"Sherlock" dad Steven Moffat reveals the secrets of his "Dracula"

After "Sherlock", Steven Moffat, tackled Bram Stocker's novel, "Dracula" with his friend Mark Gatiss. A miniseries available this Wednesday on Netflix

In the "Dracula" by teven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, the famous vampire is embodied by the Danish actor Claes Bang. - Netflix

The creators of Sherlock , Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, tackled the adaptation of another myth, Dracula.
Broadcast on New Year's Day across the Channel on BCC One, the 90-minute three-part miniseries is available this Saturday on Netflix.
20 Minutes met Steven Moffat in London in December for the premiere of the fantasy series at the British Film Institute.

After revisiting the adventures of the most famous detectives, Sherlock Holmes, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have revamped the most legendary of vampires. With Dracula, a three-episode 90-minute miniseries available this Saturday on Netflix, the two writers deliver a jubilant reinterpretation of the epistolary novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897.

Steven Moffat spoke at 20 Minutes about his vision of the macabre myth at the preview of the fantastic series, organized in December at the British Film Institute.

There are countless adaptations of Dracula, what made you want to make your own?

It started like a joke! When we asked ourselves what to do after Sherlock , we said to ourselves: "Let's do Dracula, it's the other adaptation that everyone makes! ". And then we talked about it, and we had some good ideas and we thought it could be interesting. Dracula is one of these iconic figures that everyone can interpret in their own way with their own subtext ... Even if what he really deals with is the story of a vampire.

It is said, however, that each adaptation of Dracula says something of its time…

I don't think I subscribe to that. I have never seen a critical interpretation of anything that does not end in self-portrait of the critic. People see in the works what they bring to it. Dracula is simply a story of vampires. I don't know if he talks about our time. As far as he is concerned, the term "timeless" applies. When we contemplate Dracula, we contemplate him like a pig who contemplates a farmer. The farmer doesn't think he hates the pig, but the pig thinks he does. This is precisely what I find interesting.

In an interview, Mark Gattis said that your version of Dracula is "both faithful and unfaithful" ...

Mark is clearly mad! What does this phrase mean? (laughs) As with Sherlock , we both took things that were ignored in most of the movies and completely altered some things. Dracula has become a myth. It is difficult to determine what is the original text. Bram Stoker's novel, which was not an immediate success? The play, which was a huge success? The film Nosferatu, which is not an official adaptation? What must we be faithful to? Everyone ignores the fact that Dracula is mustachioed and yet it is written in the book!

You play winking at previous versions ...

We reread the novel and we looked at everything. Each adaptation added something to the mythology. Many screenwriters were inspired by previous versions. Nosferatu by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau introduced the idea that Dracula could be killed by sunlight. This is absolutely not the case in the book. Tod Browning's film with Bela Lugosi is inspired by the play and the idea of a suave and charming Dracula. In the end, all versions feed on each other, even if they sometimes contradict each other. This is why no one will ever tire of telling this story.

Your Dracula is "the hero of his own story", can you expand?

Even in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula is not the hero, the main character. He stands in the shade. We wanted to put it at the heart of history, and not on the fringes. But the idea was not to make him nice, because he is not. It is terrible. It was a terribly difficult challenge.

What motivates your Dracula?

Saying what motivates him would force me to reveal too much. But at a basic level, he just wants to stay alive. There is a brilliant reply from Hannibal Lecter in Le silence des agneaux where he says: "Nothing happened to me. I happened. ("Nothing happened to me. I acted.") This applies to Dracula.

How did you find Claes Bang to camp your Dracula?

All the credit goes to Kate Rhodes James, our casting director, who unearthed it. We wanted someone around 40-50 years old, because Dracula must be a mature, charismatic and handsome man, who doesn't look like a Briton and who nobody had really heard of. Generally, the handsome, charismatic and good actors of this age are famous. Kate Rhodes Jame sent us a list with the name of Claes Bang and a link to an excerpt from The Square . I had never seen it before. He was a brilliant actor, sexy and spoke almost perfect English, which is ideal for Dracula. With Mark, we knew right away that we wouldn't find anything better than him.

You have greatly developed the character of Sister Agatha….

In the novel, Sister Agatha is just a nun who gives news of Jonathan to Mina. We wanted to make the scenes where Jonathan stayed in the convent interesting, hence the idea of making her a little out of the ordinary nun. And then, how it worked. We wondered who could be Dracula's ideal antagonist. Obviously, a woman who wears a crucifix!

There's also some sort of sexual tension between them, right?

I really worry about your romantic meetings! (laughs) Even if she finds this abominable man, she is fascinated because she has never met someone as intelligent as she. She spends her days talking with boring nuns. And Dracula feels the same. Everyone bothers him. And he meets the most interesting nun in the history of humanity. What's the point of being good at something if you can't play it with someone as good as you?

Can you tell us about the visual world of Dracula and this incredible castle?

As much as we took liberties on the narrative level, as with this flirtation between a nun and Dracula, we wanted to give the spectator everything he expects from Dracula. As for Sherlock , who despite his modernity, wore the frock coat, there are certain things that one must have to have a Dracula: the castle backed by the full moon, the man draped in the cape, the bald mouse flying around. We shot the outdoor scenes at Orava Castle in Slovakia, where Nosferatu was filmed. The interior of the castle is a marvelous and skilful plateau construction.

Why, like Sherlock , did you choose this format of 3 x 90 minutes?

It does less work! (laughs) I really like the 90 minute format, because it allows you to travel a good distance. I like long scenes and you can't afford that in 45 minutes. This allows for three films, which can each have their own style.

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