Top Ten Actors We Never Thought Would Make Good Vampires (But Did)

It’s no secret the vampire genre has been alive and well in the movie industry since the silent era, with no signs of slowing in 2013. With recent and upcoming vampire films such as Neil Jordan’s Byzantium and Only Lovers Left Alive (starring Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton), new actors are finding themselves with the opportunity (and the challenge) of bearing their fangs every year. Some actors seem a natural fit (no one ever wondered if Johnny Depp would make a good vampire), while others leave us questioning the sanity of the casting directors. And while some of our collective fears are proven right, there have been many occasions where an actor has exceeded our expectations – fitting the role better than we imagined they would. Here at The Vampire Source, the team had a round-table debate about our own top ten (pleasantly) surprising vampire performances.

And, without further ado, we’ll get right to it.

#10 Colin Farrell: Jerry, Fright Night (2011)

Best known for his role in the 2002 action thriller Phone Booth, Irish actor Colin Farrell wasn’t a likely choice to play a vampire. But all doubt was gone once fans and critics watched him steal the show as Jerry in the 2011 remake of the cult classic Fright Night.

#9 Karl Urban: Black Hat, Priest (2011)

Before his role as the priest turned vampire-villain “Black Hat” in the 2011 film Priest, Karl Urban was best known for J.J. Abrams’ resurrection of the Star Trek film franchise (“Damnit, Jim, I’m a doctor.”) and the last two films of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. “I think the starting point was the fact that Black Hat is a fallen hero,” Urban told Den of Geek when asked why he took on the role. “He’s a warrior priest whose job it was to fight the vampire scourge and in the course of doing that job, he falls in battle and gets transformed into the very thing that he’s been fighting.”

#8 Parker Posey: Danica Talos, Blade: Trinity (2004)

Affectionately known to critics and fans as “Queen of the Indies”, actress Parker Posey found her claim to fame in the early 90s with the films Dazed and Confused (1993) and Party Girl (1995). However, in the 2004 Blade Franchise installment Blade: Trinity (Directed by Dark Knight Trilogy and Man of Steel screenwriter David S. Goyer), Posey’s scene-stealing performance as vampire leader Danica was arguably the most surprising and enjoyable thing about the film. 

#7 Salma Hayek: Santanico Pandemonium, From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Following her breakout role in the 1995 cult classic Desperado, opposite Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek was cast again by Robert Rodriguez to play a vampire in From Dusk Till Dawn. Sultry and seductive in both films, what solidified Hayek’s performance as a true “monster vampire” was the nature of her vampiric transformation — and what she did with it. Needless to say, all doubts were gone the moment audiences saw Santanico Pandemonium in all her fanged lizard-like glory.

#6 Ben Kingsley: Kagan, BloodRayne (2005)

Gandhi the vampire? While no one could ever truly ague Sir Ben Kingsley wasn’t up to the task of diversity, it takes a certain kind of actor to master a vampiric role. And in the (not fantastic) 2005 film BloodRayne, Kingsley did just that. “To be honest, I have always wanted to play a vampire, with the teeth and the long black cape,” he said, when asked why he chose to do the film at all by Time Magazine. “Let’s say that my motives were somewhat immature for doing it.”

#5 Kate Beckinsale: Selene, The Underworld Franchise (2003-2012)

Inextricable from the Underworld franchise now, there was a time when Kate Beckinsale was an actress best known for her roles in the romantic comedy Serendipity (2001) and the historic drama Pearl Harbor (2001). But once she bared her fangs in skintight leather in the 2003 career-defining film Underworld, Beckinsale became Selene. She went on to reprise her role in Underworld: Evolution (2006), Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009), and most recently Underworld: Awakening (2012).

#4 Denis O’Hare: Russell Edgington, True Blood (2010-2012)

When you think of everything a vampire “should” be (sleek, seductive, eternally young), Broadway veteran Denis O’Hare isn’t the kind of actor who first comes to mind. But few can deny the significance of his presence on the HBO series True Blood as the ruthless vampire renegade Russell Edgington… and now for the weather. Tiffany?

#3 Kiefer Sutherland: David, The Lost Boys (1987)

We know. Can anyone really imagine Kiefer Sutherland without thinking about The Lost Boys? At this point, the answer is a resounding no. However, at the point when he was most well-known for his role as the bully in Stand By Me in 1987, one might not have thought he could go all the way into the “darkness”. Needless to say he did, creating one of the most iconic vampire villains in cinematic history.

#2 Gary Oldman: Dracula, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Again, can anyone imagine Dracula without thinking about Gary Oldman? We can’t, which is why his transformation from an actor who was best known for playing Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy (1986), and Lee Harvy Oswald in the 1991 Oliver Stone film JFK, to Dracula in all his gothic glory was staggering. In 1992 and beyond, Oldman was Dracula – defining the role for a whole new generation, who will forever feel eternally nostalgic about his portrayal of the most iconic vampire in the history of film and literature.

#1 Tom Cruise: Lestat de Lioncourt, Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Tom Cruise. At the time he was cast to play the infamous ‘Brat Prince’ Lestat de Lioncourt in Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, he was “that guy”. Sure, he had the acting chops to earn himself an Oscar nomination for his role in the 1989 biodrama Born on the Fourth of July, but a vampire? No one was more stunned or dismayed by the casting choice than Anne Rice herself, who weighed in during an interview with the New York Times: “I was particularly stunned by the casting of Cruise, who is no more my Vampire Lestat than Edward G. Robinson is Rhett Butler.”

However, following the release of the film, Rice retracted her speculative criticism saying, “From the moment he appeared Tom was Lestat for me. He has the immense physical and moral presence; he was defiant and yet never without conscience; he was beautiful beyond description yet compelled to do cruel things. The sheer beauty of Tom was dazzling, but the polish of his acting, his flawless plunge into the Lestat persona, his ability to speak rather boldly poetic lines, and speak them with seeming ease and conviction were exhilarating and uplifting…I like to believe Tom’s Lestat will be remembered the way Olivier’s Hamlet is remembered. Others may play the role some day but no one will ever forget Tom’s version of it.”

She additionally sent him a personal letter of apology, and has praised his work in the film ever since. Winning over both critics and fans, Tom Cruise is, without any doubt, our number one choice for someone we collectively didn’t think would make a good vampire and did — beyond all expectations.

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Honorable Mentions

For us, ten wasn’t nearly enough! Here’s a quick peek at a few actors who didn’t make the cut, but we’d like to mention. Each of these actors brought more to their roles than we expected, and we’d like to commend them as well for pleasantly surprising us.

Antonio Banderas: Armand, Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Gerard Butler: Dracula, Dracula 2000 (2000)

Anthony Perkins: Anton/Prince Constantine, Daughter of Darkness (1990)

Agree/disagree with our list? Have a few additions of your own? Let us know in the comment below. We’d love to hear your take on who you thought couldn’t pull it off, and did.