Since being published in 1897, Bram Stoker's Dracula has stood the test of time as an all-time classic. The titular vampire has become one of the most recognizable villains in all fiction, inspiring fear and terror among audiences for well over a century. It would be easy for anyone to lose count of the number of times we've seen Dracula's story make its way onto the screen. However, while Vlad Dracula is very much the show's star, there's another character from his story who deserves far more attention, and he'll finally be getting that come this April.
From director, Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie) comes Renfield, a new take on the Dracula story from his loyal servant's perspective. Though he's been historically overshadowed in favor of the iconic Dracula, R. M. Renfield is one of the most complex and tragic antagonists in literature history despite being a lowly henchman. The latest take on the character is clearly a different take, being set in the modern day and having a more comedic tone but still looking at Renfield as the protagonist of this particular story.
Renfield will be played by one of the most prominent actors in the industry today, and he'll be joined by quite a few major stars as well. To find out who will be joining Renfield in this bloody reinvention, read below for a comprehensive cast and character guide for Renfield.
Nicholas Hoult as Renfield
In the titular role of R. M. Renfield is Nicholas Hoult, the star of X-Men: First Class, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Menu. Hoult has played it all over the years, from benevolent superheroes to maniacal villains, and for Renfield, he'll be taking advantage of both roles.
Before meeting the nefarious vampire known as Dracula, Renfield was an average man, likely one with his own goals and aspirations. Likely is the keyword here as, in the original novel, Renfield's origins are a bit of a mystery. The only things we learn about Renfield's past are his sessions with Dr. Seward during his stay at a mental asylum, but there are quite a few details we can glean from him. For one, it's true that at some point, Renfield became Dracula's thrall. Otherwise known as a familiar, Renfield has promised his undying servitude to the bloodthirsty dark lord in exchange for eternal life. According to Renfield, he gains eternal life by consuming live animals like spiders and rats, but this was likely a deception by Dracula to earn his loyalty.
These events took place all the way back in the 19th century, and as we see in the first trailer for Renfield, the new take on the Dracula mythos takes place in the modern day. Renfield and Dracula (played by Nicolas Cage) may still be from that 19th-century period, as they both look pretty out of place with their proper Victorian clothing. This begs the question of how Renfield is still alive over a hundred years later if he's still an average human, but that gets potentially answered when Renfield takes a bite out of a spider, giving him superhuman abilities to take down a group of armed robbers. What was an apparent lie in the original story proves to be Renfield's source of strength in this new adaptation, turning Renfield into a would-be superhero who is still faithful to Dracula.
This new, more sympathetic version of Renfield is ready to cease his unending job of providing Dracula with new bodies to feed off of, wanting his everyday life back once and for all. Though a breakthrough makes itself known when Renfield realizes that if he stops feeding Dracula, he won't grow to full power, he still has to risk invoking the wrath of his bloodthirsty employer.
Nicolas Cage as Dracula
After giving birth to various memes with Vampire's Kiss (1988), where the Oscar-winning actor played a deranged stockbroker who only thought he was a vampire, Nicolas Cage has come full circle. He will be playing the most famous literary monster of all time.
Like his loyal servant, Renfield, Dracula's origins are also mysterious. The plethora of adaptations for the story all have a different take on where Dracula might have come from. Still, as far as the original Bram Stoker novel goes, the vampire embodies pure evil. As you might imagine, most clichés synonymous with vampires can be traced back to Dracula. Staples like fanged teeth, superhuman strength and speed, immunity to reflections, fear of crucifixes, weakness to sunlight, dominion over certain animals, and the ability to shape-shift into various creatures like bats and wolves. All of these tricks are utilized by Dracula before Dr. Abraham Van Helsing ultimately kills him.
Van Helsing clearly didn't defeat Renfield's version of Dracula, as he's still undead and loving it in the 21st century. Here Dracula still relies on Renfield to provide him with bodies for him to feast on, allowing him to maintain his immortality and grow his power. Though Renfield delivering him victims is undoubtedly more convenient, Dracula is still more than capable of getting his hands dirty when the moment calls, as evident in the trailer's final scene where he's ready to feast on Renfield support group.
Awkwafina as Rebecca Quincy
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Awkwafina will be playing the first of many original characters, with Rebecca Quincy being the most crucial.
Quincy is a traffic cop who has a chance encounter with Renfield when he saves her and other civilians in a restaurant when a crew of armed assailants breaks in. Shortly after, Renfield falls in love with Quincy, officially wanting to leave his life of serving Dracula behind to start a new, normal one. Not seen in the trailer is Quincy's partner, Chris Marcos, played by Adrian Martinez (Focus).
Ben Schwartz as Teddy Lobo and Shohreh Aghdashloo
Dracula is almost certainly going to be the main antagonist of Renfield. Still, two other villains are yet to be seen, with Shohreh Aghdashloo (24) as Ella and Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog) as Teddy Lobo.
Per their brief character descriptions, Ella is an infamous and feared crime boss, likely the employer of the various goons we see sprinkled throughout the trailer. On the other hand, Teddy Lobo is even more of a mystery, being a mobster who's either a rival to Ella or one of her most dedicated enforcers. They'll both be obstacles for Renfield, but we'll have to wait and see how dangerous they'll be.
Brandon Scott Jones as Mark
Last but certainly not least is Brandon Scott Jones (Isn't It Romantic) as Mark, the support group leader who invites Renfield to join their session.
When Renfield barges into the meeting, expressing his desire to leave a toxic relationship, Mark and the other support group members assume that Renfield is just in a hostile workplace environment. That assumption technically isn't untrue, but when a fanged gentleman with a Transylvanian accent floats into the meeting, they realize this is a bit more supernatural.
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