Here at The Vampire Source, our team members have been working hard to bring you their personal and our collective vampire top-ten lists. Stay tuned as we present our views on everything from who surprised us the most in a vampire film to ranking the classics. In this special segment, The Vampire Source brings you Joshua Skye’s take on who should don the screen as an immortal, but hasn’t yet.
by Joshua Skye:
The lure of the vampire, a dangerous seduction we gleefully engage in even if only in our fertile imaginations. How many of us have, at one time or another, profoundly desired the kiss of the alluring undead, to be resurrected in the image of the beautiful creature of the night? I dare say, we all have. There are none among us who have not dreamt it.
Pale skin. Eerily haunting eyes. Deep hungers. An inescapable existential romance.
The grotesque poetry of the moon-bathed monsters we all want to become has not merely entertained us, but has preyed upon our carnal desires, our intense yearning for immortality, our conflicting relationship with the dark side of our world and our souls. The vampire is a timeless being and their stories are everlasting as well, we never grow weary of them. They haunt the shadows just as they haunt our thoughts. They are forever.
We want them. We need them. We are as undeniably enchanted by them as they are by us, for neither would exist without the other. And is this not the exact same relationship we have with celebrities? Want. Need. Enchanted… perhaps even spellbound. Symbiotic.
We are rendered childishly and unapologetically giddy when we see a favored icon get the role we’ve always known they should play. Jack Nicholson couldn’t have been more perfect as The Devil in “The Witches of Eastwick.” Could anyone have given cinematic life to Evita other than the indomitable Madonna? Heath Ledger slipped into the role of The Joker with sinister, terrifying absoluteness. Can we even contemplate anyone other than Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow? Never. These were the roles these performers were born to play.
Vampires have been brought into glorious, horrifying, often blood-soaked being by many a skillful actor. Bela Lugosi, Ingrid Pitt, Reggie Nalder, Catherine Deneuve, Christopher Lee, Barbara Steele, Klaus Kinski, Grace Jones, Gary Oldman, Julie Carmen, and even Tom Cruise have all captured the twisted, complex characteristics of the ravenous blood-drinker on film. And all have succeeded at their herculean tasks, because make no mistake to truly give us a vampire worthy of our most petrifying nightmares or our most erotic dreams, it takes raw talent, unwavering charisma, and sheer audacity. These are the traits that separate the gods among us from the amateurs.
In the annals of film, so many have played the creatures of the night, but who among our contemporaries should grace the silver screen as a vampire? We all have our favorites, but beyond our mere pop culture delights, who possesses the talent, charisma, and audacity to give the world a vampire to rival the greats? Here are my top ten choices:
[dcs_darkspliter size=”large” bottom=”20″]#10 Chad Allen:
A lifelong Hollywood star, Allen has given us a wide-range of characters, drug addicts, serial killers, and gay detectives. He’s also appeared in some of our favorite television shows, Our House, The Wonder Years, St. Elsewhere, and even Star Trek. He’s a strong actor, and gorgeous as well. With his unwavering talent, not to mention those stunning eyes, he’d make a fantastic vampire, one that was dark, brooding, menacing yet enthralling at the same time.
#9 Jennifer Aniston:
The Friends alum is a tremendously underrated actress. Not only a gifted comedic performer, she is also stunning in dramatic roles. Given the opportunity, I imagine her in a sinister, morbid character piece as a gloomy, self-loathing vampire on an existential journey across the night-shrouded wastelands of Middle America.
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#8 Daniel Radcliffe:
We’ve watched him grow up on screen, literally. He’s addictively watchable, having become one of the greatest actors of his generation. He’s also courageous, unafraid of his sexual appeal. I don’t think anyone was prepared for just how good Radcliffe has become, his turn in “The Woman in Black” cementing him as a flawlessly nuanced actor with talent beyond his years. He needs to play a vampire!
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#7 Miley Cyrus:
Ah, how the haters love to hate, I must confess I was very reluctant to allow myself to fall under her spell, but Miley Cyrus is surprisingly compelling. She’s bold, fierce, uniquely attractive, and a talented actor. With the unrestrained magnetism she emanated in her stunning “Can’t Be Tamed” music video, she’d create a vampire for the ages.
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#6 Zac Efron:
Oh, how the camera loves him. He’s beautiful, and a great actor. I imagine him in the role of much cherished Lestat, reprising it perfectly. I’d love to see him get down and dirty, covered in blood and seducing the endlessly melancholy Louis. If you think about it, I’m sure you can picture it, too.
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#5 Halle Berry:
Halle Berry can do anything, and I do mean anything. There isn’t a role she’s done where she hasn’t been perfect, yes even “Catwoman.” Her performances are always spot-on, her conviction absolutely inspirational. I would love to see her as a vampire with heart, a morality code on par with Dexter. Or hell, give her the role of a bloodthirsty vixen with insatiable murderous desires. Drench her in blood and gore, she’d be just as good and it would shock the world.
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#4 Josh Lucas:
This actor has been around for quite a while, having not yet found his breakout role. He’s worked with some of the very best the dream world has to offer, Wolfgang Peterson, Ang Lee, and Ron Howard. A deliciously twisted, perhaps even psychotic vampire might just make him the household name he deserves to be.
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#3 Zachary Quinto:
He’s mesmerized us as villains before. Who didn’t have a love/hate relationship with Sylar in Heores? He was equally as amazing in American Horror Story, and arguably the only man in Hollywood who could have so successfully pulled off Spock without rendering it parody or a cheap imitation of Leonard Nemoy. Handsome, with a dark, mysterious gaze, Quinto would be scary good as a merciless vampire.
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#2 Madonna:
Though her films haven’t often been met with the praise they deserve, or her performances for that matter, there is no denying her talent, charisma, and boundless audacity. Even in her fifties, she is a beautiful being. She exudes sexuality. Her eyes speak volumes, glances becoming legendary in photography and on film. As she was the only reasonable choice for Evita, who else could startle or seduce us more as the ultimate bloodsucking Elizabeth Bathory? Ponder it, you’ll realize exactly what I mean.
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#1 Michael Fassbender:
Strikingly beautiful, profoundly sexual on screen, and dangerously fearless in his performances, Fassbender is a seductively alluring actor. You simply can’t take your eyes off him. At once treacherously masculine and ferociously unafraid of his intrinsic edge of femininity, he is an endlessly watchable presence, utterly fascinating no matter the role. From his spine-chilling turn as a deceitful automation in “Prometheus” to the sex addict in “Shame,” the man is every inch a star. There is no doubt he could be the ultimate Dracula.
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Do you agree? Who are your choices? Let us know who haunts your dreams as a creature of the night?