Jackie Earle Haley was challenged by Freddy

With the release of the reimagined version of 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' a week away, Jackie Earle Haley, who plays Freddy this time around has said his version is more "serious" and "angry".

The Oscar-nominated actor has admitted that it was a challenge creating his own portrayal of the character that Robert Englund made famous.

"The real challenge was just to get in there and somehow create a Freddy that was somewhat recognisable but that I could still own. So, I really just tried to own it and make the guy my own. It's probably a bit more serious, a bit more angry, I think it had gotten more campy and more of a comedy, which was great. I think people loved that, but I think the filmmakers call on going back to re-envision this thing as a really dark, kind of serious piece was kind of a cool idea."

He also admitted that he rewatched the 1984 Wes Craven original for inspiration and insight.