Which actor played Freddy Krueger in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street?

Robert Englund played Freddy Krueger in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Wes Craven’s 1984 film introduced Freddy as a disfigured supernatural killer who attacks teenagers in their dreams. Englund’s performance combined menace with theatrical humor, helping make Freddy one of the most recognizable villains in horror cinema. Englund returned as the character in the film’s first seven sequels and in the 1989 television series Freddy’s Nightmares.

Freddy’s distinctive appearance includes a striped sweater, a fedora, and a bladed glove. The dream setting allowed the series to create situations that could ignore ordinary physical rules, while the story’s threat made sleep itself dangerous for the characters.

A common mix-up is confusing Englund with Jackie Earle Haley, who played Freddy in the 2010 remake. Englund’s version belongs to the original 1984 continuity. The film also marked an early screen appearance by Johnny Depp, who played Glen Lantz.