Renfield’s Ben Schwartz Says Being Strangled By Nicolas Cage Was “A Joy”

Nicolas Cage is stealing the show in Renfield as the latest interpretation of the infamous Count Dracula. Cage’s co-stars in the movie include Nicholas Hoult as the titular Renfield, Awkwafina, and Ben Schwartz, who plays gangster Tedward Lobo. Schwartz recently discussed his role during Entertainment Weekly’s Around The Table and explained how his character isn’t exactly a good person. He said:

“I play the son of a very big crime syndicate [boss]. Basically, everything in his life he does to impress his friends, and his mommy, and that includes killing people, and doing an outrageous amount of cocaine, and then trying to take over the city, which is interrupted by Nick Hoult’s Renfield. But he’s not a good person.”

When he crosses paths with Cage’s vampire in the movie, he finds the Count almost strangling him to death. When asked what it was like filming with Cage, Schwartz was happy to express his joy to be part of the moment. He said:

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“A joy, an absolute joy! And we can make this the headline of the article. ‘An absolute joy to be strangled by Nic Cage.’ It’s so fun, because he’s dressed as Dracula, and Nic goes 110 percent into whatever role he is, so it was so little acting and just responding to what’s in front of you. We had this incredible set design, and we have Nic dressed up as Dracula, and the menace, but also in that scene we got to play with all sorts of stuff, push the comedy a little bit, push the fear a little bit. But it’s so fun to be in a practical world, and play with practical things, and given the breadth to find new moments within the script. It was awesome.”

Related: Renfield Star Nicolas Cage Recalls Eating a Cockroach on Vampire’s Kiss Set

Renfield Has Received Mixed Reviews, But Nicolas Cage Doesn’t Suck as Dracula

Universal Pictures

Although Renfield gained mostly positive early reviews, it subsequently succumbed to a wave of negative ones, leading to its overall score dropping to 59% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, despite being called out for a lack of a real plot and not making the most of its cast, everyone has agreed that Nicolas Cage is one of the movie’s highlights. Having spent his career playing some larger-than-life characters, it seems that Cage was made to play this version of Dracula right at this moment.

The question is whether there is room for Renfield, particularly its Dracula, to return in the future. Cage has made it clear that he would love to be able to explore more about the history of Dracula and how he became the monster he is. The main challenge for Renfield is that its opening box office figures have not been particularly encouraging, with the film making less than $8 million domestically and only around $10 million worldwide. This is not good news for a movie boasting a $65 million budget. Despite audience reviews for the film being good, getting audiences to turn out for the movie has been like raising the dead.

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