Star Trek: 10 Production Secrets You Never Knew About Klingons
6. After Escaping Freddy Kruger (Or Not), Nancy Went To Work With The Klingons
Heather Langenkamp played Nancy Thompson, one of the original final girls in horror cinema, in A Nightmare On Elm Street, The Dream Warriors, and New Nightmare. Though she would mostly step away from acting in the years that followed, she had two roles on Star Trek Into Darkness, one of which was heavily intertwined with the Klingons of the Kelvin universe.
She had a small cameo role as a security officer in the film, though she was buried under so much makeup that she was unrecognizable. However, it was makeup that led to her connection with the new Klingons. She, and her husband David LeRoy Anderson, were hired by J.J. Abrams to bring concept designer Neville Page's new versions of the Klingons to the big screen. They were tasked not only with realizing this but with making the first Klingons to be depicted in IMAX as well.
The new design of the Klingons was both respectful to traditional ideas, though they were beefed up a little. The actors hired to perform them were cast if they were deemed intimidating enough. The familiar head ridges were of course kept, with piercings added by Page. This led to the nickname 'Blingons' after the film was released, even though the effect is actually quite striking.