As few horror villains have managed to develop the iconic status that Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street has, it’s strange to think of anyone else but Robert Englund in the role, yet another actor almost stepped up to the plate.
Movies are subject to casting changes all the time, for both major and minor roles. However, Wes Craven’s 1984 classic slasher film, A Nightmare on Elm Street likely wouldn’t be the same if another actor had taken on the role. In 2010, when the film was remade by director Samuel Bayer, actor Jackie Earle Haley stepped into the role and was harshly criticized by hardcore fans of the film franchise. Not to say Haley did a poor job, but the lack of humor - which Freddy is known for - and the more serious overall tone of the film lent for a very different experience.
Other major actors such as Charlie Sheen and Michael J. Fox were attached to various Elm Street movies throughout the years, and at one point, The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson wrote a script for one of the movies, but Freddy is the centerpiece of the franchise for a reason, so it’s odd to think he might have turned out differently in an alternate casting universe.
Freddy Krueger Was Originally Actor David Warner
In the 2010 documentary about the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, titled Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, many lesser-known details about the films arose. One of particular interest was that Wes Craven originally sought out iconic actor David Warner for the role of Freddy Krueger. Over 106 interviews were compiled for the project and explored the depth of the franchise in new, interesting ways for horror fans, but this particular tidbit of information paints an intriguing picture. Warner has been involved with other horror projects before, including the original Straw Dogs, The Omen, Waxwork, In The Mouth of Madness, and even worked with Craven in Scream 2.
He is a star of both stage and screen, has worked in film and television as well as lending his talents to voice acting. Warner has also been nominated for a BAFTA for Best Actor and won an Emmy for his role in the miniseries Masada in 1981. He has crossed through various genres, and has been involved with science fiction films such as Tron and various Star Trek movies, but Warner’s wide range of playing both heroes and villains throughout his body of work could have lent numerous distinct qualities to Freddy Krueger, who didn’t even get much screen time in the first film, only appearing for seven minutes, yet long enough to making a lasting impression.
Ultimately, the actor disconnected from the project due to scheduling conflicts. For a time, Craven had discussed the role with another major name in horror: Kane Hodder. Hodder went on to lend his talents to the role of Jason Voorhees in four Friday the 13th films, though he didn’t get to duke it out with Freddy Krueger in Freddy vs. Jason. While this casting change was certainly for the best, it’s an interesting piece of A Nightmare on Elm Street trivia that does certainly make fans wonder: what if?
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