Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) Interview with Thomas Dekker

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Tv & Film:film Reviews, Film Reviews, Film Interviews, Tv & Film, Film History

4.5 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Now every time I dream, I always see this man, and he's burned and melted.
0:09.0	And he's always trying to attack me with these lives.
0:12.0	Knives, on his fingers.
0:14.0	Oh my God.
0:16.0	We're having the same dream.
0:20.0	This is now playing's A Nightmare in Elm Street retrospective series, hosted by Arnie.
0:26.7	Why are you screaming?
0:29.4	I haven't even caught you yet.
0:35.7	Joining us now is Thomas Decker, a writer, a producer, and an actor.
0:41.1	You've probably seen him as John Connor in the Sarah Connor Chronicles.
0:45.0	He was Picard's son in Star Trek Generations, and he played Jesse in 2010's Nightmare on Elm Street.
0:51.7	Hello, Thomas.
0:52.8	Hello, how are you? Thank you for that introduction.
0:55.9	Oh, you're welcome. Thank you for joining us on the show. It's great to talk to you.
1:00.0	So we're looking back at Nightmare on Elm Street, 2010. How did you get involved with that project?
1:05.5	The good old-fashioned way, I just auditioned. I actually was shooting this really independent, crazy little movie called
1:13.1	All About Evil in San Francisco with Natasha Leone and Mink Stole and Cassandra Peterson, and it was a
1:18.9	wild time. And the whole crew were horror nuts, but specifically Nightmare and Elm Street
1:22.9	nuts. And I just remember on the last day of shooting, the day we were rapping, I got
1:27.3	the email with the script and the sides and the character and the whole thing. And I just remember on the last day of shooting, the day we were rapping, I got the email with the script and the sides and the character and the whole thing. And I remember joking with everybody. Oh, my God, imagine if I leave this and end up doing the new nightmare at home. And I came home. I did one audition in LA. And then like a day later, I did a chemistry read with Katie Cassidy, and like, the next day, I had it.
1:47.6	It was a really fast process.
1:49.9	And you were always going for the role of Jesse.
	...

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