Robert Englund and John Carpenter get their stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Cinemax
The Hollywood Hall of Fame is the perfect place to appear if you are a celebrity connected to the global entertainment industry in film, music, radio, television, show/theater and, since 2023, also sports. But will you find the most notable names there, including in the world of horror? As of this writing, some massive stars have yet to receive their star, like Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Julia Roberts, Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt and others. Some have declined to receive a star for various reasons, while others haven’t had their moment yet.
Each year, several dozen new stars are added to the boulevard, and at the time of writing, there are 2,783 stars. The good news for horror fans is that two major icons will join the list of stars eligible to star in 2025: Robert Englund, the legendary actor who, of course, played Freddy Krueger in most of the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” films, and John Carpenter, the filmmaker responsible for, among other things, “Halloween.” So why did these two icons get their stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and how did they react to this exciting news?
Sometimes Dreams Come True: Robert Englund and the Hall of Fame
The iconic Freddy Krueger
Robert Englund, 77, is one of the most recognizable names in the world of horror, and it’s not hard to see why. The legendary actor, who began his film career in the film “Buster and Billy” in 1974, entered the pantheon of our favorite genre thanks to his interpretation of the character Freddy Krueger. It all started in 1984 with Wes Craven’s first “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” which introduced the world to the creepy character of Freddy, the child killer who was burned by the residents of the fictional town of Springwood, Ohio and came back to haunt his offspring through his dreams.
Beyond the iconic visual representation of Freddy Krueger, with the burned face, the black hat, the red-green sweater, and especially the knife nails, Robert Englund managed to create an unforgettable character thanks to the hoarse voice and the characteristic physical gestures.
Then came quite a few sequels, some great and some less so, all of which starred Robert Englund:
- “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” (1985)
- “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” (1987)
- “A Nightmare at 4 Elm Street: The Dream Child” (1988)
- “A Nightmare at 5 Elm Street: The Dream Child” (1989)
- “Freddy’s Dead: The Last Nightmare” (1991), which was supposed to be the movie in which they finally managed to kill Freddy Krueger (allegedly, yes?)
- “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” (1994)who essentially resurrected Freddy Krueger through the transition to a new dimension
- “Freddy vs. Jason” (2003) – the spin-off film that brought together Freddy and another horror icon: Jason Voorhees from the “Friday the 13th” films
Actually, Robert Englund hasn’t appeared in a single A Nightmare on Elm Street film: the rather pointless 2010 remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, which starred actor Jackie Earle Haley, nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for his role in “Little Children.”
Here’s a short video showing some of Freddy Krueger’s memorable moments:
Freddy and the Others: More Horror Movies from Robert Englund
The list of Robert Englund films also includes other horror films. However, it is difficult to argue that they are good or too famous. In some of them he played the character of a doctor, professor or other respected professional. Among other things, we have seen him play in the films:
- “Urban Legend” (1998)
- the very pleasant “Hatchet” (2006), with Victor Crowly (not played by Englund, of course)
- “Zombie Strippers” (2008) alongside porn actress (!) Jenna Jameson
- the mediocre »Strippers vs. Werewolves” (2012)
- “Lake Placid: The Final Chapter” (2012)
- “Fear Clinic” (2014)
- “Lake Placid vs. Anaconda” (2015)
- “The Midnight Man” (2017)
- “Natty Strikes” (2023) with scream queen Daniel Harris
Englund has also played himself or Freddy Krueger in several films, television series and even video games, such as the 2022 Netflix “Choose or Die”, or one of the versions of the video game “Mortal Kombat”.
Well, after watching the same list of Robert Englund horror films, I have to admit that he probably got his star because of A Nightmare on Elm Street and not because of his other works. Englund himself responded to the happy news of the star’s acceptance with a rather amusing tweet: “I woke up this morning” (the opening theme from Sopranos) (laughs) to find out that I would be joining the grand company of the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025,” he wrote on Twitter/ “Just hearing my name next to names like Jane Fonda and Prince makes his heart race.
John Carptner’s journey to the Hall of Fame
Another name from the horror world joining Avenue of Stars is 76-year-old John Carpenter. You may know Carpenter as the director of the first “Halloween,” the film that gave birth to Michael Myers (speaking of famous horror villains) and is considered one of the most influential films in horror cinema history: a film that to a large extent founded the slasher genre, to which “Nightmare on the Street Elm” also belongs.
The truth is that John Carpenter is more than a director. He began making short horror films with an 8mm camera at a very young age; Even before high school, he started studying film but dropped out to pursue his creative dream. His directorial debut was 1984’s “Dark Star,” in which various elements influenced “Alien.” Even then, it was possible to see Carpenter’s versatility when, among other things, he wrote, composed, directed and produced the film. Even in the excellent “Assault on Precinct 13,” Carpenter showed that he had control over several aspects of filmmaking.
The big hit: Halloween
In 1978 the first “Halloween” took place, which marked Carpenter’s history. The original idea of the film’s producer, Irwin Yavlens, was to create a film called “The Babysitter Murders”, which tells the story of a serial killer who pursues babysitters.
Carpenter liked the general idea but decided to combine it with another of Yavlens’ concepts: that the plot would take place on Halloween. Carpenter not only directed but also composed the film’s famous theme song, inspired by Italian horror master Dario Argento’s Suspiria and the masterful The Exorcist. The film was produced with a relatively meager gross of only $320,000, but became a huge success grossing approximately $65 million.
This success has spawned quite a few (too many) sequels – numbering 13 in 2024 – and ranks 11th among horror franchises in terms of global revenue. Carpenter also participated in several of the franchise’s subsequent films, as a writer, producer or composer.
The Thing: a timeless classic
1982’s “The Thing” is another of Carpenter’s career highs. The sci-fi horror thriller, which deals with a parasitic external entity that eats living creatures and imitates them, is today considered one of the most successful and influential films of the genre. The film was produced on a fairly large budget of around $15 million but had only average success at the box office. One of the “culprits” of this, according to Carpenter himself, is another alien named “IT”, who appeared in the cinematic world a few weeks earlier. Critics also did not like the film which they said was mainly about the special effects and less about the plot, but over time it became a cult film.
More horror films from John Carpenter
John Carpenter is responsible for several other important works, usually as director, co-writer, composer and even in other roles. His filmography mainly includes combinations of horror, action and science fiction films, such as:
- “The fog » (1980) deals with a mysterious fog that attacks a small town in Northern California. Like the mist of the vengeful spirits of marines killed in a shipwreck. Not to be confused with “The Mist”, based on a book by Stephen King
- “Escape from New York” (1981) with Kurt Russell, a dark, low-budget film that has become cult over the years. This gave birth to a sequel, that of 1996: “Escape from Los Angeles,» which didn’t really work GOOD
- “Christine” (1984) East about an ancient vehicle with supernatural powers, based on a book by Stephen King
- “They’re Alive” (1988) – a science fiction parody about an alien invasion of Earth
- “Vampires” (1998) – horror western with James Woods
- “Ghosts of Mars” (2001) – a futuristic thriller about a group of police officers who receive a mission: transfer a dangerous prisoner to a guarded prison. The problem is that the destination they reach is a town of ghosts who want to take over humans.
- “The Room” (2011) is a horror thriller starring Amber Heard, about a girl in a mental institution haunted by an evil spirit. This is also one of the first roles of Sidney Sweeney, who here played the younger version of Amber Heard
Carpenter responded with a relatively short tweet to the happy news: “A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? This This must be some kind of mistake!.
Englund and Carpenter join other horror legends who have already received a star on the famous avenue, like Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and more.
