Englund’s casting in Netflix’s blockbuster sci-fi horror series perfectly fit with the ‘80s-set show’s season-four themes, which evoked A Nightmare on Elm Street’s tactic of having a monster attack victims in a surreal dream world—or in this case, the Upside Down. In Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares, Englund recalls auditioning for Hawkins’ sleazy mayor, a role that eventually went to another ‘80s icon, Cary Elwes. But even though Englund’s Victor Creel is only in one season-four episode, the character’s looming presence—his eerie history, his crumbling former home, his connection to Stranger Things big bad Vecna—makes the part feel less like a cameo than his amount of screen time would suggest. Plus, he’s unsettling as hell, bringing depth to the haunted Creel even beyond the Freddy vibes that so many other TV shows over the years (Knight Rider, Charmed, Married… With Children, Chuck, Bones) have capitalized on when bringing Englund aboard as a guest star.
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