blackie, the mysterious proprietor of the title cafe, and reprising his role of “Freddy Krueger” in the series Freddy’s Nightmares – A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series. His guest roles include the science fiction series Babylon 5, one episode of the show MacGyver as Tim Wexler, Masters of Horror, MadTV, Sliders, and Knight Rider, where he appeared as a phantom haunting a film studio, and Walking Tall: The Series as well as a guest star spot on the hit TV show Walker, Texas Ranger. His work in voice-over animation includes magician Felix Faust in Justice League, The Riddler on The Batman, The Vulture on The Spectacular Spider-Man, and as Dormammu on The Super Hero Squad Show. On the TV witch drama Charmed (Episode: “Size Matters”), he appeared as a demon who used the services of a lackey to lure people into a decrepit household (where he lived in the walls) and shrank them down to action figure size. He also appeared on an episode of Married…With Children as The Devil. He appeared most recently, in one episode of the 2010 season of the television spy send-up Chuck, as a scientist who created a fear-inducing nerve toxin, a similar character to the Scarecrow, one of Batman’s enemies in the DC Comics (A character he would later portray in the video game Injustice 2). Englund performed as host of the Horror Hall of Fame awards show three times from 1989 to 1991. Englund made his directorial debut with the 1988 horror film 976-EVIL, co-written by future Oscar winner Brian Helgeland and starring Stephen Geoffreys. During production, Englund met set decorator Nancy Booth, whom he would marry. His second feature, Killer Pad, was released direct-to-DVD in 2008. As of the beginning of July 2013, he was in pre-production to direct The Vij, about a young priest who is led by an evil genie to commit murder, and who falls in love with an old witch who is not what she seems. Englund also directed 2 episodes of “Freddy’s Nightmares” first was “Cabin Fever” and the second “Monkey Dreams”. His memoir, Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams, which Alan Goldsher transcribed from his dictations, was published by Pocket Books on October 13, 2009. Recently he had starred in the web series “Fear Clinic”, where he appeared in five episodes as Dr. Andover. Englund recently noted he would welcome a guest appearance in the ABC revival of V in an interview with Todd Sokolove from Forces of Geek. But the series was canceled before he could make such a guest appearance. In January 2010, it was announced that Englund would return as Jackson Roth for the sequel to Dee Snider’s Strangeland, titled Strangeland II: Disciple. However, as of December 2010, no specific dates or plans had been made regarding the project. Englund made a guest appearance in “The Death of the Queen Bee” episode of Bones, appearing as a quirky janitor at protagonist Dr. Temperance Brennan’s old high school. His character, a friend of Brennan’s, and situation were introduced as “very creepy… it’s like Freddy creepy.” Englund was a special guest at the 2010 Streamy Awards, and also appeared as a special guest of the CA Weekend of Horrors on 8 October 2010. Englund appeared on the Creation Entertainment Weekend of Horrors in May 2010. In May 2010, he was signed for the American independent thriller Inkubus. Englund appeared as himself in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies map, “Call of the Dead” as one of the playable characters, and acted out the part of a Halloween-themed serial killer in the 2010s revival of Hawaii Five-0. He also took part in a Halloween “Come dine with me” for Channel 4 in 2012. He also appeared in Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Although the character of Freddy Krueger is regarded as one of the most terrifying in cinema history, Englund is often described by fellow actors and film crews as being extremely friendly and appreciative of his fans, many admitting that his portrayal of Krueger frightened them as children. He recently starred in The Last Showing and Fear Clinic, the latter was released on October 22, 2014 at the Screamfest Film Festival. Englund was also a special guest at Shock Comic Con on Valentine’s Day 2015. In February 2016, Englund hosted a “Nightmare on Elm Street” marathon on El Rey Network. Englund was featured in the 2019 documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, which examines the LGBT themes of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge and the life of actor Mark Patton. As of 2020, Englund hosts the Travel Channel show True Terror with Robert Englund, which showcases scary but true stories about the supernatural or strange.
Robert Barton Englund (born June 6, 1947) is an American actor, voice actor, and director, best known for playing the fictional serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. He received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in 1987 and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master in 1988, and won a Fantafestival Award for The Mangler in 1995. Englund is a classically trained actor.
Career
Englund was briefly considered for a part in the 1977 film Star Wars. Englund appeared in the 1977 film Eaten Alive directed by Tobe Hooper. He then played Ranger in Galaxy of Terror, produced by Roger Corman, which was released in 1981. Since then, Englund has made over 100 appearances on film and television. 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. But 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. His association with the genre led him to top-billed roles in The Phantom of the Opera (1989), The Mangler (1995) – another film directed by Tobe Hooper, and 2001 Maniacs (2005). He reprised his role as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989), Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) and Freddy vs. Jason (2003). Englund is one of only three actors to portray a horror character eight consecutive times, the other two being Doug Bradley, who portrayed the Pinhead character eight times in the Hellraiser film series and Tobin Bell who played Jigsaw. Englund has said that he enjoys the role of Freddy as it gives him a break from always acting out the nice guy; indeed, many people who have worked with Englund attest to his congeniality. Makeup artists responsible for the Krueger makeup have commented that Englund was so friendly and talkative that it made the lengthy makeup application slightly more challenging. Englund’s TV appearances include starring in the short-lived series Nightmare Cafe (1992), in which he played Blackie, the mysterious proprietor of the title cafe, and reprising his role of “Freddy Krueger” in the series Freddy’s Nightmares – A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Series. His guest roles include the science fiction series Babylon 5, one episode of the show MacGyver as Tim Wexler, Masters of Horror, MadTV, Sliders, and Knight Rider, where he appeared as a phantom haunting a film studio, and Walking Tall: The Series as well as a guest star spot on the hit TV show Walker, Texas Ranger. His work in voice-over animation includes magician Felix Faust in Justice League, The Riddler on The Batman, The Vulture on The Spectacular Spider-Man, and as Dormammu on The Super Hero Squad Show. On the TV witch drama Charmed (Episode: “Size Matters”), he appeared as a demon who used the services of a lackey to lure people into a decrepit household (where he lived in the walls) and shrank them down to action figure size. He also appeared on an episode of Married…With Children as The Devil. He appeared most recently, in one episode of the 2010 season of the television spy send-up Chuck, as a scientist who created a fear-inducing nerve toxin, a similar character to the Scarecrow, one of Batman’s enemies in the DC Comics (A character he would later portray in the video game Injustice 2). Englund performed as host of the Horror Hall of Fame awards show three times from 1989 to 1991. Englund made his directorial debut with the 1988 horror film 976-EVIL, co-written by future Oscar winner Brian Helgeland and starring Stephen Geoffreys. During production, Englund met set decorator Nancy Booth, whom he would marry. His second feature, Killer Pad, was released direct-to-DVD in 2008. As of the beginning of July 2013, he was in pre-production to direct The Vij, about a young priest who is led by an evil genie to commit murder, and who falls in love with an old witch who is not what she seems. Englund also directed 2 episodes of “Freddy’s Nightmares” first was “Cabin Fever” and the second “Monkey Dreams”. His memoir, Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams, which Alan Goldsher transcribed from his dictations, was published by Pocket Books on October 13, 2009. Recently he had starred in the web series “Fear Clinic”, where he appeared in five episodes as Dr. Andover. Englund recently noted he would welcome a guest appearance in the ABC revival of V in an interview with Todd Sokolove from Forces of Geek. But the series was canceled before he could make such a guest appearance. In January 2010, it was announced that Englund would return as Jackson Roth for the sequel to Dee Snider’s Strangeland, titled Strangeland II: Disciple. However, as of December 2010, no specific dates or plans had been made regarding the project. Englund made a guest appearance in “The Death of the Queen Bee” episode of Bones, appearing as a quirky janitor at protagonist Dr. Temperance Brennan’s old high school. His character, a friend of Brennan’s, and situation were introduced as “very creepy… it’s like Freddy creepy.” Englund was a special guest at the 2010 Streamy Awards, and also appeared as a special guest of the CA Weekend of Horrors on 8 October 2010. Englund appeared on the Creation Entertainment Weekend of Horrors in May 2010. In May 2010, he was signed for the American independent thriller Inkubus. Englund appeared as himself in the Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies map, “Call of the Dead” as one of the playable characters, and acted out the part of a Halloween-themed serial killer in the 2010s revival of Hawaii Five-0. He also took part in a Halloween “Come dine with me” for Channel 4 in 2012. He also appeared in Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. Although the character of Freddy Krueger is regarded as one of the most terrifying in cinema history, Englund is often described by fellow actors and film crews as being extremely friendly and appreciative of his fans, many admitting that his portrayal of Krueger frightened them as children. He recently starred in The Last Showing and Fear Clinic, the latter was released on October 22, 2014 at the Screamfest Film Festival. Englund was also a special guest at Shock Comic Con on Valentine’s Day 2015. In February 2016, Englund hosted a “Nightmare on Elm Street” marathon on El Rey Network. Englund was featured in the 2019 documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, which examines the LGBT themes of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge and the life of actor Mark Patton. As of 2020, Englund hosts the Travel Channel show True Terror with Robert Englund, which showcases scary but true stories about the supernatural or strange.
KANE HODDER BIOGRAPHY :
Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955) is an American actor, stuntman, and author. Hodder is best known for his portrayal of Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th franchise, with four appearances in the film series: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, and Jason X; and one in the video game Friday the 13th: The Game. He is also known for his role as Victor Crowley in the Hatchet series. He also played Leatherface during the stunts of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Freddy Krueger’s clawed glove hand in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
Life and career
Hodder was born in Auburn, California in 1955. Early in his career during an interview, he offered to show the interviewer and her cameraman a fire stunt, which went horribly wrong, leaving him with 2nd and 3rd degree burns over much of his upper body. It was because of these burns that he was initially selected to portray Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (see ‘To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story’ section further down this page), a role that would eventually go to Robert Englund with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. He was the first actor to portray Jason Voorhees more than once, in a total of four consecutive movies from Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood to Jason X. He portrayed horror icon Leatherface through the stunt work of the 1990 film Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and played Freddy Krueger’s clawed glove hand at the ending scene of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. He also acted as a police guard in Jason Goes to Hell. He also appeared in an episode of The Arsenio Hall Show to promote Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, in costume as Jason. Although he offered to reprise his role as Jason Voorhees in the 2003 film Freddy vs. Jason, director Ronny Yu replaced Hodder with 6’5″ Canadian stuntman Ken Kirzinger. The switch created controversy among fans of the series and has been credited to several rumors, including Kirzinger’s location in Canada and his height compared to Robert Englund, the actor who portrayed Freddy Krueger, while Yu himself stated that it was New Line Cinema’s idea to do so. Though Hodder still expresses resentment over not being chosen, he is still good friends with Kirzinger and Englund. In 2011 Hodder wrote, along with author Michael Aloisi, his autobiography Unmasked: The True Story of the World’s Most Prolific Cinematic Killer. This was in 2014 turned into a Webseries, which was released as The Killer & I. down. Hodder starred in the slasher film Hatchet as main character Victor Crowley, a physically deformed young boy who comes back from the dead to kill the people who invade the swamp he lives in a similar story in relation to that of Jason Voorhees. The role earned him the Horror Jury Award for Best Actor at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. He reprised this role in Hatchet II, Hatchet III and Victor Crowley . Hodder portrayed Grawesome Crutal in the old-school slasher film, Muck and its sequel Muck: Feast of Saint Patrick. He co-starred with Doug Jones and Michael McShane in the horror comedy film Love in the Time of Monsters. In March 2015, he was part of Adam Green’s ArieScope webseries Adam Green’s Scary Sleepover. Kane Hodder reprised his role as Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: The Game.
Kane Warren Hodder (born April 8, 1955) is an American actor, stuntman, and author. Hodder is best known for his portrayal of Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th franchise, with four appearances in the film series: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, and Jason X; and one in the video game Friday the 13th: The Game. He is also known for his role as Victor Crowley in the Hatchet series. He also played Leatherface during the stunts of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and Freddy Krueger’s clawed glove hand in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.
Life and career
Hodder was born in Auburn, California in 1955. Early in his career during an interview, he offered to show the interviewer and her cameraman a fire stunt, which went horribly wrong, leaving him with 2nd and 3rd degree burns over much of his upper body. It was because of these burns that he was initially selected to portray Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (see ‘To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story’ section further down this page), a role that would eventually go to Robert Englund with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. He was the first actor to portray Jason Voorhees more than once, in a total of four consecutive movies from Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood to Jason X. He portrayed horror icon Leatherface through the stunt work of the 1990 film Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III and played Freddy Krueger’s clawed glove hand at the ending scene of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. He also acted as a police guard in Jason Goes to Hell. He also appeared in an episode of The Arsenio Hall Show to promote Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, in costume as Jason. Although he offered to reprise his role as Jason Voorhees in the 2003 film Freddy vs. Jason, director Ronny Yu replaced Hodder with 6’5″ Canadian stuntman Ken Kirzinger. The switch created controversy among fans of the series and has been credited to several rumors, including Kirzinger’s location in Canada and his height compared to Robert Englund, the actor who portrayed Freddy Krueger, while Yu himself stated that it was New Line Cinema’s idea to do so. Though Hodder still expresses resentment over not being chosen, he is still good friends with Kirzinger and Englund. In 2011 Hodder wrote, along with author Michael Aloisi, his autobiography Unmasked: The True Story of the World’s Most Prolific Cinematic Killer. This was in 2014 turned into a Webseries, which was released as The Killer & I. down. Hodder starred in the slasher film Hatchet as main character Victor Crowley, a physically deformed young boy who comes back from the dead to kill the people who invade the swamp he lives in a similar story in relation to that of Jason Voorhees. The role earned him the Horror Jury Award for Best Actor at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. He reprised this role in Hatchet II, Hatchet III and Victor Crowley . Hodder portrayed Grawesome Crutal in the old-school slasher film, Muck and its sequel Muck: Feast of Saint Patrick. He co-starred with Doug Jones and Michael McShane in the horror comedy film Love in the Time of Monsters. In March 2015, he was part of Adam Green’s ArieScope webseries Adam Green’s Scary Sleepover. Kane Hodder reprised his role as Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: The Game.
