Robert Englund’s Stranger Things 3 Audition Didn’t Go Well

In a recent interview with Collider, Robert Englund revealed that Victor Creel is actually the second Stranger Things character he’s auditioned for. The ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ actor went on to admit that he auditioned for a role in ‘Stranger Things 3’ years ago and has revealed that he was asked to play Larry Cline, the corrupt Mayor of Hawkins , which causes quite a stir during the third season of the Netflix drama.

Explaining why he didn’t get the role, the actor remarked, “I don’t know if they changed the concept for the role or if I did a lousy audition. I know they said to me, ‘Read it like the mayor of Jaws.'” According to Englund, that note may have been the reason he lost the role. “I immediately thought of them [‘Jaws’ mayor’s] Checkered jacket and sunglasses and kind of a corrupt Southern thing,” Englund said. “They probably didn’t want that at all, but when they called me the mayor in ‘Jaws,’ I saw it in my mind.”

Of course, the role that Englund lost was eventually played by Cary Elwes, himself a popular 1980s film icon. But while Victor Creel has a slightly smaller role in Stranger Things 4 Vol. 1 than Larry Cline did in the show’s third season, there’s no denying that Englund makes an immediate and lasting impression as Victor. The character is even central to his season’s story in a way Cline isn’t, and Victor’s scarred, haunted nature also feels unique to Englund’s acting talents.

Thankfully, Englund himself seems to agree with that assessment, telling Collider, “I was really grateful when they contacted me again for Season 4, and [Victor Creel’s] a much better fit.”