Universal's Renfield follows Dracula's title henchman as he works to escape the shadow of his narcissistic boss in modern-day New Orleans. Considered a role that Oscar winner Nicolas Cage was born to play, Renfield's Count Dracula is a fresh take on the classic character that finds the perfect balance in the actor's serious and amplified approach. Cage takes on more of a supporting role as Dracula, with the horror-comedy conflict primarily being seen through the eyes of the vampire's tortured lackey Renfield, played by The Great's Emmy-nominated actor Nicholas Hoult.

Renfield is directed by Chris McKay with a screenplay by Ryan Ridley, based on an original idea from Robert Kirkman. After centuries of obeying Dracula's every wicked command, Renfield has a new lease on life as he intends to explore what beholds him outside his boss's shadow. As he navigates putting an end to his toxic relationship with the Prince of Darkness, Renfield takes on mobsters and forms an unlikely connection with disgruntled traffic cop Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina).

Related: All 12 Actors To Play Renfield In A Dracula Movie (Including Nicholas Hoult)

Screen Rant spoke with Nicolas Cage about his highly anticipated performance in Renfield prior to tickets going on sale on March 22. Cage discussed his personal influences and inspirations from past Dracula performances, as well as the complexity of the character that shaped his approach to the role. He also talked about his dream roles, what it was like to work with Nicholas Hoult again, and his memorable performance in the 1988 film Vampire's Kiss.

Nicolas Cage Talks Renfield

nicolas-cage-as-dracula-in-renfield

Screen Rant: Can you talk me through your experience joining the Renfield team? What drew you to the role of Dracula?

Nicolas Cage: Well, Dracula is a character which I don't know how to say no to. I mean, I'm a very enthusiastic reader, particularly with Bram Stoker's Dracula. And then, of course, the portrayal of Dracula when it's been done well as a film enthusiast in the movies. So, to me, it was a marvel of the true sense of the word. I thought, “This could be a heck of a lot of fun. And what can I contribute to this?” Because you want to be on the side of doing something well with the Dracula character, because it's been done many, many times. And I would say it's been done well, but the lion's share of the time, it's been done poorly, and you want to be on the side of something well. So my process was really looking at the movies again, Langella, Oldman, Lugosi, and Lee, and then sort of cherry-picking what I admire. What I could learn from those performances as a sort of jumping-off point or a starting point. And then it really left that.

From Christopher Lee’s work, who is my personal favorite Dracula, I like his appearance and his voice. And I thought, well, that's a good Dracula to model physically, in terms of that hair being slicked back, and that sort of 1960s style. But, really, the biggest model for me was my father, because my dad was someone that, whatever room he walked into, he always walked in with an aura of academic power and eloquence. And so he always knew that he was the smartest man in every room. And so, with Dracula, being that he's been around for hundreds of years, he's the smartest man in the room.

But, subsequently, Dracula is also someone who's always getting his heart broken. So because of the human experience, if there is a curse to Dracula, it's love and exile, and that if you don't get love back, you go bad. And so that's what happened, I think, but I didn't really have the time to analyze or delve into the Dracula psyche. This movie, I'm very much supporting Nick Hoult’s wonderful performance as Renfield. But I did have just the right amount of time to figure out how to make an impact with six or seven scenes, and give it a pop art aftertaste that hopefully would stay with you. And I’m happy with the results; I do like this version of Dracula. I think he sits well with the other ones. And I was pleased to work with Chris McKay because it was so important to him that we design something together that would contribute something, because it's been done many times.

I have to say the way that you guys took on the character was so fresh and just a great addition to the Dracula filmography we already have. And Renfield also brings your own horror filmography somewhat full circle after your first big horror project with Vampire’s Kiss.

Nicolas Cage: That's interesting because Vampire’s Kiss, it's actually really not a funny subject matter as dark comedy as that movie is. We're dealing with a man who's losing his mind and mental illness, but because of that context – it's not a supernatural context – I was able to get pretty abstract in my film performance. I had very clear visions of what I thought I could do with film performance. But I needed the engine and the context which would allow me to express that vision. So if the man is losing his mind, it's not a big ask or a big reach to have him start moving around like Max Schreck in an old Nosferatu movie.

With Dracula, this is a character that is supernatural. This is a character that has made a contract with dark forces. And because of that, my surrealistic film performance can be supported. It would be foolish to me to try to make facial expressions or moves or vocal expressions like that in Pig or any more natural, realistic film performance. But with supernatural, with mental illness, sad and tragic as it is, but having grown up around it beginning with my mother, you could see where you could do surrealistic and beautiful moves that would not be applicable in other styles of filmmaking.

You're still pushing your own boundaries with those performances after so many years in the business. How do you keep your performances so fresh, especially in these different genres with often-done characters or types or characters?

Nicolas Cage: I’m a student first and that means that I've taken on the mantra that whatever I do, I need to learn something. Whether it works or doesn't work, the path is: What can I learn and develop? And how do I stay fresh? It’s because I don't know what else to do. You know, it's the most positive, constructive way for me to live this life. And I'm blessed that I've had it with me, with the risk of sounding like a romantic gobbledygook, that I have a guardian angel. You know, she's been with me and guided me in film performances and stuck with me since I was a child. So to me, I need it just to function as a person. So that's a part of my chemical DNA.

But to answer your question, perhaps more specifically, if I'm not interested, then you're not going to be interested. So the older I get, it's a matter of how do I stay interested? And then the group of film enthusiasts who have been with me from the beginning, the last thing I want to do is let them down.

You've played everyone from Dracula to your alternate self now, so is there any other dream role or genre that you have left to tackle?

Nicolas Cage: Well, I grew up with three different interests that I was considering as my occupation. First and foremost was film performance. But if that didn't work, and for a minute there it looked like that wasn't going to work, I was going to get on a boat. And I was gonna write stories and try to, in some little way, embody the Herman Melville lifestyle, to be a fisherman and write stories. And if that didn't work, then I wanted to be a newspaperman. I was interested in journalism and, in fact, I was on the high school newspaper and I was doing interviews, so I kind of wanted to be a hard edge Mike Wallace kind of journalist. So I think any of those options.

I've already played an actor in a movie, myself, but I think if I could play at some kind of a fisherman or newspaper journalist that those would be interesting characters for me. And I know it’s out there. I came close on one movie, I won’t mention the name, but there were behavioral problems with the character that I didn't want to get into in this day and age, so I decided to pass.

Can you tell me more about your dynamic with Nicholas Hoult and what it was like working with him again after playing father and son in The Weather Man over 15 years ago?

Nicolas Cage: Yeah, it's 15 years. That's right. I wasn't entirely sure of how long ago. I was completely aware of his talent then and I'm not surprised whatsoever about the star he has become now. I was very excited to get back on set with him because I wanted to support him. And we didn't have that much time to prepare, so just right off the get-go I would start improvising and rehearsing with him. I would throw him lines and I didn’t even say we were gonna rehearse, I just started doing it to see how he would respond. Like walking to McKay’s office or just walking around the sets, we would start running lines because I wanted to see where he was going.

My job was to support Nick and within his whatever flavor he was bringing, because he's the star the movie. So I'm trying to calibrate where I should or shouldn't go in terms of the Dracula portayal so it rips off of what Hoult's bringing. And that worked out very well, so much so that the two of us – and I wish they had us miked up during the screen tests for wardrobe and makeup – we started running and improvising and play acting and started figuring things out so that we could really hone in to what our rhythms were going to be on camera. I think it was very helpful. It saved us a lot of time.

Oh, yeah, that would have been perfect for bonus features on the movie.

Nicolas Cage: Oh, yeah. I mean, I do it all the time now. I'm sure it's a little off-putting for my fellow actors. But before you know it the ice is broken and we've got a scene, we have ideas of where we can go and we're used to each other. We're in a safe zone where we can play off of each other, even before the action on camera.

Dracula also gets to wear some killer costumes in Renfield. Did you have a favorite outfit or piece of wardrobe from the movie?

Nicolas Cage: I think the red velveteen suit was my favorite. But you're right, that department, boy, did they come in with outstanding options for the Dracula character. It was so fresh. I can't take credit for any of it. They brought all that in, they brought in the rings, they brought in the medallion. They brought in the velvet, they brought in the embroidery. I mean, all of it was by design from their imagination. And it really helped me find the character, what they brought, and also the makeup department. By designing a very specific image from the outside, it enabled me to look within to bring the emotion to the character, or the rhythm and timing to the character.

I know you said that you didn't get to fully dive into the psyche of Dracula in Renfield. But if there was one more Universal classic monster character that you could play, who would it be and why–

Nicolas Cage: I’m very happy with the time I have in this movie; this is the perfect amount of time for Dracula. If you look at all the Hammer horror films, Christopher Lee was barely in those movies. You want to save the monster because if you give it all away too soon it loses its potency. It's kind of like the shark in Jaws. I mean, Spielberg knew exactly what he was doing, partly because of financial reasons because the shark broke down. But I mean, if you're very careful with the shark, then it leaves you wanting more. So my comment about the time I had as the character is more about how it would be interesting to go into a full length narrative at some point as to why Dracula is the way he is, but that's not this movie. This is the exact right amount of time in this movie for Dracula.

What was it you asked me about Universal monster character?

If you could play any other Universal classic monster, who would it be and why?

Nicolas Cage: I kind of did it with Ghost Rider. But I think the Wolf Man. Yeah. The Wolf Man is the scariest and I think just powerfully tragic. But I think it's been done many times, I don't think we're making Wolf Man movies anymore. But for what I would like to explore, that works for me.

About Renfield

Nicolas Cage Grinning as Dracula in Renfield

In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Nicolas Cage). Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.

Check out our other Renfield interviews here:

Next: Renfield Is Finally Giving Dracula's Henchman The Attention He Deserves

Renfield arrives in theaters on April 14, with a new trailer out on March 22 and tickets going on sale the same day.

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