Nicolas Cage is making his Dracula debut in Universal Pictures’ upcoming horror comedy “Renfield,” and he’s already chomping at the bit to play the iconic bloodsucker in an expanded capacity. Cage’s Dracula in “Renfield” is a supporting role, as the film’s protagonist is the vampire’s long-suffering servant (played by Nicholas Hoult). The Oscar winner spoke to Total Film magazine about eyeing another Dracula project where he can better explore the psyche of the vampire.
“You know, there are some minor moments here where you get to see some of the pathos in Dracula’s eyes,” Cage said. “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.”
Cage said that he accepted the role of Dracula as a challenge to himself since he was already a big fan of interpretations of the character by Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, Bela Lugosi and Gary Oldman.
“I also kind of always knew I had to do it at some point,” Cage said of playing Dracula. “I went back to Christopher Lee, in terms of his manner of speaking, but that was really only a starting point. 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,” directed by “The Lego Batman Movie” and “The Tomorrow War” helmer Chris McKay, co-stars Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz and Adrian Martinez. Universal is releasing the film in theaters nationwide on April 14. The film will have its world premiere on March 30 as the opening night of the Overlook Film Festival.