Nicolas Cage as Dracula FIRST LOOK: Veteran actor dons red suit, stiletto nails, sharp teeth and pale skin as he is seen for the first time on Renfield set in New Orleans

He has had an incredible run on the big screen as he has played some of the most iconic characters in film for over four decades.

And Nicolas Cage’s acting career isn’t the only thing granted eternal life. 

The 58-year-old veteran actor was seen for the first time as legendary character Dracula on the New Orleans set of Renfield on Monday. 

Blood thirsty: Nicolas Cage was seen for the first time as legendary character Dracula on the New Orleans set of Renfield on Monday

The film is centered around Dracula’s henchman and inmate at the lunatic asylum Renfield as Nicolas Hoult – who was also on set – will be playing the titular role. 

Cage definitely looked the part as he sported a bright red velvet suit and his skin was made to look very pail with the magic of on-set make-up.

No detail was ignored as he also had sharp teeth and stiletto nails as his lips even had a bit of black pigmentation to give him more of an ‘undead’ feel.

Interesting: The film is centered around Dracula’s henchman and inmate at the lunatic asylum Renfield as Nicolas Hoult – who was also on set – will be playing the titular role

Red-dy for his close-up: The 58-year-old veteran actor definitely looked the part as he sported a bright red velvet suit and his skin was made to look very pail with the magic of on-set make-up

 Sharp: No detail was ignored as he also had sharp teeth and stiletto nails as his lips even had a bit of black pigmentation to give him more of an ‘undead’ feel

He also sported a crimson colored dress shirt to match his suit along with a pair of deep burgundy zip up boots.

Cage accessorized with a necklace featuring a very large gold pendant and several rings on his fingers.

His dark brown hair was slicked back and tucked behind his ears as he completed the look. 

Spooky: He also sported a crimson colored dress shirt to match his suit along with a pair of deep burgundy zip up boots

On the prowl: His brown hair was slicked back and tucked behind his ears as he completed the look

Hoult, 32,  was seen in much more casual wear than his co-star but did have quite a bit of make-up on his face as he had fake blood streaming down his face and even had stains across his chest and onto his jeans.

No doubt they were shooting was quite the viscous scene as Renfield is a mental patient who devours animals out of a vampiric desire to drain power from their blood.

Back in November it was revealed that Cage would be playing Dracula as Hoult would be playing the title character.  

RM Renfield is out of the original 19th century Gothic novel Dracula by the Irish author Bram Stoker. 

Blinged out: Cage accessorized with a necklace featuring a very large gold pendant and several rings on his fingers

Good times: He was seen having a laugh before getting in front of the camera

He is introduced in a mental hospital being treated for ‘zoophagous mania’ which causes him to eat insects and then progressively larger animals.

As the novel goes on it emerges that he is in fact a burgeoning vampire whose condition can be traced back to other than Dracula himself.

In the book his doctor describes Renfield as being of ‘Sanguine temperament’ and ‘great physical strength’ but also being ‘morbidly excitable’ and experiencing ‘periods of gloom, ending in some fixed idea which I cannot make out.’

Horrifying: Hoult, 32, was seen in much more casual wear than his co-star but did have quite a bit of make-up on his face as he had fake blood streaming down his face and even had stains across his chest and onto his jeans

Getting into the role: No doubt they were shooting was quite the viscous scene as Renfield is a mental patient who devours animals out of a vampiric desire to drain power from their blood

For part of the novel Renfield is willing to go along with Dracula’s machinations in order to obtain eternal life through the fulfillment of his bloodlust.

However his better nature eventually prevails and he throws in his lot with Van Helsing’s vampire hunters to fight Dracula – with tragic results for himself. 

The new Renfield picture is being directed by Chris McKay who has previously helmed such films as The Lego Batman Movie and The Tomorrow War. 

Throwback: The luminaries who have played the count onscreen include Bela Lugosi who is pictured with Frances Dade in the 1931 film Dracula

Onetime Rick And Morty writer Ryan Ridley penned the screenplay from a story outline by Robert Kirkman who co-created the Walking Dead comic books.

Actors who have previously played Renfield range from Dwight Frye in the 1930s to Tom Waits in the 1990s to Mark Gatiss last year.

Meanwhile the luminaries who have played Dracula onscreen include Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella and Thomas Kretschmann.

Iconic: The first screen star to play Nicolas Cage’s new role was German actor Max Schreck, whose character in the 1922 film Nosferatu was an unauthorized takeoff on Dracula

The first screen star to play Nicolas Cage’s new role was German actor Max Schreck, whose character in the 1922 film Nosferatu was an unauthorized takeoff on Dracula. 

Nosferatu set off a scandal when Bram Stoker’s widow Florence successfully sued for copyright infringement and got almost all the prints of the film incinerated.

However a surviving print was circulated and copied until the movie went down in history as one of the reigning classics of the Silent Era. 

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