He played Moocher in Peter Yates's acclaimed 1979 film "Breaking Away" and later in the short-lived TV series of the same name. Throughout the 1970s, he often played a tough, angry, pimply, long-haired misfit; although in his feature debut, the offbeat 1972 film, "The Outside Man", he played Eric, a boy apparently so desperately lonely that he tries to impress the mob assassin holding him and his mother (Georgia Engel) hostage. Haley also shot a pilot for an American version of the popular British comedy "The Young Ones" titled "Oh, No! Not THEM!". In 1974 he played Norm a misfit kid in the 12th episode of the Saturday morning children's show, "Shazam!" It is rumored that in 1984, Haley's friend Johnny Depp accompanied him to auditions for Wes Craven's "A Nightmare on Elm Street"; instead of Haley being chosen for a role, it was Depp who was spotted by director Craven, who asked him if he would like to read for a part. Haley had originally auditioned for the role of the film's antagonist, Freddy Krueger, but ended up losing out to Robert Englund for the 1984 version of the film.[https://1428elm.com/2016/06/02/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-2010-10-things-you-didnt-know/11/]