Robert Englund is a leading American actor of a number of horror films, probably best known as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) and all of its sequels. Englund, a boyish, tall and gaunt figure, became a cult favorite with that film, but he has worked in the industry since in the 1970s. He was cast as a sex-crazed maniac in Eaten Alive (1977) by Tobe Hooper, who also directed The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Englund went on to a number of low-budget horror films, including Galaxy of Terror (1981) and The Fifth Floor (1978).

Then came his big break as Freddy Kruger in the Elm Street series, becoming the man of nightmares with the disfigured face, a red striped shirt, and a right hand of razor-sharp knives. The film was directed by Wes Craven and was so successful for New Line Cinema that the company had Englund reprise Freddy in all of the subsequently and wildly successfully sequels. He played the title role in the semi-remake of the horror film classic, The Phantom of the Opera (1989) for 21st Century Film Corporation. Englund has frequently worked with Hooper in such films as Night Terrors (1993) and The Mangler (1995).