Nicolas Cage on His 8-Hour Dracula Transformation for ‘Renfield’ (Exclusive)

Nicolas Cage is the fanged one and Nicholas Hoult plays his slightly deranged lackey in “Renfield,” based on characters from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel “Dracula.”

“Extra’s” Melvin Robert spoke to the two Nicks, who previously played father and son in 2005’s “The Weather Man,” about their funny new fright fest.

Of balancing the comedy and the horror, Hoult admitted, “It’s a lot to navigate because it’s what we loved about the script and the idea and the concept of this. It is a real bull’s-eye to try and hit the target, but there’s these moments that, you know, you always have to find the truth within it and the dynamic between characters.”

As for Cage’s transformation into Dracula, he noted, “There were different modes, so the Picasso mode, we called it, was the one where he was just back from being burnt to a crisp and that one took about eight hours in the chair. I would get in the chair around 3 in the morning, just stay there and just, like, 20 lbs. of makeup on the body, on the face, but it really helped with the performance.”

Despite all the makeup, Cage was still able to use his eyes and voice to convey what he wanted from his character. He commented, “I didn’t feel like I had to act too much.”

Hoult didn’t have to undergo such an extreme transformation, but he loved playing Renfield. He said, “I love where the character starts from those original stories and the novel… Being able to explore this toxic relationship and that codependency dynamic, I think that relationship in this framework of a film, that is a horror-action-comedy. I think it was just a really great way of grounding it and exploring Renfield’s journey and how he comes to terms with his decisions in life.”

Cage said he would be down to reprise his role in a future sequel, saying, “I feel like there’s more to be said with this character… I want to know why he is the way he is and explore that.”

Until then, Cage wants the audience to “have fun” while seeing the movie. He explained, “We’re going back to the cinema. Let’s take them on a ride, let’s make them laugh, make them scream, let’s knock them around a little bit and put them on a very unpredictable roller coaster.”