Haley 'defends new Freddy make-up'

Jackie Earle Haley has defended the look of his version of Freddy Krueger in the A Nightmare On Elm Street update.

A teaser trailer was unveiled earlier this month in which the character's make-up and voice were not entirely finished. Producer Brad Fuller recently revealed that the final appearance of the horror bogeyman was continuously being refined as filming continues.

The Watchmen actor, who signed up to portray the dream killer in the remake of the 1984 Wes Craven picture in April, called the redesign "awesome".

Haley told Sci-Fi Wire: "It's so cool. Andrew Clement (the make-up artist) did an awesome job redesigning the make-up.

"You know, you can imagine since they're making it, going back in time and starting over. Robert Englund did such an amazing job of owning Freddy Krueger, you know, we need to pay homage to that but at the same time be a little bit fresh and new, while still being familiar."

Of his transformation into Freddy, he added: "We got it down to three hours and 20 minutes, I think. And then an hour to get out. And that's before I even step foot on set. I've got a four and a half hour day of make-up."

A Nightmare On Elm Street opens in cinemas on April 16, 2010.