Move over Cumberbatch – Mark Gatiss says "three quarters of the population" will fancy Dracula
Danish actor Claes Bang stars as the eponymous vampire in the BBC/Netflix co-production
BBC1's Sherlock transformed its lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch into an international sex symbol — and according to its co-creator Mark Gatiss, the upcoming BBC/Netflix adaptation of Dracula is set to do the exact same for its leading man.
Gatiss, who co-wrote both Sherlock and Dracula alongside Doctor Who's Steven Moffat, has said that "three quarters" of the national population will end up fancying Claes Bang, who plays the eponymous vampire.
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In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com at the BFI & Radio Times TV Festival, Gatiss said: "Claes Bang is a fantastic Dracula. We’re having a really good time. He’s a wonderful man and really thrilled and committed to it, and really enjoying himself.
"He looks amazing and is so up for it, but equally I think he’s asking that question that all people who play big parts like that: 'Well, what do I bring to it, this iconic part?' And I think that’s been very interesting for us to explore together."
Asked whether half the population would end up fancying Bang, Gatiss said: "Half the population? I would say three quarters. I don’t know what’s wrong with the other quarter to be honest!"
Gatiss also revealed that filming had just wrapped on episode one of Dracula, with some locations shot in Slovakia.
"It’s the novel in three 90-minute episodes," he said, "not necessarily exactly the same, not necessarily the same order, but the beats of it are very faithful to the novel.
"We just wanted to find all kinds of ways of doing the horror, you know, a lot of that is psychological. There’s quite a lot of really nasty stuff in it which I’m very excited about."
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