MOVIE NEWS – Ever since it was announced that Nicolas Cage would be playing Dracula in the upcoming Renfield movie, audiences have been waiting for him to say something about the role finally…

Back in November, Universal revealed that Nicolas Cage would be playing the iconic role of Dracula in the upcoming monster movie Renfield, with Nicholas Hoult as the famous vampire henchman. This casting is as if by fate, as Cage has some experience with vampire roles thanks to his title role in 1989’s Vampire’s Kiss, but Renfield has now allowed him to bring a genuinely legendary vampire to life (or to the undeath?)

As a guest on this week’s episode of the Variety Awards Circuit podcast, Nicolas Cage was asked what he had to say about director Chris McKay’s upcoming film.

“I can tell you that it’s amazing,” said Cage. “It’s a really fun and exciting opportunity.”

He went on to say that he is a “huge” fan of the book and the character, and in preparation, he has gone back and watched some of the most iconic performances in the film. “I looked at Bela Lugosi’s performance, and then I looked at Frank Langella’s performance,” Cage said of the 1931 and 1979 films. And of course, there’s Gary Oldman in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 version – Coppola is Cage’s uncle. “I looked at Gary’s performance in uncle’s movie, which I think it’s just so sumptuous. Every frame is a work of art,” he said.

But Nicolas Cage asked himself what he could add to the infamous role. “I want it to pop in a unique way from how we’ve seen it played,” he noted. “So I’m thinking to really focus on the movement of the character. You know, I saw ‘Malignant’ and I thought what she did with those moves — and even ‘Ringu’ with Sadako [Yamamura] … I want to look at what we can explore with this movement and voice.”

Ultimately, Cage said he was particularly excited about the piece’s humour. “What makes it super fun is that it’s a comedy,” he stated “And when you get that tone right — comedy and horror — like ‘American Werewolf in London,’ it’s a blast. It’s got to be a bulls-eye. But that’s what I’m looking for, something new to bring to the character, and also that perfect tone of comedy and horror.”

Source: Variety