Now, I know you are all avid followers of the blog authored by Nigel Sheinwald, the British Ambassador to the U.S. But for those of you who happened to miss it, I would like to direct you to his recent post on
the strange case of British actors playing vampires in American film. The list includes favorites such as Stephen Moyer from
True Blood and Gary Oldman as uber-vamp
Dracula. Of course, the esteemed ambassador missed a few, including Stuart Townsend as an admittedly forgettable Lestat in
Queen of the Damned. Any other blood-sucking Brits you can think of?
Rather than delve too deeply into the psychology at work behind this trend, the ambassador chooses to cheer the inspiration of British talent on American art. But really, you gotta wonder why this is. The boyfriend suggests that, because Great Britian is older than the U.S.A., and because vampires are, usually, much older than humans, the two are a perfect match.
Then, there is the morphing of the vampire legend. Vamps are no longer alien-like creatures, or strangely dressed immigrants from Central Europe. They are now (thanks to
Buffy the Vampire Slayer) sexy, desireable, loveable even. And a British accent complements the smooth sensuality of this new type of vampire much better than, say, a Brooklyn accent. Which reminds me, has anyone else seen
A Vampire in Brooklyn, in which Eddie Murphy gives us his version of a Carribean vampire? Hey, the Carribean was once part of the British Empire, right? Well, there you go.
