[For Dracula] we wanted somebody who could own the part the way Christopher Lee once did. So it was extraordinary when the very first person we looked at was exactly the impossible brief weâd given out to our brilliant casting director. We watched The Square and went, âOh look, there is Dracula.â Physically, he is ideal. Heâs astonishingly handsome, looks like two and a half James Bonds at the same time. Literally tall, dark, and handsome. Very tall. He has amazing cheekbones and his eyes are like black pits. But also, he is very funny. You can tell from the first frame [of The Square] heâs got funny bones. And the Dracula we were trying to come up with was a âmore fully rounded inhuman beingâ. So we wanted to give him a very dry sense of humor because I think if you were 400 years old, youâd have one.
[With Agatha] we started with the idea of âatheist nunâ. A nun who, as she got older, realized, âI donât believe in any of thisâ and started researching the dark arts. Immediately, that character bounced off the page. âAtheist nunâ is Van Helsing. Itâs Sister Agatha Van Helsing. And we were immediately realizing itâs correct. Who is Draculaâs arch enemy? A woman wearing a crucifix. She is wearing the superhero outfit already that is appropriate to battling vampires. And Dolly can turn any line funny. Sheâs amazing. Sparky and funny and slightly quirky. And sheâs got that off-kilter, sort of twisted smile. When Dracula arrives at the convent, she looks out the window and says, âHow exciting!â Thereâs that wrongness. You want a hero who you think will plunge you into danger all the time. Sister Agatha is always gonna take tremendous risks and thereâs just a lot of strange things going on when Dracula and Agatha have their face-off. Because as much as they sort of loathe each other, itâs also the most interesting conversation either of them have ever had.
Dracula is like the dark compass. The darkness points you to the light and that became a whole thread. Agatha doesnât believe anymore but if heâs the ultimate evil, there must be a devil, therefore⌠There is something about Sister Agatha leading the charge, deliberately taking on the vampire because sheâs simply fascinated by him. And Dracula thinks, âSheâs great and smart. Iâd like to get to know her better.â which, in his case, means opening the jugular. Agatha is full of learning and insight and intelligence. When he drinks her blood, he learns. In our version of the story, blood carries everything with it. He thinks she is an exceptional vintage and says, âIâm gonna make you last.â There is nothing good, kind, or compassionate about this. He does like her, though. Heâs careful how much he drinks, how much he makes her dream to make it nice while she thinks sheâs in this outside-of-time world.
â Dracula commentary by Mark Gatiss & Steven Moffat [x] [x] [x]
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