Nicolas Cage to portray Dracula in "Renfield"
by Ana Walia | Wed, 01 Dec 2021 19:21:44 GMT
Image Source: Mid-day

It has been announced that Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage will portray Dracula in an upcoming movie titled, "Renfield".

Nicolas Cage debuted in the industry with a minor role in 1982’s Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and since then, the actor has never stopped. He has appeared in critically acclaimed movies including Moonstruck, Raising Arizona, Matchstick Men, Leaving Las Vegas, Adaptation, etc. Nicolas earned an Academy Award nomination for his magnificent performance as a suicidal alcoholic in "Leaving Las Vegas," and another one was for portraying real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman and Kaufman's fictional twin Donald in Adaptation.

Nicolas Cage’s second highest-grossing film to date is "National Treasure," in which the actor portrays an eccentric historian who goes out on a dangerous adventure to find the treasure hidden by the Founding Fathers of the United States.

According to reports by The Hollywood Reporter, Nicolas Cage has been roped in to play Dracula in Universal Pictures’ monster movie "Renfield," which is being directed by Chris McKay. The movie is also going to feature Nicholas Hoult as the titular character, and Chris McKay and Robert Kirkman are serving as producers along with David Alpert, Bryan Furst, and Sean Furst. Samantha Nisenboim is serving as the executive producer for the movie, and Ryan Ridley of Rick and Morty fame has penned the script for the movie.

Nicholas Hoult is going to play a titular character. Image Source: The List 

Speaking of R.M. Renfield, the character originated in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel titled, "Dracula," who was a patient in an intimate asylum and thought to have been suffering from delusions that compelled him to eat insects and rats in the hopes of attaining immortality, but it was later revealed that he had bowed down or was under the influence of one Count Dracula. Nicolas Cage is known to follow method acting for his movie and the same level of dedication is expected from 'Renfield'. 

Nicolas Cage has spent the majority of the last decade away from major Hollywood productions, with his last major studio film is Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance in 2011. Since then, the actor has starred in a number of independent films. In his interview with Variety earlier this year, the actor shared that he preferred to work on low-budget movie sets because traditional studio projects come with unwanted commercial constraints. He added, "When I was making Jerry Bruckheimer movies back-to-back, that was just a high-pressure game. There were a lot of fun moments, but at the same time, there was also an ‘We wrote this line. It has to be said this way. They’d put a camera on you, photograph you, and order you to: "Now say the roller skate training wheels line." I’d say, "I’ll do that, but I’d also like to try it this way." In independent movies, you have more freedom to experiment and be fluid. There’s less pressure and there’s more oxygen in the room. "

In his most recent movie, "Pig," Nicolas plays a melancholic truffle forager, Rob, and the plot then shifts to Rob’s connection to his pet pig and his tortured relationship with his past celebrity as a renowned chef. In his interview, Nicolas said, "I do feel that I’ve gone into my own wilderness and that I’ve left the small town that is Hollywood. I don’t know exactly why Rob left his stardom. It’s never fully explained, and I like that about the movie. But as for me, I don’t know if I’d want to go back. I don’t know if I’d want to go and make another Disney movie. It would be terrifying. It’s a whole different climate. There’s a lot of fear there. "

'Pig' as a movie and Nicolas’ performances were highly acclaimed among the critics and the audience, and the actor shared that the movie was an opportunity for him to remind the audience that he is capable of doing subtle work as well. Talking about the same, he shared, "I wanted to remind myself and also remind some folks, perhaps in the audience or in the media, that I could also apply myself to a much more quiet and measured performance style. I had gone on this tear, a mission almost, to kind of break form with film performance and what was considered good performance by being naturalistic, photo-realistic, or minimalistic. "

The actor walked the red carpet at the Gotham Awards 2021 and shared the critical love he received for his movie. He shared, "Rob is an epicurean contending with loss, which many people, especially now, know, at a time like this with what we've all been through. I think that's what resonated with some folks. " Alex Wolff, who also stars in the movie, said, "I really, really think and pray that he deserves an Oscar for this movie. Unbiased, I was there watching it. And the fact that it's been 25 years [since he won his Oscar] is a huge, misguided decision on the Academy's part. "

On listening to the Oscar buzz around his performance in The Pig, Nicolas mentioned, "Any kind of enthusiasm is always welcome. But the reality is that it's all about telling stories that communicate with the people. And I think this movie did, and that's what we brought, and that's good enough for me. "

Nicolas Cage is represented by WME, Stride Management, and GGSSC attorney Patrick Knapp; Nicholas Hoult is represented by UTA, 42, and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson LLP; and Chris McKay is represented by UTA, Rise Management, and Morris.

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