“Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!”
Hello there! We all know who Count dracula is since he's one of the most iconic characters not only in horror fiction but in all of fiction. He's been in tons of movies and TV show, which begs the question, which one of the actors that played him did it better? here's my personal list
1-
Claes Bang
Claes Bang is a Danish actor that played the iconic count in the
2 episode 2020 Dracula show that aired in BBC and Netflix (anyone who says it has 3 episodes is
lying). The show tries to mix many different stages of Dracula in pop culture and Bang was the perfect pick, he manages to capture the monstrous side of Dracula in the novel and the more charming and elegant side presented by Lugosis portrayal, making for a fresh and accurate (in character) Dracula that hits
2-
Cristopher Lee
A legendary actor whose work on Dracula is both great and a waste at the same time. He worked in the iconic Hammer Dracula films where he portrays the titular Count as a cruel blood thirsty monster that does not to pretend to be anything other else than that, which is great, but leaves behind the hypnotic and charming elements of the character. Why was he wasted? Lee himself was unhappy with his Dracula roles in the Hammer series, due to how far removed and underdeveloped the Count was from the book, culminating in the character turning into a wild animal with no personality (By 'Prince of Darkness' he didn't even speak). His best portrayal of the character must be in the 1970's movie Count Dracula, where he finally portrays a book accurate Dracula. Cruel yet noble, this Dracula is one of the best out there, although I feel it leaves the charming aspect of Dracula behind, which stops Lee from being higher in the list. Dracula's supposed to lure you in, make you feel attracted to him yet unsafe at the same time, like he has you under his thumb and Lee's Dracula while a figure that demands respect, doesn't have that gravitas the original Count had
3-
Gary Oldman
From the hand of Francis Ford Coppola, Oldman portrayed the count in the 1992 classic Bram Stoker's Dracula, where he delivers a sympathetic and tempting portrayal of the Count, who now is a more tragic than horrid character. As much as I love Oldman in this, I still feel his Count leans too much into the tragic villian archetype and forgets the more cruel and monstrous characteristics the Count had in the novel (same as Lee's but inverse), but he excels in the luring, almost erotic nature of the count. He is easily the most accurate count in terms of appearance which is an aspect that I think gets often overlooked (specially the Count's oh so neglected mustache)
4-
Bela Lugosi
By far the most iconic, Lugosi's portrayal of the Count in the horror classic has defined Dracula in pop culture, and for good reason. Lugosi manages to portray a charming and cruel monster with a hypnotic presence, however I think his count is a bit too sanitized but it can't be denied that Lugosi changed Dracula forever. My favorite part of his portrayal must be his movements, which are full of personality, elegant yet somehow threatening, like he's always ready to attack
those would be my top Dracula actors, which are your favorites?
