Nicolas Cage's Dracula Movie Adds 'Parks and Recreation' Star to Cast

By Stephen Andrew

Nicolas Cage's upcoming Dracula movie is already growing in stars, having recently added a Parks and Recreation actor to its cast. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Schwartz has joined the Universal Monster flick, starring alongside Cage, Nicholas Hoult and Awkwafina. Schwartz is most recognizable from his time on Parks and Rec, where he played Jean-Ralphio Saperstein. He is also the voice of Sonic in the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie, as well as its 2022 sequel.

The new film is titled Renfield, and stars Holt (The Great, X-Men: First Class) as the titular character. The character of Renfield was introduced in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. He is an asylum patient who has a blood-drinking obsession and is coerced by Dracula into being a henchman. With the prospect of immortality dangling in front of him, Renfield dedicates his life to being of service to Dracula, only to be treated poorly and fed rats and insects.

Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, The Lego Batman Movie) is directing the film, and Ryan Ridley (Ghosted, Rick and Morty) is writing from an original story outline by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead). Notably, this will not be Cage's first time starring in a vampire film. He previously appeared in the 1989 cult-classic Vampire's Kiss.

The new film is just one more in a series of very interesting films Cage has taken on lately. Back in September, Cage's most recent movie, Prisoners of the Ghostland, was released, and the actor was quoted as referring to it as "the wildest movie" he has "ever made." In the film, Cage plays Hero, a "notorious criminal" who is sent to rescue the governor's daughter, who has disappeared into a dark supernatural universe. 

To escape the nightmare world, Hero must break the evil curse controlling the mysterious Ghostland." Sofia Boutella (Kingsman: The Secret Service) co-stars as Bernice, the governor's daughter, and the governor himself is played by horror icon Bill Moseley. Actor and filmmaker Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, The Hangover Part II) also stars, playing a character named Psycho. Additional stars of the Prisoners of the Ghostland include Yuzuka Nakaya and Tak Sakaguchi (Godzilla: Final Wars). Prisoners of the Ghostland is currently available to watch on Shudder, alongside other great horror classics like Black Christmas and the Creepshow series, for subscribers of the streaming service.

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