'Renfield' star Nicolas Cage hopes to end up in the annals of 'memorable' Dracula history

It's only natural for an actor to want to put their own, unique stamp on an iconic character — and Nicolas Cage is no exception.  

Appearing in a new featurette taking viewers behind-the-scenes of Renfield (now playing in theaters everywhere), Cage voices his ambition to become "one of the memorable Draculas." That wish has already come to fruition in the minds of critics and general audiences — both of whom agree Cage's scene-chewing interpretation of the blood-sucking Count is worth the price of admission alone.

"I wanted to play with the movement because that's a way into Dracula that we haven't seen much," the actor explains in the video (aptly-titled "Uncaged"), which shows just how far he went to prepare for the undead role. "When you see cobras, they try to seduce you. They try to hypnotize you by [weaving back and forth] and then they [strike]. I wanted Dracula to have some of that."

"He had put a tremendous amount of work into this character," adds producer Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead, Invincible), whose original screen story inspired the screenplay written by Ryan Ridley (Community, Rick and Morty). "The level of effort is staggering."

Watch the Renfield featurette now:

Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War) directed the action-horror-comedy, which cleverly places the spotlight on Dracula's right-hand man, R.M. Renfield (played here by X-Men alumnus, Nicholas Hoult). After nine decades of serving a toxic employer and grotesquely munching on insects, the titular protagonist decides to vacate his co-dependent situation.

This, unsurprisingly, infuriates Dracula, prompting the legendary vampire to seek revenge against his ex-henchman through a local crime family represented by Teddy Lobo (Ben Schwartz) and his mother, Bella-Francesca (Shohreh Aghdashloo). Renfield, meanwhile, allies himself with Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina), a pure-hearted traffic cop looking to rid her city of corruption by taking down the Lobos and avenging her father's murder.

Renfield is now playing in theaters everywhere. Click here to sink your fangs into some tickets.

Craving even more vampire shenanigans? Check out SYFY's Reginald the Vampire, which is set to return later this year for a second season. Or head on over to Peacock, where Vampire Academy is now in session. And that's not all! Universal Pictures will release a second Dracula-inspired movie — Last Voyage of the Demeter — into theaters this August.