Who Cameos in the Nightmare on Elm Street Movies?
Nightmare on Elm Street Cameo Appearances By Celebrities
The Nightmare on Elm Street movies have largely been well funded and filled with talented cast and crew members. Due to the great number of people involved on the project and the many number of sequels, the Nightmare movies are more likely to include cameos than many other films. The creators of the Nightmare movies have been very careful in how they implement cameos…but they are still found throughout the franchise. Maybe they should have called them Screameos instead? What would Elm Street be without screams and famous actors?
List of Nightmare on Elm Street Cameos
Horror Enthusiast has set on a mission to list all of the cameos in the Freddy Krueger movies. Many famous actors have appeared in horror movies before their careers started. Here is the full list as it stands today for Nightmare on Elm Street.
Robert Shaye
Newline Cinema owner and Nightmare on Elm Street original producer, Robert Shaye lends a voice twice in the film. The audio clip of the news reporting Tina’s death and the voice of the station announcer both belong to Shaye.
Shaye plays an actual character in the second film (which he also produced). Shaye can be seen as the S&M bartender serving Jesse in the gay bar.
Shaye works his way into a cameo during the fourth film in the franchise A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) as one of the high school teachers.
Freddy’s Dead, the 6th installment in the franchise, features a Robert Shaye ticket booth operator. He is responsible for selling bus tickets in cameo!
Shaye cameos as himself in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (like some of the actual actors from the original film).
Again, Shaye makes his way into another film in Freddy vs Jason (2003), playing Laurie’s high school principal.
Robert Shaye’s Sister
The producer’s sister found herself a cameo in the original Nightmare movie (1984) as a teacher…and again in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare as a nurse.
Johnny Depp
One of the stars of the original Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Johnny Depp, can be seen in a picture within Kristen’s magazine in the fourth film, A Nightmare on Elm Street4: The Dream Master (1988). He also has a short cameo appearance in Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991).
Renny Harlin
The director of the fourth film in the franchise, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988), Renny Harlin, cameo’d as a student in a classroom.
Eric Singer
Famous drummer for a number of bands, including Kiss, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper and Badlands makes a cameo in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) as a band member shown on TV.
Alice Cooper
In Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Alice Cooper makes a cameo appearance as the abusive father.
Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr
These two celebrities can be seen playing the childless couple found about 23 minutes into the 6th movie in the franchise, Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991).
Tuesday Knight
Chase’s funeral scene in Wes Craven’s New Nightmare hides a Tuesday Knight cameo.
Rey Mysterio
The famous wrestler made a cameo appearance in Freddy vs Jason (2003) as a guy who does a fantastic jump.
Evangeline Lilly
The girl in the green long-sleeved shirt present in the crowd right under half an hour into Freddy vs Jason (2003), is Evangeline!
…And Almost a Couple Others
Heather Langenkamp played the main protagonist in the original nightmare movie. She was offered a cameo as a waitress in the latest 2010 remake of Nightmare on Elm Street…but declined the offer.
John Saxon played Heather’s father and the town’s police chief in the first movie, reprising his role in the third film, and then playing himself in A New Nightmare (1994). Saxon was offered a cameo in the 2010 remake as well, but schedule conflicts never let it happen.
Final Cameo Notes
In the many plentiful Nightmare on Elm Street movies, there have been many cameos and celebrity appearances. There are probably many more cameos which have yet to be discovered. As a horror fan, you are obligated to help! If you find any cameos in any Nightmare on Elm Street movies which you do not see listed here, please comment below!
Tritone’s love of horror and mystery began at a young age. Growing up in the 80’s he got to see some of the greatest horror movies play out in the best of venues, the drive-in theater. That’s when his obsession with the genre really began—but it wasn’t just the movies, it was the games, the books, the comics, and the lore behind it all that really ignited his obsession. Tritone is a published author and continues to write and write about horror whenever possible.
