Michael Leavy wants to be the next Freddy Krueger, and he has gone beyond just saying it. The Stream director and Terrifier producer has shared a video of himself in full Freddy makeup, giving horror fans a look at what he could potentially look like under the iconic hat and glove. Check it out in the embed above!
Leavy actually has a pretty great connection to Robert Englund and Freddy Krueger that goes back more than a decade. In the 2014 horror movie Fear Clinic, Leavy played the younger version of Englund’s character, Dr. Andover. So if Leavy eventually gets the chance to take over the role of Freddy, it would be the second time that he and Englund have shared a character.
Leavy released his new Freddy video after fans asked to see him in the full makeup, using the hashtag #LeavyForKrueger and making it clear that he’d love the opportunity to play the character made famous by Englund. His brother Jason Leavy threw his support behind the campaign, saying that nobody is better suited to put on the glove.
Fear Clinic was directed by Robert Green Hall and starred Robert Englund as Dr. Andover, a psychiatrist who uses an experimental device called the Fear Chamber to treat patients suffering from severe phobias. The movie also featured Fiona Dourif, Danielle Harris, Kane Hodder, and Corey Taylor.
Leavy appeared in the movie as Young Andover, making his connection to Englund’s character especially appropriate now that he’s campaigning to play Freddy Krueger. And this isn’t some random fan deciding he would look cool in Freddy makeup. Leavy has spent much of his career working in the horror genre, both in front of and behind the camera.
He has produced movies including Terrifier 2, Terrifier 3, Screamboat, Stream, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, and Penance Lane. He also directed Stream and the Leprechaun Revenge short, among numerous other projects.
Last year, Leavy and his brother Jason made Leprechaun Revenge, a proof-of-concept fan film designed to show Lionsgate what they could do with the Leprechaun franchise. The short starred Mark Holton as Ozzie Jones, the character he played in the original Leprechaun in 1993, and Linden Porco as the Leprechaun. Maren Altman also appeared in the film. The story follows an older Ozzie who has spent decades preparing for the Leprechaun’s possible return, only to discover that his paranoia wasn’t so unreasonable after all.
Leavy made no secret of his desire to direct an official Leprechaun movie. He described the short as a love letter to the original franchise, with a darker modern twist while still preserving the horror-comedy balance that made the series so much fun. That particular plan hasn’t worked out yet. Lionsgate is now developing another Leprechaun movie, with Saw sequel writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan writing the screenplay. Oren Koules and Miles Koules are producing, while the plot, cast, director, and production schedule remain under wraps.
So Leavy isn’t currently attached to the new Leprechaun movie, but that doesn’t mean he’s done trying to get his hands on a classic horror character.
For now, you can watch his Freddy Krueger transformation above and decide for yourself: could Michael Leavy be the next actor to put on Freddy’s glove?