The Best Vampires in Film and Television
No matter how trendy vampires seem, the undead creatures have always had the power to mesmerize audiences within the seductive weaving of imaginative and sometimes frightening tales told by various tellers. I don’t think that will ever change except for how the stories will be told.
A couple of years ago, I posted an article about the Top 20 Vampire TV Shows (Read Here ) in which I go into more detail about the brief history of vampire folklore in storytelling, from oral tales and ancient legends to filmmaking in the modern day.
This week, I want to do something slightly different as I consider the best vampire characters in both television and film. Of course, the choices to choose from are much more extensive because there have been way more films made about vampires than I have been able to see (particularly about Dracula), including some of the gorier and also science fiction versions (very few vampires were chosen from films with extreme gore as I am not a huge fan).
Revisiting the beginnings of vampire cinema, the vampire goes as far back as 1913 with a short film called The Vampire. At first, the films (including this one) were more about femme fatale vampires, dangerous women that lead men astray with their powers of seduction.
RELATED: The Best 30 Romantic Vampire TV Shows, Ranked by Romance
In 1915, a film( inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s poem) called A Fool There Was focuses on these foolish men. Now in the public domain, this film is free and available to watch by checking its IMDB listing Here.
Even before the infamous 1922 film Nosferatu, which forever influenced vampire lore, there were other lesser-known foreign films, including A Night of Horror in 1916 and the Hungarian movie The Death of Dracula in 1921 (now lost).
But it was Bela Lugosi’s portrayal of Dracula in 1931 that captivated the world with his Hungarian accent and now conventional characteristics such as the sweeping of his cape. Since then, the character of Dracula has been revisited time and time again with fabulous performances by Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, and many more.
But outside of Dracula, what other great characters influenced by vampire lore have hit the big and small screens?
In the spirit of Halloween, I give you my now updated list of the top 50 vampires in film and television (this used to be 35). Out of time, I only selected my favorite Dracula performances and several of my other favorite vampires.
Top 50 Vampires in Film and Television
(With Some Great Vampire Quotes)
#50: Caroline Forbes from The Vampire Diaries
Caroline Forbes: So now I have magnified jealousy issues, too?
#49: Eli from Let the Right One In
Eli: I’m twelve. But I’ve been twelve for a long time.
Eli from Let the Right One In (an artistic take on vampires – though very dark.)
#48: Hayley Marshall from The Originals
Hayley: Well, every good story needs a wicked witch. It’ll be all the more satisfying when we melt her.
#47: Claire and Dylan Radcliff from The Gates
Claire: Love is about compromise.
Too bad this show got canceled…
#46: David from The Lost Boys
David: Now you know what we are, now you know what you are. You’ll never grow old, Michael, and you’ll never die.
#45: Alexandra Serris from Kindred The Embraced
Alexandra: I am not a beast. I was once a woman.
Alexandra’s short story is just breathtaking.
#44: Elena Gilbert from The Vampire Diaries
Elena: That’s what love should be. You should love the person that makes you glad to be alive.
Love her or hate her, Elena knew how to get everyone talking!
#43: Darla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel
Darla: Oh, I love children. I could just… eat ’em up.
Darla is the woman who turned Angel into a vampire. Darla was certainly a force to be reckoned with!
#42: Marcel Gerard from The Originals
Marcel: I know I make this look easy, but I still have an empire to run.
#41: Alice and Jasper from the Twilight Film Series
Alice: I’ve decided to throw a party.
Jasper: After all, how many times are we going to graduate high school?
Alice and Jasper (I confess to thinking these two are totally adorable).
#40: Godric from True Blood
Godric: A human with me at the end and human tears. Two-thousand years… and I can still be surprised. In this, I see God.
Godric from True Blood. The clips from his death were the main reason I gave this rather explicit show a chance (not really my thing). If only more of True Blood was like the depth, I saw in Godric’s characterization…
#39: Lissa from Vampire Academy
Lissa Dragomir: Blood is family. Blood is pain. And blood is death.
Lissa and Christian from Vampire Academy. While not as good as the books, I loved Lissa in this underrated, campy film.
#38: Katherine Pierce from The Vampire Diaries
Katherine: The three of us together, just like old times. The brother who loved me too much and the one that didn’t love me enough.
Katherine really knew how to shake things up on the show.
#37: Hal Yorke from Being Human UK
Hal: I’m a vampire, he’s a werewolf. Any questions?
Hal often gets overlooked because he took over Aidan Turner’s spot on the show, but he’s still a rather dynamic character all on his own.
#36: Bill Compton from True Blood
Bill: She will never be yours and there’s nothing you can do. In this, you are powerless. Accept it.
While his character went off the rails in later seasons, I chose Bill because he makes such a great Byronic Hero.
#35: Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries
Stefan: Yes, being a 150-year-old teenager has been the height of my happiness.
I kind of miss the good, old days with Stefan. Back when he was just falling in love with Elena…
#34: Herrick from Being Human UK
Herrick: A vampire is the only truly free man. All his darkness, all his excesses, they can run amok.
Herrick from Being Human. He doesn’t look it, but Herrick is one of the most terrifying vampires I have ever seen. The actor’s performance is also insane!
#33: Rose and Dimitri from Vampire Academy
Rose Hathaway: My seventeen-year-old foolishness, that was the past.
Dimitri Belikov: It was an hour ago.
Dimitri and Rose. I just wish there was a second film so we could get more of these two.
#32: Dracula played by Frank Langella in Dracula (1979)
Count Dracula: You fools! Do you think with your crosses and your wafers you can destroy me? Me! You do not know how many men have come against me. I am the *king* of my kind! You have accomplished nothing, Van Helsing. Time is on my side. In a century, when you are dust, I shall wake and call Lucy, my queen, from her grave. I have in my time had many brides, Mr. Harker. But I shall set Lucy above them all.
He knows how to be both menacing and seductive…
#31: Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows
Barnabas: If the imminent doctor has done anything to impair my relations with Vicki, she has just signed her own death certificate.
#30: Aidan Waite from Being Human US
Aidan: We’re all hiding something, aren’t we? From the moment we wake, look in that mirror, all we do is spin our little lies.
#29: Count Dracula Played by Christopher Lee in Several Films
Count Dracula: I am Dracula and I welcome you to my house. I must apologize for not being here to greet you personally, but I trust you’ve found everything you needed. (From Horror of Dracula.)
#28: Claudia from Interview with the Vampire
Claudia: Who will take care of me my love, my dark angel, when you are gone?
#27: Selene from Underworld
Selene: Whether you like it or not, you’re in the middle of a war that has been raging for the better part of a thousand years. A blood feud between vampires and Lycans. Werewolves.
#26: Julian Luna from Kindred the Embraced
Julian: In my city? Against my blood? Did you think I wouldn’t answer? You will pay the price for killing a human. For embracing without permission. For defying me and Kindred law.
Another vampire from a show that ended too soon!
#25: Dracula Played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers in a Dracula TV Series (2013)
Dracula: When it comes to dreams, one may falter, but the only way to fail is to abandon them.
#24: Coraline from Moonlight
Coraline: Don’t be scared. It’s my wedding gift. I freed you, I freed you from death.
#23: Edward Cullen from the Twilight Series
Edward: You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you.
#22: Graf Orlok from Nosferatu
Graf Orlok: Is this your wife? What a lovely throat.
#21: Pam De Beaufort from True Blood
Pam: Blah, blah… vampire emergency. Blah.
Pam from True Blood (Because she always got the best lines!)
#20: Rebekah Mikaelson from The Vampire Diaries & The Originals
Rebekah: You’re right. I do care. I want stupid koala corsages and a prom. I want to have kids with someone who loves me enough to stand outside my window with a stupid boombox. I want to be human.
I love how 3-dimensional Rebekah is. If only she was in the show more often…
#19: Janette from Forever Knight
Schanke: I’ll just be ten minutes. Cross my heart.
Janette: Please don’t do that in front of me.
As the show continues, she really becomes very complex.
#18: Dracula Played by Bela Lugosi
Count Dracula: Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.
#17: Lacroix from Forever Knight
Lucien LaCroix: Love? A blip on the monitor of involuntary human response. A hiccup of emotion when compared with envy, hatred, lust.
Lacroix from Forever Knight (an underrated Byronic vampire. Trust me.)
#16: Louis de Pointe du Lac from Interview with the Vampire
Louis: I’m flesh and blood, but not human. I haven’t been human for two hundred years.
#15: Drusilla from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Drusilla: [sings] Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb is caught in the blackberry patch.
#14: Dracula (1992), Played by Gary Oldman
Dracula: I am the monster that breathing men would kill. I am Dracula.
#13: Josef Kostan from Moonlight
Josef: Vampire solidarity. Rah, rah, rah, and all that.
Josef from Moonlight, played by the awesome Jason Dohring!
#12: Henry Fitzroy from Blood Ties
Henry: You gave me your blood. You’re part of me now.
Henry and Vicki (an extremely fun, investigative duo).
#11: Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries
Damon: You know, I look at you and I see myself. A less dashing, less intelligent version.
Who doesn’t love a good, old Damon one-liner?
#10: Lestat de Lioncourt from Interview with the Vampire
Lestat: I assume I need no introduction.
Tom Cruise is the charismatic and a bit crazy Lestat.
#9: Nikola Tesla from Sanctuary
Tesla: Irony is I once owned the patent to that weapon. I never should have sold it to Edison, cheapskate that he was.
Sanctuary, while still good, is worth watching for Tesla alone.
#8: Nick Knight from Forever Knight
Det. Nick Knight: Stay out of the sun, avoid sharp sticks, and you get to live forever. That’s supposed to be the deal.
#7: Eric Northman from True Blood
Eric: If I want Sookie, I can simply take her.
I wish Eric had taken Sookie because then we wouldn’t have had that horrible, terrible, no good ending…(I mostly watched this show on FF for Eric.)
#6: Klaus Mikaelson from The Vampire Diaries & The Originals
Klaus: It`s always nice to see a vampire in his true element. The species has become such a broody lot.
#5: Elijah Mikaelson from The Vampire Diaries & The Originals
Elijah: Why must you always consider our family a burden? “Always and forever.” I mean, those words are as important to me today as they, as they ever were.
#4: Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel
Angel: There’s gonna be a lot of trouble. And I say: Bring it on.
#3: John Mitchell from Being Human UK
Mitchell: We can’t just dip our toe. We need to dive into the churn of humanity.
John Mitchell is one of the closest Byronic Heroes akin to Heathcliff (though way more lovable) I’ve ever seen on the small screen.
#2: Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel
Spike: Buffy, Buffy, Buffy! Everywhere I turn she’s there! That nasty little face! That fancy shampoo commercial hair! That whole sodding holier-than-thou attitude!
We really need more characters like Spike…
#1: Mick St. John from Moonlight
Mick St. John: I guess I am a delicate flower.
Mick really is the most romantic and old-fashioned vampire ever. It’s why I love him!
What are your favorite vampires in film and television? Did I miss any? Let me know!
Video Description:
Just a little snarky crossover video about both series, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. The video focuses on the two-part pilot of The Originals as well as the season 4 finale and season 5 premiere of The Vampire Diaries! We hope you enjoy it. The song was picked for obvious reasons. Basically, we wanted to give our own interpretation of the song used in a promo for The Originals.
Song: “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)” by Fall Out Boy.
So many good vampires here. My favorite is Julian Luna because I loved the whole concept behind Kindred and wished the show had had more time. But really I like so many of them I could spend up my character limit talking about them all. I love these articles!
So glad someone else remembers Julian! I really do wish the show could have continued even after the actor’s death or that it would be redone now (if done right) because the concept really is great like you said. And thanks for the kind words about our articles. 🙂
Ok my (other) fav movie vamp has to be Markus from Underworld…hes just so evil nd i luv evil lol….My (other) fav Tv vamp has to be Angelus a.k.a Angel without a soul… He is the ultimate bad ass….luvable and hate-able all rolled into 1 xxx
Evil vampires are definitely entertaining! I loved Angelus in season 2 of Buffy.
What about from dusk til dawn
Blade is one of the most popular vampires of all time and wasn’t mentioned. I understand he is a hybrid, but you did mention Klaus who is also a hybrid.