Nicolas Cage has played a lot of colorful characters in his long career. Not surprisingly, he has added another feather to his hat with Renfield where he plays literature's most celebrated vampire Count Dracula. However, this is more than just another quirky choice for the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent star. Cage says that playing Dracula was somehow part of his destiny.
In Renfield, Nicolas Cage plays the literal vampire boss from hell. It's an interesting take on Dracula and Cage told Total Film magazine that it was only a matter of time before he was offered the role of Bram Stoker's immortal bloodsucker (via GamesRadar).
"The concept of Dracula, in itself, is a challenge," Cage said. "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," Cage continued.
Not surprisingly, Nicolas Cage's version of Dracula is largely inspired by Christopher Lee, who played the vampire in the classic Hammer Films.
"I went back to Christopher Lee, in terms of his manner of speaking, but that was really only a starting point," he said. "I knew Christopher. 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."
Renfield is directed by Chris McKay and also stars Nicholas Hoult as the hapless titular assistant who wants to leave the toxic relationship with his employer. The film will hit theaters on April 14, 2023.
Related: Nicolas Cage Reveals Petty Yet Understandable Reason for Rejecting Star Wars
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