A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010): 10 Things You Didn’t Know
By Jeremy Dick
MADRID, SPAIN – JULY 13: Actor Jackie Earle Haley attends the premiere of ‘A nightmare on Elm Street’ (‘Pesadilla en Elm Street’) at Capitol Cinema on July 13, 2010 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)
2. Jackie Earle Haley was initially apprehensive about accepting the role of Freddy.
The opportunity to play one of the most well-known antagonists in pop culture history certainly has to be tempting for any actor in Hollywood. According to Jackie Earle Haley, however, he had to stop and think about whether or not he should accept the role of Freddy Krueger in the 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. There were apparently a lot of things to consider.
Oddly, Haley first heard about his name being linked to playing Freddy through rumors posted by fans on the internet, which he was pleasantly surprised by. He soon learned that his agents had actually already been in talks to land Haley the part of the new Springwood Slasher.
According to Haley himself, he was apprehensive about playing the character, at least at first. The idea of playing someone as sinister as a child murderer was intimidating for the actor, but he later accepted after realizing that it’s simply just a horror film and he’s only portraying a character. Playing Freddy Krueger in a film does not make one inherently evil.
If nothing else, at least playing Freddy gave Haley a chance to make up for missed opportunities…
Next: Not in the first, but in the last.