There might not be a more iconic villain in all of horror. Along with the likes of Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees, Freddy Krueger was the hideous killer with a glove full of knives who would haunt high school kids in their dreams. “The Nightmare on Elm Street” film franchise was one of the biggest of the ’80s and Robert Englund played the role of Freddy masterfully.
Sadly though, Englund has never managed to eclipse the success of the role. With that said, he has continued to get work over the years, getting roles of varying sizes in a range of B-movies. In more recent times, Englund has shown up in shows such as “Supernatural,” “Criminal Minds,” “The Goldbergs,” and even “Stranger Things,” which is basically a love letter to the ’80s.
Zach Galligan
There is no denying that Zach Galligan is best known for his role as Billy Petlzer in the hit '80s movie "Gremlins." Starring alongside the likes of Phoebe Cates and Corey Feldman, Galligan's character is the custodian of the Mogwai Gizmo, whose sloppiness ultimately caused the titular little monsters to be created in the first place.
For a minute there, Galligan was the face of the '80s, and also played Billy in the sequel, "Gremlins 2: The New Batch." Unfortunately, though, Galligan was limited to minor roles for the rest of his career. Since then, the '80s star has been married and divorced and ended up voicing a role (that wasn't Billy) on the animated series "Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai."
Mark Hamill
If there was ever an actor who couldn't step out of the role that made him famous in the first place, then it's Mark Hamill. Sure, he first played Luke Skywalker in 1977's "Star Wars." But he also reprised the role in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," which came out in 1980 and 1983, respectively. It was always going to be impossible for Hamill to do anything more successful, and his career suffered tremendously over the following decades.
However, he did become a well-respected voice actor, most famously playing the Joker in "Batman: The Animated Series." He also got the chance to play an older version of Luke in the "Star Wars" sequels, which gave Hamill something of an acting renaissance later on in life.
Martin Kove
While Daniel LaRusso certainly had his fair share of enemies in "The Karate Kid" series, one of the most formidable was undoubtedly John Kreese, who is the original sensei of the Cobra Kai dojo. There is no denying that this was as good as it got for Kove, at least, for many decades.
Kove finally got the chance to reprise the role of Kreese in the long-awaited series "Cobra Kai," a continuation of the "Karate Kid" story, told from the perspective of Kreese's old apprentice, Johnny Lawrence. But that's not all. Kove also got the chance to compete in Season 30 of Dancing with the Stars, but only lasted a few weeks. Kove also had a minor role in the Quentin Tarantino movie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."
Thomas F. Wilson
There might not be a more annoying villain in the history of cinema than Biff. Thomas F. Wilson is certainly one of those actors whom most casual fans will see on the street and know him as Biff, not as Thomas. He played various relatives of the character throughout the years in all three installments of the "Back to the Future" trilogy.
But for a long time, that was all that Wilson was known for. But he has also had other roles worthy of note, playing the coach Ben in the short-lived, but much-beloved series "Freaks and Geeks." Wilson has also lent his voice to many characters in the animated series "Spongebob Squarepants." Wilson has been married to wife Caroline since 1985 and they have had four kids together.