When it was announced that Robert Englund, best known for his role as Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, would be appearing in Season 4 of Stranger Things, it seemed like a match made in heaven. After all, Englund is synonymous with the ’80s pop culture that Stranger Things embraces. Now, as Victor Creel, he’s part of a show that goes a long way to pay tribute to that decade–and even his Elm Street movies.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 4.
However, getting him a role on the show wasn’t as simple a task as you may think. In fact, Englund even admits that he auditioned for a role in a previous season, though he failed to land the part.
“I auditioned for Season 3, and I may have been too old for the role or it may have been a bad audition,” Englund told GameSpot. “I was disappointed and out of nowhere came this audition request from the Duffer brothers for Season 4. And I did a home audition, I remember that–without the makeup, but a sense of the rhythm of the lines and my voice and how it would sound. I may have been a little too Hannibal Lecter–kind of a neurotic Hannibal Lecter.”
Whatever the case, it worked, and he was cast in the role of Victor Creel, the man believed to have murdered his family, leading to him being committed to a psychiatric hospital. Of course, those who watched Episode 7 of Stranger Things 4 know that his son, Henry, was actually the murderer–and is now Vecna in the Upside Down.
But that “neurotic Hannibal Lecter,” as he puts it, performance struck a chord with Natalie Dyner and Maya Hawke, who share a scene with him in the hospital. “He was so kind and gentle and easy to talk to, and then he just really brought it,” Dyer said of Englund. “He was so fascinating, but also quite instructive to watch him work.” Added Hawke, “Yeah, I think that’s really how I felt. He’s just inspiring and reminded me what’s possible with this kind of material and how deep you can go.”
And while Victor may be a tragic figure, Englund was anything but. After all, he considers himself a massive Stranger Things fan.
“I love the show,” he said. “I was amazed by just the juggling act that the Duffer brothers were able to achieve with weaving together–I’m mixing my metaphors here but weaving together horror, sci-fi, teen angst, and over all of it, there’s sort of wonderful Easter egg and look of ’80s nostalgia.”
And while there may be plenty of inspiration from the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in the new film, Englund is quick to note that inspiration doesn’t extend to his character, which isn’t Freddy-like at all. “My character strangely enough–I hope it wasn’t just stunt casting, I hope I earned the role–I’m actually not echoing Nightmare on Elm Street,” he explained.
Thus far, we’ve only seen Englund’s Victor once in Season 4. And while Englund wouldn’t reveal if we’ll be seeing more of him in the final two episodes of Season 4, it would make perfect sense for him to pop up again, given the reveal in Episode 7 that his own son framed him for the murders and is now in control of the Upside Down.
Thankfully, we won’t have to wait too long to find out. Stranger Things 4, Volume 2 premieres July 1 on Netflix.
Source: Gamespot
