Katie McGrath - Wicklow actress best known for BBC’s ‘Merlin’ - makes up the final part of a triumvirate of Irish actors, along with Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Victoria Smurfit, in ‘Dracula’ starting on Sky Living this Halloween night.
The Trinity College graduate has also appeared in ‘The Tudors’ and ‘W.E.’, directed by Madonna, but Morgana the sorceress in ‘Merlin’ has been her highest profile acting role - until now.
As Lucy Westerna in ‘Dracula’, Ms McGrath creates a new interpretation of the literary character - whose friendship with Mena, played by Australian actress Jessica De Gouw, stands as a beacon of light amid the story’s darkness.
Within the Gothic surroundings of the crypt in Christ Church Cathedral, Ms McGrath contemplated the differences between the Bram Stoker original in contrast to its big-budget NBC counterpart, filmed on location in Budapest.
‘The show has a very different feel because while it is still Gothic, it’s a more opulent version. It’s not the dark vampire tale that we’re all used to. It’s about a man, Alexander Grayson, coming to take London society by storm. So it’s got that kind of drama and decadence and opulence that you would expect from an American NBC show. It’s got a period gloss that we’re not used to seeing in TV productions.’
Ms McGrath reflected on the seven-month shoot, which consisted of long work days and six day weeks, but also gave the actors plenty of time to bond.
‘Me and Jess, we had our chemistry read first and we had such a giggle! We got into so much trouble over it. I went upstairs to meet Jess and we just got on really well and we were chatting away. ‘Dracula’ was the second chemistry read I’ve ever done. I did one for ‘Merlin’ too, so they’ve all worked out quite well!’
In terms of the series’ appeal in a marketplace flooded with vampire tales and remakes, Ms McGrath was optimistic that their ‘Dracula’ has enough new twists up its sleeve to keep audiences engaged.
‘Even if you know the Dracula story, which most people do, this is going to surprise you. It’s going to give you all the things that you expect - but not in the way you expect it. So even if you love the book and everything in it, there’s still something in there for you to find.’
The big themes of revenge and love were also major factors that convinced Ms McGrath of the show’s universal appeal.
‘What’s different about this show is that the fact that Dracula being a vampire is such a small part of it. The real driving heart of this story is about revenge and love. The fact that he is a vampire and his thirst for blood is not what’s driving him - it’s his revenge and his need to get back at all the people who have destroyed him and his love for Mena. Although it’s a series about vampires, that isn’t all it is. It’s a big costume fantasy drama about love and revenge.’
Getting the opportunity to reinvent a well-known character like Lucy was another major draw of the role - along with expanding her character’s onscreen relationships.
‘I think for me, one of the most interesting parts of this take on Lucy was her relationship with Mena. Obviously we know Lucy from the book, in which she’s this very sweet paragon of innocence and the counterfoil to Dracula. She’s a light-hearted presence to his darkness, and the epitomy of good. But in this version, she is not that. She’s sex and sass and attitude and all of these things! But you see her real humanity and what’s really going on in her relationship with Mena. That’s the only real thing about Lucy. For me that was really interesting. What attracted me to her was that relationship and what it does to her throughout the ten episodes. That and I also got to work with Jess!’
‘Dracula’ starts on Sky Living on Halloween night, Thurs 31st Oct at 9pm, and the trailer is available to view below.
