Delphine? Just fangtastic
Christopher Lee might be the quintessential cinematic vampire, having played the role nine times, but he isn’t Sir Christopher Frayling’s favourite big-screen bloodsucker.
Instead, that honour goes to Delphine Seyrig in 1971’s Daughters Of Darkness.
“She was a French actress and she plays the Countess as a sort of elderly Hollywood star past her prime, a reclusive version of Marlene Dietrich,” he explained. “It’s a brilliant performance and it sticks in my mind very much. She destroys a young couple’s marriage at a seaside hotel. She is reclusive, destructive and beautiful.
“My least favourite is Tom Cruise in Interview With A Vampire. Believing him as a bewigged 18th or 19th-Century vampire is, for me, mission impossible.
“Vampires are great roles for an actor to get their teeth into, if you’ll pardon the pun, because you need to be a little over-the-top, self-assured and charismatic. Claes Bang’s version on TV a couple of years ago was a clever one. That really shook me and having seen so many vampire movies, it takes a lot to shake me.
“If you’re not careful, though, the part can take you over. Bela Lugosi was indelibly associated with the role. Christopher Lee was always keen not to be entirely associated with Dracula as he wanted to be seen as versatile.”