By Wonderwall.com Editors
2:33pm PDT, Apr 14, 2023
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The pop culture obsession with vampires is nothing new. People have been sinking their teeth into stories about bloodsuckers since Bram Stoker's "Dracula" debuted in 1897. Since then, our favorite undead creatures have been portrayed on screen in a variety of ways. To mark the April 14, 2023, release of "Renfield" — the horror-comedy movie starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as his exhausted titular henchman — we're taking a look back at our all-time favorite vampires in pop culture, from the sexy to the sinister…
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Kate Beckinsale has brought the frequently leather-clad vampire Selene to life in five movies in the popular "Underworld" action-horror film franchise, which kicked off in 2003.
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Vampirism is at its all-time funniest in the 2014 New Zealand mockumentary film "What We Do in the Shadows." Jonny Brugh starred alongside Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, who both co-wrote and co-directed the horror-comedy, as ancient vampire roommates attempting to navigate the modern world. The movie inspired a TV spinoff…
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Apologies to everyone else on this list, but Gary Oldman's interpretation of the titular vampire in 1992's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" will always be our favorite iteration of the infamous count!
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David Boreanaz won Buffy's heart (and ours!) when he starred as Angel on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" — and then on his own eponymous spinoff series.
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For three seasons on "A Discovery of Witches," Matthew Goode starred as seductively handsome and aristocratic vampire Matthew Clairmont, a brilliant warrior-turned-Oxford geneticist who inexplicably finds himself drawn into a forbidden and dangerous romance with American historian (and reluctant witch) Diana Bishop, played by Teresa Palmer, as a dark mystery unravels. The show is based on Deborah Harkness's bestselling novels.
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Robert Pattinson became an international heartthrob after he starred as Edward Cullen, the broody and irresistible vampire residing in Forks, Washington, in the "Twilight Saga" franchise.
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We've never wanted to be BFFs with a vampire more than we did after Nina Dobrev's Elena Gilbert was turned on The CW's "The Vampire Diaries."
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Tom Cruise somehow managed to completely charm us as the deliciously ruthless and bloodthirsty Lestat de Lioncourt in 1994's "Interview With the Vampire."
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Lady Gaga won a Golden Globe Award in 2016 for her performance as the seductive and sinister vampiric Countess on FX's "American Horror Story: Hotel."
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The delightfully entertaining show "What We Do in the Shadows," which debuted in 2019, was inspired by the 2014 movie of the same name. The series, which is part comedy, part horror, is told in mockumentary-style as it follows the lives of vampire roommates — Kayvan Novak's Nandor, Natasia Demetriou's Nadja, Matt Berry's Laszlo and Mark Proksch's Colin Robinson — who live in Staten Island.
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Jonathan Rhys Meyers raised temperatures as the titular vampire on NBC's short-lived 2013 drama "Dracula."
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Salma Hayek sashayed her way into one of the most iconic moments in Hollywood vampirism when she portrayed exotic dancer and bloodsucker Satanico Pandemonium in 1996's "From Dusk Till Dawn."
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Alexander Skarsgard starred as vampire Eric Northman on HBO's "True Blood." His seduction techniques were as irresistible as his washboard abs — right, Sookie?
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Vampirism was never more romantic than it was on HBO's "True Blood," on which Stephen Moyer starred as Southern gentleman and vampire Bill Compton.
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Meanwhile, Ian Somerhalder's real-life missus, Nikki Reed, was practically unrecognizable as the blonde vampire Rosalie Hale in the "Twilight Saga" franchise.
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No one has ever made a vampire with bleached blonde hair seem cooler than Kiefer Sutherland did when he portrayed David in 1987's "The Lost Boys."
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A pre-fame Chloe Grace Moretz was both adorable and atrocious as the vampire Abby in 2010's "Let Me In."
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Adam Sandler is the voice of Count Dracula, the manager of the titular hotel in the "Hotel Transylvania" animated film series.
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A pre-fame Gerard Butler starred as the titular vampire in 2000's "Dracula 2000."
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Colin Farrell was more than welcome to nibble our necks when he starred as vampire Jerry in the 2011 remake of "Fright Night."
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James Marsters starred as the antagonist and eventual ally of the Scoobies on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and its spinoff, "Angel."
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Has there ever been a vampire with bigger biceps than Kellan Lutz's Emmett Cullen in the "Twilight" franchise?
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The late Aaliyah made her second and final appearance on the big screen when she portrayed the titular vampire queen Akasha in 2002's "Queen of the Damned."
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Lauren Hutton's vampire Countess seduced Jim Carrey's virginal Mark Kendall (and us!) in 1985's "Once Bitten."
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Rarely have we simultaneously loved and loathed a character as much as Joseph Morgan's Klaus Mikaelson on The CW's "The Originals." (He made his debut as the vampire-werewolf hybrid on "The Vampire Diaries.")
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Wilmer Valderrama really got our blood pumping as vampire and cartel boss Carlos on the El Rey Network's "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series."
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Deborah Ann Woll provided fresh blood to HBO's "True Blood" when she joined the cast as Vampire Bill's adorable progeny Jessica Hamby.
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We may not have been fans of 2014's "Dracula Untold," but we are always fans of Luke Evans, who starred as the titular Vlad Tepes in the vampire origin story.
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Ashley Greene's Alice Cullen was the vampire we all wanted to be sisters with in the "Twilight Saga" franchise.
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Joseph Gilgun quickly charmed us as the comedic relief, Irish vampire Cassidy, on AMC's "Preacher."
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Stuart Townsend took over the role of Lestat de Lioncourt (now a vampire rock star) from Tom Cruise in 2002's "Queen of the Damned."
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Stephen Dorff starred as the rebellious (and sexy!) made-vampire Deacon Frost in the 1998 cult vampire-superhero movie "Blade."
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The doctor was definitely in when Peter Facinelli starred as Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the "Twilight Saga" franchise.
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Alex O'Loughlin starred as vampire and private investigator Mick St. John on CBS's short-lived 2007 drama "Moonlight."
