Best Dracula Actors: The Faces That Played The Famous Vampire

Last Updated on March 25, 2022

The Prince Of Darkness. The Count. Nosferatu. Whatever name he is given the character of Dracula has been a mainstay on cinema screens and theater stages ever since Bram Stoker created the character (with some inspiration from Vlad the Impaler). Many actors have taken on the role but few have left a lasting impression. Some of the best have added new elements to the character that have endured long past their performance and have even added to the folklore of the character. And now, we’re here to count down the best Dracula actors of all time, so pop in those fangs, throw on your best cape, and dive on it.

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Bela Lugosi
Portrayed In Dracula (1931), Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

No list of best Dracula actors is complete without this entry. Perhaps the most famous portrayal of the character Lugosi headlined the 1931 Universal Pictures film Dracula. His calm demeanor and devilish look lent to a truly terrifying version of the character. His hypnotic gaze could capture the mind of any woman he desired. This version of the character was the template that was used for a long while going forward.

He would only play the character twice in his career. After the solo film, he would return to the role in Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein to team up with the Frankenstein Monster and The Wolf Man to menace the comedic duo of Abbott and Costello. Between the two films, he appeared in other Universal Monster films playing other characters and even had a turn at playing the Frankenstein Monster. He ended up playing vampires in two other films Mark Of The Vampire (1935) and Return Of The Vampire (1944).

Duncan Rehegr
Portrayed In Monster Squad (1987)

For 80s kids, this version of Dracula was seared into our brains the first time we watched Monster Squad. Take The Goonies, add in the Universal Monsters, and you get one of the best “Kids On Bikes” movies of the 80s. Here Duncan Rehger played the famous vampire who reassembles his group of monsters (Frankenstein’s Monster, Gillman, The Mummy, and The Wolfman) to try once again to take over the world. The only thing that can stop him is an ancient amulet and a group of kids who call themselves The Monster Squad.

Duncan brings a little more aggressive version of Dracula in this story. While he isn’t dismembering people left and right he seems perfectly happy in killing children if it means meeting his goal. While it is a little more cartoonish it fits in perfectly with the rest of the film. Perhaps what he is known for in this movie is holding a little girl up by her chin and telling her “Give me the amulet, you bitch!” and then baring his fangs scaring the little girl to death. Which was real as no one bothered to tell the little girl he was going to do this and legit scared her during the take.

Max Schreck
Portrayed In Nosferatu (1922)

The earliest film version of the Dracula story is actually a rip-off. The story of Nosferatu is based loosely on the Dracula story but changed the names to hope to prevent any legal action. It didn’t. After losing a settlement with the Stoker estate it was determined that any prints of the film were to be destroyed. While this was thought to have happened some began to pop up and it has since become a widely available public domain film.

Max Shreck plays Count Orlok who, after locking a real estate agent up in his castle, travels to the man’s home country and descends on the city bringing death with him. The look and mannerisms of Count Orlock are truly creepy and give the character a menacing feeling. This is especially noticeable in the silent film where the only thing the actor can rely on is his performance. The look of Max Shreck in this film inspired many vampire creations later on such as the movie version of Salem’s Lot (1979).

Gary Oldman
Portrayed In Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

This film by Francais Ford Coppola tried to bring the character back to a closer portrayal of the character in the book. Here he wanted to return the character to the seductive version but also bring in the latest special effects to show the monster side of him as well. The best actor he would pick to bring this version to of Dracula life would be none other than real-life chameleon, Gary Oldman.

Oldman would undergo numerous hours of makeup to show the progression of the character as he went from a shriveled husk to the young and handsome man that he became after drinking the blood of the young women around him. The difference between the versions of the old Dracula to the young vamp about town is breathtaking and an achievement in acting that might never be touched. Add in the horrific monster effects and it makes the full-fledged character of Dracula a sight to behold. It even forgives the wooden performance of Keanu Reeves.

Klaus Kinski
Portrayed In Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979)

Werner Herzog has declared that the original Nosferatu is one of the greatest German films of all time and wanted to put his own spin on the classic. Since the copyright on the original Dracula had long lapsed by this point he decided to restore the original names in an effort to bring the two works back together. His version was a dark and depressing telling of the Nosferatu movie set in a lonely countryside rather than the sprawling city.

Reports are that Klaus Kinski was difficult to work with on this film but with a director like Werner Herzog, he knew just how to handle the actor to get the performance he wanted. Kinski wanted an energetic version of the character while Herzog preferred a slow and deliberate performance. To accomplish this he would purposefully get into a fight with Kinski so when it was time to perform he would be worn out and be tired.

What results is a great performance from Kinski along with a creepy look that borrows from Max Shreck while also adding some from Kinski’s look to create a visual that looks like a creature that is the result of evolution. His lamprey-like look lends to his effectiveness of feeding on his prey. It’s truly unsettling, and makes Kinski easily one of the best actors to play Dracula.

Christopher Lee
Portrayed In Hammer Film Series, Jess Franco’s Count Dracula (1970), Jerry Lewis’ One More Time (1970), and Édouard Molinaro’s Dracula and Son (1976)

Perhaps the best actor to tackle the character of Dracula. Lee would play the character 10 times throughout his lifetime. Most of these were for the Hammer Horror series of films but eventually, his take on the character would spread outside of the company. He would done the cape three more times until 1976.

The obvious reason for his longevity as the character would be his great vicious take on the character which had him seething through his teeth at Van Helsing which was usually played by good friend Peter Cushing. One of the other reasons was he wanted people to be able to work. He stated that some of the films he didn’t want to do but knew that if he didn’t accept the role the rest of the cast and crew wouldn’t be able to work and earn money for their families.

Besides being an awesome person he was also a badass who did special ops missions in WWII. He was noted to have instructed Peter Jackson what it actually sounds like when someone dies while filming the Lord Of The Rings movies when Jackson incorrectly directed an actor of how to die in a scene. Gulp. It goes without saying that having 10 chances to play the character definitely gave him a chance to perfect the character and be remembered as perhaps the best version to appear on screen.