Netflix and the BBC have dug up their Dracula… staking a claim with Danish actor Claes Bang, star of The Girl in the Spider’s Web.
Bang will take on the lead role in the three-part series for the SVOD service and British public broadcaster with filming set to start next year. The series, which consists of 90-minute episodes, is produced by Sherlock producer Hartswood Films.
Written and created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, the series is inspired by Bram Stoker’s classic novel and will re-introduce the world to Dracula, the vampire who made evil sexy. In Transylvania in 1897, the blood drinking Count is drawing his plans against Victorian London.
Bang has also starred in Ruben Ostlund’s feature The Square alongside Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West as well as Danish TV series including The Bridge and Borgen.
Dracula was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content and Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama. Gatiss, Moffat and Hartswood Films boss Sue Vertue Exec Produce alongside the BBC’s Ben Irving for BBC and Netflix’s Larry Tanz.
Bang said, “I am thrilled to be taking on the role of Dracula, especially when the script is in the hands of the incredible talents of Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and the team responsible for Sherlock. I’m so excited that I get to dig in to this iconic and super-interesting character. Yes he’s evil, but there’s also so much more to him, he’s charismatic, intelligent, witty and sexy. I realise that there’s a lot to live up to with all the amazing people that have played him over the years, but I feel so privileged, to be taking on this incredible character.”
Wenger added, “Hell has a new boss… and BBC One has an outstanding new leading man. To say we have lucked out with Claes would be to underestimate the supreme talents of Steven, Mark and the team at Hartswood and their knack for choosing the right actor to redefine an iconic role. Seriously exciting stuff.”
Gatiss, Moffat and Vertue added, “It was one of those moments – who else could it be than Claes. He has it all. Brilliant, gorgeous, charismatic, lethal. Tall, dark and gruesome all at once.”
Claes is represented by Sharkey and Co in the UK and UTA in the U.S.
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