What The Nightmare On Elm Street Cast Looks Like Today

A Nightmare on Elm Street, Wes Craven's supernatural journey into dream-manipulating terror, remains one of the most beloved and influential horror films ever made. It catapulted writer/director Craven into the realm of horror cinema legends after an already influential filmography, launched Johnny Depp's young career, and made Robert Englund the stuff of everyone's nightmares thanks to his wickedly fun turn as Freddy Krueger. It also set a new standard for the places slasher films could go by taking things to another plane of being, and remains an extremely important milestone in horror cinema history.

In the years since Nightmare premiered, its various cast members have gone on to many different pursuits. One become a global superstar, others stuck around for sequels, and another became part of another hit horror franchise more than two decades later. If you're wondering what Nancy, Glen, Freddy and the gang are up to these days, here's what the cast of A Nightmare on Elm Street looks like today.

Johnny Depp made his feature film debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street as Nancy's boyfriend Glen, who suffered what's arguably the film's most memorable death when he finally drifted off to sleep.

After Nightmare, Depp continued to gain traction in the acting world, joining 21 Jump Street in 1987 and starring in two iconic films — Cry-Baby and Edward Scissorhands — in 1990. After acclaimed indie film work and a continued collaboration with director Tim Burton throughout the 1990s — including Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow — Depp achieved international superstardom in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, in which he starred as Captain Jack Sparrow in an Oscar-nominated performance. Since then Depp has played Sparrow in four more films, continued to work with Burton on everything from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Dark Shadows, and joined J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World with the Fantastic Beasts series, in which he plays the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald.

John Saxon was already a seasoned and recognizable character actor by the time A Nightmare on Elm Street rolled around. After gaining prominence as a teen idol in the 1950s through films like Rock, Pretty Baby, he went on to starring and co-starring roles in cult classic action and horror films including Enter the Dragon, Black Christmas, and Battle Beyond the Stars. In Nightmare he found another memorable role as Nancy's father, police Lt. Donald Thompson, and yet another chance to play an authority figure amid the chaos of a slasher film.

After Nightmare Saxon continued working regularly in film and television. He reprised his role as Donald Thompson (alongside Langenkamp's Nancy) in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors in 1987 and also returned to play himself in Wes Craven's New Nightmare in 1994. Now in his 80s, Saxon continues to appear regularly on the big and small screens.

Amanda Wyss began her career on the stage in Los Angeles, which translated to work in commercials and then television. In 1982, she appeared in another '80s classic — Fast Times at Ridgemont High — before joining the Nightmare cast as Tina in 1984 and becoming Freddy's unforgettable first victim. The success of Nightmare translated to more high-profile roles for her in the 1980s, including appearances in Silverado, Better Off Dead, and Powwow Highway.

Since then, Wyss has continued working in film and television, making appearances in films including To Die For, Strategic Command, and the independent thriller The Id, as well as television series including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Highlander: The Series, Murder in the First, and Cagney & Lacey. According to her official website, she is also an environmental activist working with the Human Thread Foundation and the Erudio Project. In 2018, she appeared in the documentary short "The Craven Touch," paying tribute to A Nightmare on Elm Street director Wes Craven.

Lin Shaye's role in A Nightmare on Elm Street is small enough that her character doesn't even officially have a name. She's credited only as "teacher" and appears briefly in Nancy's classroom scenes. Between this film and an appearance in Alone in the Dark two years earlier, though, Shaye was perhaps unknowingly laying the bedrock for what would become a career as a scream queen that's only grown in recent years.

After Nightmare became a hit, Shaye was cast as Sally in Critters, a role she reprised in that film's sequel. She also picked up supporting horror roles in Amityville: A New Generation and played a small role in Wes Craven's New Nightmare. In 1998 she received a Blockbuster Entertainment Award nomination for her performance in There's Something About Mary, and in 2003 she again gained horror prominence with an acclaimed supporting role in Dead End. The real hit, though, came in 2011, when she played demonologist Elise Rainier in Insidious. What started as a supporting role soon became a starring one, as Shaye returned for three more sequels in the Insidious franchise, including Insidious: The Last Key in 2018. More recently, she added to her horror credentials with a role in the Grudge reboot.