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| British-born Will Kemp, 26 |
Australian-born Richard Roxburgh,
42 |
Georgia native Shuler Hensley,
37 |
| Where you've seen him: The grooving
denim-clad guy in a 2002 Gap jeans ad (check out willkemp.org/videos).
Dubbed the "James Dean of ballet," he danced the lead role of the Swan in
Matthew Bourne's all-male version of Swan Lake. |
Where you've seen him: A henchman in Mission: Impossible
2 (2000). The dastardly Duke in Moulin Rouge (2001). "M" in
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).
|
Where you've seen him: On Broadway in his Tony-winning role as
misfit Jud Fry in the 2002 revival of Oklahoma! Also was in the
London production with Jackman as Curly.
|
| In the movie: Matters get a little
hairy for Kemp's Gypsy prince Velkan after he's bitten by a werewolf. The
muscular dancer kicks off his torturous transformation into a cursed
creature, violently writhing and literally climbing the wall in pain. But
computerized magic takes over as his character rips off his own skin to
reveal the beast within. |
In the movie: Roxburgh's count is an undead dandy in black with
dainty hoop earrings and a floppy rock-star hairdo. Unlike the original
Dracula, Bela Lugosi, who would transform into a wee squeaky bat, Roxburgh
grows into a gargoyle-like demon with a 15-foot wingspan. "I am hollow and
I will live forever," he says of his limbo status. He feels no pain from
the usual vampire weapons, such as silver stakes. |
In the movie: As a Baby Huey-size science experiment, the
monster is pursued by Dracula, who wants to use his death-defying life
source to resurrect his stillborn bat babies. Pieced from the bodies of
seven corpses, the monster gets a splitting headache — literally — after a
hit causes his noggin to split. Unlike Boris Karloff's clumsy creature,
this 7-footer takes normal strides and speaks in full sentences. |
| Why him? "We were in London
casting, and he came in off the street," Sommers recalls. "He gave this
great performance. He was about to walk out, and I said, 'Can you pretend
you are turning into a werewolf?' And he did this contortion act." Kemp
then told him he was a ballet dancer and also had done a couple of
commercials in the States. "Two months later, he's the Gap guy, and girls
are going crazy." |
Why him? "We were auditioning Australian actresses and three of
them all brought up the same actor," Sommers says. "They said, 'Have you
ever thought of Richard Roxburgh as Dracula?' By the third girl, I said,
'We've got to find him.' Several other actors who we were interested in
got cold feet because they're like, 'I don't know how to do Dracula better
than he's been done.' Richard has no fear." |
Why him? Sommers went to see Oklahoma! and was impressed
by the actor playing Jud. "I was saying, 'That guy is so talented to take
a character who is a really bad guy and make you feel sorry for him.' Two
weeks later, Shuler comes in to audition. I asked him what he's been
doing. He said playing Jud Fry. I went, 'You're the guy!' "
|
| Is there some of Kemp in the digital
wolf? "There were transitions where it was me," the actor says, "and
the physicality and the way I moved is very much apparent." |
Roxburgh's vision of Dracula: "I have a sense of him as sort of
a leader of men with a sort of tattered nobility," the actor says. "But
also a person within a deeply frustrating situation because he's made a
pact with the devil. He's stuck."
|
Hensley's vision of his monster: "I end up being cast a lot as
villains or darker characters," he says. "One, because of my size
(6-foot-3); another, because of my voice and my look. I didn't need to sit
there and growl and be ferocious, because you're intimidating enough as a
monster. It's more interesting to have a human side to him. He might be
seven humans, but he's human." |
| What's with your affinity for fur and
feathers? "I seem to be attracted to half-man, half-animal characters.
The Swan. The Wolf Man. I played Ratty in Wind in the Willows at
the Royal Opera in London." |
Was it hard to act while hanging from a ceiling? "There's
less than a minute of screen time. But in terms of filming, it's probably
three days' worth. And three days of being upside-down is quite a
lot."
|
How they added 7 inches of height: "I had leg extensions that
were designed by a guy who does amputees, and it's very state-of-the-art.
When I first got them, I would go out to Central Park and practice
walking. Only in New York could I go out and freely walk around and no one
bothered me or even asked me questions." |
| Is it fair Dracula has three brides and
the other monsters have none? "I'm fortunate to be happily married
offscreen (to musician Gaby Jamieson). So that's fine for me. I would have
liked to have worked with those brides. I think they look hot, don't they?
But they're scary. I wouldn't want to cross them." |
You will marry your vampire bride co-star Silvia Colloca on Sept.
25. Will you serve Bloody Marys? "No, no. We are actually getting
married in a castle in Tuscany. But we definitely will not be hanging
upside-down."
|
You serenaded everyone on the set? "Yeah. Songs by Britney
Spears and Christina Aguilera. I Am Beautiful — that's one
of my favorites."
|
| What's next? Mindhunters, a
crime thriller with Val Kilmer, no release date; The Soldier's
Tale, a ballet at the Royal Opera in June. |
What's next? A small role as a
software genius in the action drama Stealth, directed by Rob Cohen
(XXX) and due next summer. May direct a film in Australia later
this year. |
What's next? Producing and starring
in the independent film Cheer the Brave, about college cheerleaders
who survive a tragic van
crash. |
