He will undoubtedly go down in history as the man that brought Freddy Krueger to life (and justifiably so), but Robert Englund's fans know him to be a multi-faceted actor that has taken on many roles and given them a life on their own. A classically trained performer, he has unfortunately narrowly missed out on fame several times in his career; he auditioned for Luke Skywalker and was considered for the role of Han Solo in the original Star Wars films. Instead, he's starred in a (poor) version of The Phantom Of The Opera and has shown up in practically every schlocky horror (2001 Maniacs, Dance Macabre) and TV serial (Chuck, Babylon 5) you've ever seen. Alas, Englund's real face is far less recognisable than that of his alter-ego, Freddy. He deserves worldwide recognition if only for that role - a character as infamous as Lee's Dracula, Cushing's Frankenstein or Campbell's Ash. At least it gave him the chance to show off his more serious acting chops when he played himself (with aplomb) in Wes Craven's New Nightmare.
