Over the last 40 years, Nicolas Cage has played a wide variety of intriguing roles. But his upcoming turn as Dracula could result in his most off-the-wall performance yet. True enough, Cage seems like a highly unusual choice to bring the legendary vampire to life, even in a comedy like Renfield. However, it sounds like he’s spent years waiting for the right opportunity to bite into the iconic villain.
“The concept of Dracula, in itself, is a challenge,” said Cage in a new interview with Total Film (via GamesRadar+). ”It’s been done so many times already. It’s been done very well and it’s also been done not very well. I certainly admire Christopher Lee and Frank Langella and Bela Lugosi and Gary [Oldman]. But I wanted to see if I could bring something fresh to the character. And I also kind of always knew I had to do it at some point.”
Because of this, it didn’t take Cage long to accept the job. In fact, he had already figured out Dracula’s “voice, manner, and movement” by the time director Chris McKay reached out to him for the second time via Zoom, crafting his approach using a diverse range of influences.
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“I went back to Christopher Lee, in terms of his manner of speaking, but that was really only a starting point,” revealed Cage, citing his past experience with the late actor as a valuable reference. “I did a small scene with him in Season of the Witch, and I liked him very much. We had a lot of nice conversations, and he reminded me quite a bit of my father, August. So from then on, my dad sort of became the main inspiration for me.”
Cage spent a lot of time exploring what makes this version of Dracula tick, even likening his addiction to blood to addictions to “alcohol or heroin or sex.” Of course, he isn’t Renfield‘s main character, so there was only so much he could show us onscreen. But if Cage gets his way, a sequel or spinoff will give him the chance to take a closer look at the vampire’s foibles.
“You know, there are some minor moments here where you get to see some of the pathos in Dracula’s eyes,” continued Cage. “And that made me think that maybe one day I might like to try for a whole movie where you’re really understanding the psyche of the character. I didn’t really have the time to delve into that here.”
Renfield hits theaters on April 14.
Would you like to see Cage reprise his role in a potential follow-up installment? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Purchase: Dracula (Deluxe Hardbound Edition)
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