Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) Interview with Thomas Dekker
5/1/202630 min
Actor Thomas Dekker (The Sarah Connor Chronicles, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2010) joins Now Playing Podcast to revisit the Elm Street remake on its anniversary. He shares how he landed the role, what it was like filming in Chicago, and how the movie evolved from a darker original script into the final theatrical version. Dekker discusses reshoots, studio notes, changes to Freddy’s performance, and why he chose to play his character as genuinely afraid rather than heroic. He also reflects on fan reactions, working with Jackie Earle Haley, and what the experience taught him about big studio horror.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
[suspenseful music] Now every time I dream, I always see this man, and he's burned and, and melted, and he's always trying to attack me with these knives.
Thomas Dekker· Guest0:12
The knives on his fingers.
Speaker 10:13
Oh my God. [laughs] Oh. [laughs] We're having the same dream.
Arnie· Host0:19
This is Now Playing's A Nightmare on Elm Street retrospective series, hosted by Arnie.
Speaker 10:26
Why are you screaming? [grunts] When I haven't even cut you yet?
Speaker 5· Host0:31
[laughs] Joining us now is Thomas Dekker, a writer, a producer, and an actor. You've probably seen him as John Connor in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. He was Picard's son in Star Trek: Generations, and he played Jesse in 2010's Nightmare on Elm Street. Hello, Thomas.
Thomas Dekker· Guest0:52
Hello. How are you? Thank you for that introduction.
Speaker 5· Host0:55
Oh, you're welcome. Thank you for joining us on the show. It's great to talk to you. So we're looking back at Nightmare on Elm Street 2010. How did you get involved with that project?
Thomas Dekker· Guest1:05
The good old-fashioned way. I just auditioned. I actually was shooting this really independent, crazy little movie called All About Evil in San Francisco with Natasha Lyonne and Mink Stole and Cassandra Peterson, and it was, it was a wild time, and the whole crew were horror nuts, but specifically Nightmare on Elm Street nuts. And I just remember on the last day of shooting, the day we were wrapping, I got the email with the script and the sides and the