With the remake of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET pleasing or pissing off hardcore Freddy fans, and a new documentary on the previous franchise called NEVER SLEEP AGAIN giving us an in-depth look at all things Krueger-related, FANGORIA invites you to take a stroll back down Springwood’s Elm Street. We’ve tracked down some of the tormented boys and girls who suffered those awful night terrors to tap their memories of that infamous street—in waking life and in terrifying dreamscapes…

One of the kids to share Freddy-induced angst in 1984’s original NIGHTMARE was Jsu Garcia (billed as Nick Corri), who played Freddy-phobic Rod “Guys can have nightmares too!” Lane.

FANGORIA: How did you become involved with NIGHTMARE?

JSU GARCIA: In 1984, I was just about to give up showbiz. I had just done the TV show FAME and thought I was going to be a star, but then I was unemployed for a year until I landed the role in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Wes Craven was already a well-known horror-film director, but this would really put him on the map. I wanted to be Marlon Brando, and thought, “How would Brando go about doing a horror film?” I wanted to be a good actor, and I thought I was pretty good. Thankfully, it was a hit!

But sadly, I didn’t get any work after NIGHTMARE until I got some advice from co-star Johnny Depp. He told me to take a movie called GOTCHA!; Depp helped me get the role. Back then, no one really knew who he was; he was just a really nice guy who hung around with the very famous Nicolas Cage. Everybody at that point was all about Cage and Sean Penn, who had just done FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. The big actors were those guys, along with Matt Dillon and Tom Cruise. Johnny Depp and I wanted to be on the same page as them. And then I went off to do WILDCATS, and the rest is history.

FANG: Rod is a tough guy, but his vulnerabilities are made clear when it comes to Freddy and his nightmares. How did you tackle those emotional moments?

GARCIA: It was a matter of using a lot of pain from my own life. I was a Method actor back then. On the set, I lived in that jail cell until they were ready to shoot. So I just created this pain and delivered Wes Craven’s words. That’s probably the last time I’ll be a Method actor. Why? It’s too painful. If you don’t know how to master the skill of cutting yourself metaphorically for a performance, it can be far too painful. I don’t adopt that approach anymore.

FANG: Yours is a bloodless death; was that disappointing for you, or were you happy you didn’t have to go through the mess that your co-star Amanda Wyss (Tina) underwent? And are you a fan of gore in horror films?

GARCIA: I wanted to die after Johnny Depp so I could be in the movie longer! I just loved acting and I didn’t want to get killed off [so soon]. I am a big fan of how the horror genre has maintained its success throughout my 25 years in the industry, and some of that might have to do with the visceral effects of gore.

For the whole story, pick up FANGORIA #293, on sale now. Go here to subscribe to the magazine!

 

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