Robert Englund
Finally, Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), read for the role of Han Solo, but was shut down pretty quickly. Englund was auditioning for a role as one of the surfers in the film Apocalypse Now! where he was turned away because he was too old for the role. They sent him across the hall, where a little science fiction film named Star Wars was holding auditions for Han Solo.
At the time of his audition, Lucas wanted someone older to play Solo, someone like Tom Selleck. Englund was told that he was too young for the role. In an interview with Yahoo!, Englund says:
“And then I went home and told a little kid that was sleeping on my couch, after a six-pack of Heineken, all about [Star Wars], and his name was Mark Hamill,” Englund recalls. “I said, ‘Hey, Lucas is doing this space movie. Maybe you’re right for it. The lead guy’s like a teenager…. So Mark got on the phone to his agent and I think he went up the next day. He nailed it, and the rest is history.”
This is one of the best Star Wars stories yet. We can owe the casting of Luke Skywalker to Freddy Krueger. It is funny how little coincidences work.
I hope that you enjoyed this list. May the Force be With You.
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