Nicolas Cage, known for his inventive acting methods, may be approaching his most true-to-life role yet as Dracula. In conversation with The Los Angeles Times, Cage came clean as a goth, discussing his upcoming role as Count Dracula in Renfield, and his domestic spats with his pet crow named Hoogan.
“He has taken to calling me names," Cage says of Hoogan. "When I leave the room, he’ll say, ‘Bye,’ and then go, ‘Ass.’ Crows are very intelligent. And I like their appearance — the Edgar Allan Poe aspect. I like the goth element. I am a goth."
Hoogan finds home in a geodesic dome in Las Vegas, among other mystical animals including Merlin, a 4-year-old Mainecoone, and Teegra (another cat, whose age and origins are as mysterious as its name).
Cage himself is a figure of lore, so his dedication to his role as Dracula comes as no surprise. The former Declaration of Independence thief has courted the dark side throughout his career and personal life, formerly playing someone who believes themselves to be a vampire in the 1987 film Vampire’s Kiss, and having lived in America’s Most Haunted House. But having gone on record in a 2012 Letterman appearance that he, himself, does not drink blood, Cage’s off-screen penchant for all things haunted is a humble curiosity.
Nevertheless, Cage as the Count, starring opposite Nicholas Hoult as Renfield, is sure to leave us breathless with spiked blood pressure levels in the modern-day adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel Dracula as reimagined by Rick and Morty’s Ryan Ridley.
Photo via Getty/ Sascha Steinbach