'Dracula Untold' Stars Fete Their Historically-Based Vampire Tale Without "Forbidden Love"

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Gary Shore, Sarah Gadon and Luke Evans

"His subjects called him prince, I called him father, but the world would come to know him as Dracula." So begins Dracula Untold, the dark, action-adventure origin story for Bram Stoker's famous blood-sucking monster that depicts the trials of historical figure Vlad of Wallachia, a 13th-century prince who purportedly used dark forces to protect his kingdom from the Turks.

"I play the man who inspired Bram Stoker, four hundred years later, to write the Dracula novel," Luke Evans told The Hollywood Reporter at the film's premiere, held at the AMC Loews in New York City's Midtown on Monday night. "He has to deal with becoming a vampire. It's like an addiction he's fighting the urge to drink blood. It's a real battle, but a wonderful story of self-discovery."

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While researching the role, Evans quickly became engrossed with the historical figure, also known asVladthe Impaler. "I did enjoy doing my research and there was a lot to research, not just about the vampire Dracula, but about the man who inspired him," he noted. "VladIII was a real man he walked this earth in the1400s so it was exciting to discover things about him which I was able to absorb into my performance."

For first-time feature director Gary Shore, the Universal Pictures title central draw lies in Evan's gradual transformation from man to recognizable monster, as the plot follows Vlad's struggle to use his newfound superhuman powers bestowed on him early in the film, courtesy of a grotesque cave-dwelling vampire, played by Charles Dance to protect his kingdom from the murderous Turks, while resisting his sudden insatiable desire to lunge at every passing artery. "It's an interesting opportunity to see where the seeds of this myth began, to try and do something a bit different within the genre, and make [the story] more human, more relatable," Shore explained.

Zach McGowan, seen inBlack SailsandShameless, plays Vlad's gypsy compatriot Shkelgim and agreed that the film's most compelling element is how it complicates a typically one-dimensional figure, andillustrates "what someone will do to protect their family and the people they love," he saidon the red carpet. "In that way, it's a very human story. For most of the movie you see Vlad, not Dracula. He's badass, don't get me wrong, but he's human: he loves his wife, he loves his family, his loves his people."

Read more'Dracula Untold': Film Review

Sarah Gadon, who plays Evan's loyal, loving wife Mirena, welcomed Dracula: Untold's departure from familiar vampire-genre tropes, especially its treatment of the film's central romantic relationship. "It was really exciting for me, because normally women in vampire films are suppressing their sexuality, or fighting this forbidden love, but [Evans] and I get to construct and build this beautiful state of love," she told THR. "It's really the love we have for each other and our son that we spend the whole film protecting. Everything is motivated by love."

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'Dracula Untold' Stars Fete Their Historically-Based Vampire Tale Without "Forbidden Love"