Robert Englund, it’s clear, is a happy guy.

Despite killing scores of innocent victims as the monstrous Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street films (and TV series), none of the villain’s famous ill temper seems to have worn off on the veteran actor.

Nor has it dampened his natural enthusiasm for, well, pretty much everything. On the line from his Laguna Beach, California home, Englund cheerfully riffs on any number of subjects: Krueger, his fans, his career, surfing, and movies. Lots of movies.

But first off, it’s obvious that Englund is excited about coming to town this Friday for Vancouver Fan Expo, which encompasses horror, science fiction, fantasy, comics, and a whole range of pop culture genres.

“Vancouver’s one of my favourite cities in the world” he says, reminiscing over good times and great meals he’s had here during his many visits for movie and TV work. A veteran of the convention circuit, he’s also looking forward to meeting local fans.

“When I’m working a lot, I don’t get that one-on-one time, it’s like a vacuum. It’s great to give back to the fans because I wouldn’t be where I am now without them.”

“I also do a Q&A, and that’s where I can pimp”—he laughs—“my latest projects.”

Of course, Freddy Krueger will be the big draw to most people at Fan Expo, and Englund is more than happy to talk about his most famous role. He explains that the concept of Freddy as an inhabitant of the subconscious is rooted in an actual series of deaths among Hmong refugees from Laos, in the early 1980s. It was called, by the press at the time, “Oriental nightmare death syndrome.”

“These immigrants were [Nightmare on Elm Street writer-director] Wes Craven’s original inspiration,” Englund recalls. “They were dying in their sleep because they were unable to wake themselves up and purge themselves of their bad dreams.”

As a result, Freddy was created as a villain who exists on a much different plane than the average movie serial killer.

“Freddy’s haunting a dream, he’s in your subconscious, He’s not lurking in alleys, cutting off people’s heads and drinking their blood, he does things like turn you into a cockroach, which is very Kafka-esque,” Englund explains. “He did these sort of literary nightmare things to people, and he’s playing against the political correctness of everybody’s assumptions—I think it’s one reason why the fans embraced the franchise.”

Before the Nightmare on Elm Street series, Englund worked in Hollywood for ten years, racking up a serious number of roles in movies like Buster and Billie, Hustle, Stay Hungry, Eaten Alive, and Big Wednesday, as well as countless TV appearances.

As it turned out, all this experience—and a little luck—gave him a chance at the role of certain Corellian smuggler in a little film called Star Wars.

“I was up for the surfer role in Apocalypse Now, eventually played by Sam Bottoms, and it turned out I was too old. So I tried for the cook, the part that went to Frederick Forrest, but I was considered too young for that,” Englund recalls. “Then they thought I might be right for the project across the hall, so I went over and they put me on film for Han Solo. Afterwards, I was told at the office that I was too young. But they did look at me for Han for a split-second!”

California-born-and-bred (his father was an engineer on the U-2 spy plane at the top-secret Lockheed Skunk Works plant in Burbank), Englund is an amazing primary source for the 1970s glory days of Hollywood. Asking him about the era results in a whirlwind of names and stories—parties at Margot Kidder’s house, kicking back with Jeff Bridges, surfing with USC Mafia enforcer John Milius (“he has a beautiful soul surfer style, he’s very balletic and classic in his style”), petty theft with Jan-Michael Vincent, unfortunate fashion decisions by Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg (“They had these horrible leather hippie hats on and the widest pant legs I’ve ever seen”), and hanging out with the Z-Boys of Dogtown in abandoned Beverly Hills Mansions.

If it seems like name-dropping, it isn’t. There’s a passion, and a reverence for history, in Englund’s voice when he talks about the era, not to mention a lot of obviously good memories. But he’s also just as enthusiastic about the future.

“I have two starring roles in independent features coming up, both of which I’m really happy about. One is The Last Showing, about a projectionist who’s been made redundant at his job, so he gets his revenge at a midnight screening. The other’s called Fear Clinic. So I’m saying yes to every single comic-con that comes down the pike this year because I want to get the word out on both of these projects, but it’s especially fun when I get to go somewhere like Vancouver.”

With no retirement in site for the 66 year-old actor, it begs the question: would he ever play Freddy again?

“I gotta tell ya, I’m getting kind of long in the tooth. I can still do mild stunts, but I can’t get out of bed the next day.” Englund pauses, then laughs. “I’d probably have to wear Spanx if I did Freddy again!”

“When I finally got out of the makeup,” he continues, in a more serious vein, “I realized that I now have a different face than when I first played Freddie. I finally started looking my age, or at least I looked more mature. And because I have horror chutzpah, not only do I get paid a little more, but I’m playing these interesting roles now—mad scientists, the old doctor, the old priest. Being able to do a little bit of Klaus Kinski and Vincent Price has really extended my career in a strange way.”

“I started my first movie in 1973,” he says with a mix of wonder and delight, “and here it is 2014. I have two movies coming out, starring roles, and a bunch of stuff on the back burner.” Clearly, Englund is still having the time of his life.

“It’s all been a great gift. So I just go with the flow—and I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Robert Englund appears at Fan Expo this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (April 18-20), at the Vancouver Convention Centre.