Indiana Jones and Freddy Krueger are two of the most popular film characters of all time…but that’s not the only thing the two share in common. Stylistically speaking, Indiana and Freddy (portrayed by Harrison Ford and Robert Englund, respectively), are on opposing ends, but they do rely on the same accessory for their signature looks: a fedora hat. But could anyone confuse the two characters? Why you would think the obvious answer is “no,” during a recent interview with PEOPLE, Englund shared how he convinced A Nightmare on Elm Street creator Wes Craven and producer Bob Shaye not to change Freddy’s headwear.
“They were trying to change the hat on me. They literally had me in a paperboy hat for 30 seconds and I felt like I was auditioning for
Newsies.
It was kind of silly. So I defend the fedora, which is in the original script, which is Wes’ idea and concept. But they were just getting panicky at the last minute.”
“They were panicking a little … I think they thought I was gonna remind people of Indiana Jones or something. I said, ‘No one’s gonna confuse me with Indiana Jones.'”
As Englund noted, Freddy’s hat style wasn’t an impulse decision (it certainly wasn’t a Michael Myers mask moment). The fedora was written into Craven’s script, who vividly recalled being scared, as a child, by a drunk man in a fedora hat; the name Fred Krueger was also not a random choice, it was the name of Craven’s childhood bully.
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While speaking with the publication, Englund recalled seeing Freddy’s entire look, which also included a tattered and dirty sweater, a metal-clawed leather right-hand glove, dirty slacks and a face disfigured by burns come together:
“I just remember seeing myself in one of those little crappy dime-store mirrors, you know, not even a good reflection. But I remember one of those was tacked up and then seeing [myself] and getting the idea. 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.'”
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Robert Englund Wasn’t the First Choice for Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street
Freddy Krueger is one of Hollywood’s most legendary horror villains, but the demented killer almost had a completely different look and feel.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of A Nightmare on Elm Street, and the legendary Englund, who brought the character to life for decades, has been making the rounds promoting Nightmare‘s 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) release. Freddy Krueger is one of horror’s favorite villains, and Englund has become synonymous with the character. Horror fans would no doubt love to see Englund reprise the role (he last stepped on-screen as Freddy for a 2018 episode of The Goldbergs), but Englund recently said he “has no Freddy” left in him. He would, however, consider lending his voice to “a really high-end, animated version.” While we won’t see Englund back in Freddy’s striped sweater and fedora hat, most of the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies are available to stream on Max.