Luke Evans Sinks His Fangs Into ‘Dracula Untold’ In What Could Be His Biggest Role Yet

If you don’t know him, you will soon, because Luke Evans is our latest Dracula, a very different one than what we are used to. In Dracula Untold, the Welsh actor, who began his career in musical theater, takes on one of the best known horror characters in movies history, with a twist.

The 35-year-old star may seem a little old to be making his leading role debut in a big budget film with Universal, but it’s not because he is not good. As we stated, Evans’ career started in London’s West End in musical theater, in productions such as Rent, Miss Saigon, and La Cava.

That was 2007 and 2008, now — after his meteoric rise to fame — Luke Evans is getting ready for his first leading role, as the daddy of all vampires, Dracula. The easy going actor has been working non-stop for the last several years and getting better worldwide recognition in films such as The Raven, Fast & Furious 7, and others.

His latest, major role comes in the form of Bard the Bowman, one of the only humans in the fantasy tale that is Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit. As part of a large — and very talented — ensemble, which also includes such stars as Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Lee Pace, Richard Armitage, and Benedict Cumberbatch, Evans proved that he has the presence to shine, even among big Hollywood stars.

For Dracula Untold, Luke Evans is ready to sink his fangs — which he actually has — into this very mysterious and frightening character. Many of us remember watching black and white horror movies of the infamous vampire, but don’t expect that sort of character this time around.

Evans will be exploring the origins of Dracula, how Vlad the Impaler turned into the Prince of Darkness and lived a tortured eternal life. In Dracula Untold, prince Vlad Tepes is forced to make a deal with the devil — played by Charles Dance (Game Of Thrones) — to save his wife and child from the clutches of an evil Sultan (Dominic Cooper).

Dracula Untold is not a horror movie, despite what the title might suggest, and Luke Evans explained his character’s motivations to Screenrant.com:

“Well you meet Vlad at the beginning of the film and he’s in a good place, he’s had 10 years of peace. He’s in a loving relationship with his beautiful wife and he has a good kid. His people are happy and everything is prosperous, so he’s quite in a good place. Then a threat comes of an invasion by the Ottoman empire, he loses his security and becomes quite vulnerable. The cracks start to show, you see his weaknesses and you see he’s a very vulnerable leader. Then he gains this gift in a way, these powers that he has after he chooses to become a vampire and you see a different character. I guess he becomes more confident, he has hope all of a sudden in a different way.”

Luke Evans has some big shoes to fill in, playing Dracula. Such Hollywood luminaries as Christopher Lee, Jack Palance, Frank Langella, and Gary Oldman — among others — have played the bloodsucking character. Dracula Untold comes to theaters on October 17.

[Image via Universal Studios]