"Nightmare on Elm Street" star Jackie Earle Haley recently gave insights into his role as villain Freddy Krueger while attending a Television Critics Association press tour.

Tackling a role made famous by Robert Englund, Haley found little reason not to embrace the project.

"Oh, man. I did need to think about it, for a minute and a half," Haley said in an interview with IESB. "But, I just kept going, 'Freddy Krueger?!' It's such an iconic character. How could I not do that character?"

Consequently, he was prepared for the inevitable comparisons with Englund.

"They were going to do it, and they were going to get somebody else to do it," he said. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. As an actor, I'm one that's willing to take risks. Especially as a character actor, I've got to be willing to go out and totally mess up. If I try to play it safe, I'm not going to be a very good actor.

"I would imagine, somewhere along the way, and hopefully it's not this, but even with characterizations and stuff, playing it safe is not what makes us interesting. It's getting in there and really trying to do something with something, and hope for the best."

Haley indicates his Freddy will have a bit more backstory than the original film and a few differences.

"Our approach was to make him a little more serious," he explained. "He's a little less jokey.

"He's got a new look going. We're still true with the fedora, the sweater and the glove, but the mug is a little bit more based in reality."

Should "Nightmare on Elm Street" enjoy success at the box office, Haley says he is signed on for more Krueger mayhem. But he admits the genre wasn't always his thing.

"I've never been a huge horror fan, per se, but I actually went and saw that one [1984's 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'] in the theater, and I liked it," he said. "The commercials were cool and the concept of it was great. As far as horror, I think 'Alien' was probably my favorite, and then Sam Raimi's stuff blew me away."

Read more of Haley's interview on his upcoming projects at IESB.

"Nightmare on Elm Street" hits theaters April 30, 2010.