Of
late the 'tweeny' pop culture has been drooling over blood-thirsty
vampires with stylized hairdos and zero per cent body fat. The modern
vampire seems to have evolved from creepy monsters looking to inject
and ingest blood to handsome boy toys willing to forego a savoury
human blood banquet to try and emulate mortals. With that in mind
here are five actors, in no particular order, who adapted the plasma
loving personality with great aplomb.
 1.
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight (2008) Robert Pattinson
makes the cut since he has most girls, and some grown women, wishing
they could trade places with Bella Swan to embrace Edward. While
he rivals the acting talent of an android, Pattinson's portrayal
of Edward Cullen (a compassionate vampire involved in a junior high
romance with a human) has transformed the previously terrifying
villain into a desirable desperado with a penchant for protecting
human life. Pattinson plays the seventeen-year-old (108 in vampire
years) character who gets involved with Isabella 'Bella' Swan during
his senior year at high school. Though he retains the superhuman
strength and agility, it is his intelligence that seems questionable.
How he is still in senior year despite being over a century old
is anyone's guess.
 2.
Kiefer Sutherland as David in The Lost Boys (1987) If there was
a movie to be held responsible for breaking with tradition and altering
the vampire concept you would not have to look much further than
The Lost Boys. In it Kiefer Sutherland plays David, the leader of
a vampire gang, with much allure. This role helped establishing
him as one of the finest young actors of the '80s and '90s. Released
during the ascendancy of the grunge era in the late '80s, Kiefer
provided a rock-star image to the persona of the vampire. David
and his gang of mysteriously brooding youngsters added the allure
to the vampire culture while maintaining the terror despite frequent
comedic displays from the two Coreys (Haim and Feldman).
 3.
Gary Oldman as Count Dracula in Dracula (1992) Oldman is by far
one of the most awe-inspiring yet under-rated actors to grace the
big screen. His depiction of Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of the
darkest and eeriest roles he has ever played. The directorial brilliance
of Francis Ford Coppola and the intensity of Gary's performance
made the movie a major box office success internationally. The worth
of a good actor is on display when the audience cannot differentiate
between the character and the actor. Through the make-up and the
costumes the viewers are drawn into the character of Dracula rather
than the actor. Although Bela Lugosi, a Hungarian stage and screen
actor, epitomized the character of Dracula in Tod Browning's 1931
version by lending his actual accent to Count Dracula, Gary Oldman
has come closest to rival Lugosi's original. Stoker's Dracula is
a generally tall, thin and frail figure who possesses phenomenal
powers under a shadowy and mysterious aura which Gary plays down
to the last detail.
 4.
Willem Dafoe as Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000) Dafoe,
an Oscar nominated actor for Platoon, garnered much attention for
his role as Max Schreck that the Academy nominated him once again
in the Best Supporting Actor category. His performance as Schreck
borrows from the same sinister portrayal that Oldman did of Dracula.
Through his acting career Willem has been able to morph into various
characters however arguably his greatest transformation to date
has been his representation of Schreck. The movie is based on the
difficult filming of Nosferatu by F.W. Murnau played by John Malkovich.
Murnau takes the idea for his movie from Bram Stoker's novella and
hires an actual vampire, Dafoe as Schreck, to the play the part
of Count Orlock. Shadow is a different movie with an unusual premise.
The character of Schreck is not your run-of-the-mill vampire either
as he lacks the powers that usually goes along with the territory.
In that respect Dafoe plays the unordinary, extraordinarily well.
5.
Jerry Nelson as Count Von Count on Sesame Street Last but not the
least, the most watched vampire on television has been Count Von
Count. Written by Tony Geiss and created by Norman Stiles, The Count
is performed by Jerry Nelson on the classic children's hit TV show
Sesame Street. Making his first appearance on the show in 1972,
The Count has pleased audiences young and old with his affinity
for counting everything for over 35 years. The Count has grown very
colorful over the years, as compared to his earlier spookier self.
His accent and mannerisms are borrowed from Bela Lugosi's Dracula,
but his powers are unique. The Count is immune to sunlight as he
takes a vacation in ÒCounting VacationÓ and he can
hypnotize other Muppets with a wave of his hand. He is also often
accompanied by a cloud which provides thunder and lightning to let
him know when to stop counting. He also possesses musical talents
as he can play the pipe organ and the violin. This in turn makes
him more attractive to the ladies that he has been with, which include
Countess Von Backwards (known for counting backwards), Countess
Dahling Von Dahling and Lady Two. The Count even has a family which
has made appearances on the show, the most prominent of which was
Uncle Uno. Clearly he is the most watched and revered vampire to
have graced the small and big screens. Loved by kids and adults
who were once kids, the Count definitely has an edge over the other
vampires in the list. Well, at least over Robert Pattinson.
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