Nightmare on Elm Street's Robert Englund Recalls Making Costar Heather Langenkamp 'Jump' with Freddy's Claw on Set (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

From Left: Robert Englund and Heather Langenkamp in 1984’s ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’.Photo:New Line Cinema/Getty

New Line Cinema/Getty

Ahead of the 40th anniversary ofA Nightmare on Elm Street, which first debuted in theaters on Nov. 9, 1984, starsRobert EnglundandHeather Langenkampare looking back on the making of the now-iconic slasher film, which went on to launch a whole horror franchise around the sadistic child killerFreddy Krueger.

But as Englund tells PEOPLE, he knew he found Krueger the moment he saw his silhouette in a mirror. “I remember one of those was tacked up and then seeing [myself] and getting the idea,” he shares while promotingNightmare’s 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) release. “Because of the overhead lighting, once I had that hat on and the glove, I saw the shadow. I saw the Freddy silhouette in the shadow and I went, ‘Aha, this is something I can work with. This is something I can exploit.’ "

Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger in 1984.Courtesy of Warner Brothers

Courtesy of Warner Brothers

And once the production landed on Krueger’s look, it was time to test just how scary he would be on set. For Langenkamp, 60, it was a frightening introduction to the undead killer that would end up stalking her character, schooler Nancy Thompson, and her fellow high school classmates while they slept.

“I hadn’t seen Robert in makeup for several days and I went into the [high school] scene where Tina [Amanda Wyss] leads me down into the boiler room and I got down there and I saw Freddy for the first time,” the actress says.

At that moment, Englund was in character, wearing “the shadow with the hat, the sweater, the boots and the glove,” and Langenkamp says, “It was really striking and I knew at the moment he was terrifying. I never had to act that part because he was always terrifying to me.”

Not only that, but Englund remembers giving his costar, who was just 20 at the time, a jump on set. While filming the scene opposite Langenkamp, he remembers Craven trying to get the actor to hold up his claw glove high enough so it appeared on camera.

He continues, “So I remember I scratched it on a pipe. And Heather jumped a big. I mean it really worked.” That’s when Langenkamp jumps in to say, “Plus it made that sound.”

“Like nails on a chalkboard,” Englund clarifies, adding, “She moved a little extra and I thought, ‘This is something we can work with as well.’ "

Adding to the terror Langenkamp felt on set was the glove itself. While the character has metal claws coming out of his leather accessory, the actress says the one Englund wore was a prop. “The glove had rubber blades,” she says, noting that even though they were fake, “the rubber blade goes in your eye, it’s still gonna hurt, right? So, yeah, I was constantly really worried.”

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Speaking to the nightmarish horror that Craven’s team brought to life for the film, Langenkamptold PEOPLE earlier this summerthe moment she realized what kind of terror Krueger would be to audiences watchingNightmareon-screen.

“There were also the scenes in the alleyway, where Freddy says his famous ‘This is God’ line, and I remember being there, realizing how frightening that particular line would be for so many people,” she said of the moment when Tina (Amanda Wyss) was sent fleeing for her life.

In honor of its 40th anniversary, Warner Bros. is releasingA Nightmare on Elm Streeton 4K UHD digitally on Oct. 1 and on physical on Oct. 15.

source: people.com