10 Things You Didn't Know About Freddy Krueger

10. Robert Englund Came Extremely Close To Not Playing Freddy In Sequel

Freddy Krueger and Robert Englund are pretty much synonymous; Englund made the role his own time and time again, from Craven's original film all the way through 2003's Freddy Vs. Jason. It’s surprising, then, that at one time movie studio execs didn’t feel all that strongly about the actor. After the success of the first Elm Street a sequel was quickly green-lit and Englund believed that he deserved more money (rightfully so) to reprise his role.

Englund and his agent realized how crucial he was to the role of Freddy, and they figured that New Line wouldn’t dare re-cast the part the way Paramount did with Jason after every Friday The 13th film. So, they indeed asked for way more money to return in Nightmare 2 - New Line was having none of it. The powers that be didn’t think Englund was really all that important to the role, reasoning that anyone playing Freddy is pretty much just a dude under a rubber mask.

They ultimately hired a stunt guy to play Krueger, which had some terrible results. The studio quickly relented and thankfully paid Englund what he wanted.