Top 15 Onscreen Vampires

Before I do any big list-like post, I always sit and jot down in my notebook the things (in this case, vampires) that will be in the list, and what order they’ll be in, if any. And then I go Google hunting for the pictures that will be in the post, and do the editing, if needed. This step (especially for edited pictures, like there’ll be in this post) is long, so I’ll often do the post itself on another day. So anyways, I got my notebook and started to write the names of my favourite movie and tv vampires. Once I was done, I counted and groaned. 18. This was supposed to be a top 10 list, not top 18! And I’m a little OCD about certain things, so I can’t have a top 18. I just can’t. So I had three choices. Cut 8 for a top 10, cut 3 for a top 15, or add two for a top 20. There was no way I was going to be able to choose 8 characters to delete, and top 20 would just take much too long to do, so I decided to do a top 15. Since there’s no need for an explanation for what this post is about, let’s get right to it. Oh, and there’s no order except for the order they’re in in my pictures folder, so, alphabetical. Also, spoiler alert! Onwards!!

 

Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel

“I wanna help because I don’t think people should suffer as they do. Because, if there’s no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world”

Played by: David Boreanaz
Real name: Liam (unknown last name)
Born in: Ireland
Age when introduced: 242
Scary or sexy: Both! He’s gorgeous as a man, but his vampire face is demonic.
Good or evil: Good. Though he becomes evil in Buffy‘s season 2 after loosing his soul (and then again in a few episodes of Angel), he always gets it back.
Powers: Extra strength and stamina, awesome fighting skills, fast healing, smoldering bedroom eyes (what? It’s a power!)
Effects of sunlight: Angel go poof
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, fire, decapitation, sunlight
Alive at the end?: Yes (I’m not counting the comics, but even if I were, he’s still alive as of the last one I read.)
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: N/A

 

Damon Salvatore, The Vampire Diaries

“I like this. You… walking on egg shells around me because you think I’m going to explode. It’s very suspensable. Is Elena worried too? I bet I’m your every conversation.”

Played by: Ian Somerhalder
Real name: Damon Salvatore
Born in: Mystic Falls, a fictional town in Virginia
Age when introduced: 169
Scary or sexy: Sexy. So very sexy. His vampire face is slightly creepy (black demon eyes and dark veins under the eyes), but not enough to make him ugly.
Good or evil: Both. When we first meet him, he’s definitely evil and has no qualms about killing people. But the longer he stays with his brother Stefan and the girl they both love, Elena, he slowly becomes good. He’s such a great, complicated character.
Powers: Extra strength and stamina, fast healing, mind control (glamour), super speed, enhanced senses
Effects of sunlight: He has a ring that allows him to go out into the sun, but if he didn’t have it on, he would burn.
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, fire, decapitation, sunlight, incredibly severe trauma (if there’s no blood around to help them heal)
Alive at the end?: Unknown, not only because the show is still on, so we won’t know the answer till the end of the series, but also because I’m STILL in season 2. I know, I know, but I have soooo much to watch! Waaaaah!
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: N/A

 

David Van Etten, The Lost Boys / Lost Boys: The Tribe

“Now you know what we are, now you know what you are. You’ll never grow old, Michael, and you’ll never die. But you must feed!”

Played by: Keifer Sutherland (The Lost Boys), Tom Savini (Lost Boys: The Tribe)
Real name: David Van Etten
Born in: unknown
Age when introduced: unknown, but at least 100, since he remembers stuff from the early 1900’s
Scary or sexy: Sexy. His vampire face is the same as his human face, just with fangs and red and yellow eyes.
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Flight, slight mind control, super strength
Effects of sunlight: David go bbq
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, sunlight, being completely submersed in holy water
Alive at the end?: No. Although he’s apparently in the sequel (made 20 years later), so I guess that means he somehow survived? I dunno, I haven’t seen it. It looks like a giant turd. But I figured I might be called out if I ignored it, so here it is :-p
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: Michael impaled him on a pair of long, sharp antlers.

 

Deacon Frost, Blade

“Maybe it’s time we forgot about discretion. We should be ruling the humans, not running around making back ally treaties with them. For fucks sake, these people are our food, not our allies.”

Played by: Stephen Dorff
Real name: Deacon Frost
Born in: Germany (according to the comics, it’s not mentioned in the film)
Age when introduced: unknown
Scary or sexy: Sexy
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Super strength, fast healing, able to regrow severed body parts (except the head)
Effects of sunlight: Deacon go bbq (but he can go out for a while in a ridiculous amount of sun block)
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, sunlight, EDTA injections, decapitation
Alive at the end?: No
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: Blade injected him multiple times with the EDTA and he ballooned out and exploded. Yum.

 

Dracula, various films (read various as “a crap ton of”)

“You cannot imagine what I’ve had to endure. I have borne the very wrath of God, chosen to suffer like no man before.”

Played by: A legion of actors, including Gary Oldman, Bela Lugosi, Gerard Butler, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Christopher Lee, Rudolf Martin, Frank Langella, and Richard Roxburgh
Real name: Various, including Vlad Tepes, Count Dracula, and Judas Iscariot
Born in: Various
Age when introduced: Various
Scary or sexy: He’s been both more times than is countable, sometimes in the same film even.
Good or evil: Usually evil, but he’s been good (or at least not completely evil) a few times.
Powers: Various, depending on the film, including mind control, telepathy, the ability to transform into animals (most commonly wolves and/or bats), power over the weather and flight.
Effects of sunlight: Ranging from nothing to being burned to a crisp, depending on the movie.
Ways he can die: Stake through the heart, decapitation, sunlight, fire
Alive at the end?: Almost never, and yet, since he keeps coming back, almost always.
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: Various, but often by staking and decapitation or sunlight. Killed often by Van Helsing.

 

Eric Northman, True Blood

“Your blood tastes like freedom, Sookie. Like sunshine in a pretty blond bottle. You may not know it yet, but that’s what vampires smell when they smell you.”

Played by: Alexander Skarsgård
Real name: Eric the Norseman
Born in: It’s never said exactly where he’s from, but he was a Viking and speaks Swedish, so I’m going to assume he comes from there.
Age when introduced: The exact number is never said, but he’s over 1000 years old.
Scary or sexy: Sexy. Very, very sexy (even though I’m pissed that they cut his hair. He’s a Viking for fucks sake, and hadn’t cut his hair in over 1000 years. Why would he start now??)
Good or evil: Ambiguous. He’s obviously killed a lot of people in his time, and yet it’s impossible to think of him as a villain.
Powers: Mind control (glamouring), super speed, super strength, fast healing (almost instantaneous if he drinks blood)
Effects of sunlight: Eric go bbq
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, sunlight
Alive at the end?: As of the last episode I saw (last of season 5), yes.
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: N/A

 

Henry Fitzroy, Blood Ties

“When you turn, you don’t see people anymore. You see prey. I spent a long time learning to control my impulses. But I’m not human, Vicki. And every once in a while, somebody’s gotta die.”

Played by: Kyle Schmid
Real name: Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset
Born in: England
Age when introduced: 487
Scary or sexy: Sexy
Good or evil: Good. He doesn’t need to kill to feed, so he (usually) doesn’t.
Powers: Mind control (glamour), super speed, super strength, fast healing
Effects of sunlight: Henry go bbq
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, sunlight, severe blood loss
Alive at the end?: Yes
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: N/A

 

Jasper Hale, The Twilight Saga

“I vote yes. It would be nice not to want to kill you all the time.”

Played by: Jackson Rathbone
Real name: Jasper Whitlock
Born in: Texas
Age when introduced: 145
Scary or sexy: Sexy
Good or evil: Good. He started out bad, but once he was “rescued” by Alice, he became good. Jasper is easily the most interesting character in Twilight, his story would have made for much better films. Too bad he became such a tiny part of the movies.
Powers:  super speed, super strength, mood control (which has to be the coolest power ever when you really think about it. No matter who you’re up against, no matter what their power is, all he has to do is change their mood and make them happy, or sorry, or forgetful, or anything, really. Too bad they didn’t exploit it).
Effects of sunlight: No adverse effects, but their skin shines like diamonds in the direct sunlight.
Ways he can die: Decapitation, fire
Alive at the end?: Yes
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: N/A

 

Jerry Dandridge, Fright Night (1985 & 2011)

“You don’t have to be afraid of me. I know what it’s like being different. Only they won’t pick on you anymore… or beat you up. I’ll see to that. All you have to do is take my hand.”

Played by: Chris Sarandon (1985), Colin Farrell (2011)
Real name: Jerry Dandridge
Born in: unknown
Age when introduced: unknown
Scary or sexy: Both. In man form he’s gorgeous, but his vampire face is hideous.
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Hypnotic eyes, mind control, ability to turn to a huge bat or wolf, flight, super strength
Effects of sunlight: Jerry go bbq
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, sunlight
Alive at the end?: No
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: After a tense battle between him, Charley and Peter Vincent, Charley is finally able to corner him and the pair break the blacked out windows until Jerry fries in the sun.

 

Lestat de Lioncourt, Interview with the Vampire / Queen of the Damned

“Evil is a point of view. God kills indiscriminately. And so shall we.”

Played by: Tom Cruise (Interview with the Vampire), Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned)
Real name: Lestat de Lioncourt
Born in: France
Age when introduced: 203
Scary or sexy: Sexy (well, Stuart Townsend’s Lestat was sexy, Tom Cruise’s was… well… Tom Cruise. He did an awesome job with the role, but I personally don’t find him sexy).
Good or evil: Ambiguous. He kills to feed, but he often kills evil-doers (“Evildoers are easier, and they taste better“)
Powers: Flight, telepathy, super strength, super speed
Effects of sunlight: Sunlight would kill him until he drank Akasha’s blood in Queen of the Damned, and her ancient blood allowed him to go out in the sun.
Ways he can die: Decapitation, sunlight, fire
Alive at the end?: Yes
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: N/A

 

Nicolas Knight, Forever Knight

“I learned that I have to live with the choice I made 800 years ago, and that forgiveness is not something you ask for, it’s something that you earn. Here, among the living.”

Played by: Geraint Wyn Davies
Real name: Nicolas de Brabant
Born in: France
Age when introduced: 802
Scary or sexy: Sexy
Good or evil: Trying really hard to be good, but…
Powers: Infra-red vision, enhanced hearing, super strength, super speed, flight, fast healing, immunity to cold
Effects of sunlight: Nicolas go bbq
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, sunlight, fire, decapitation
Alive at the end?: No
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: Staked in the heart by LaCroix

 

Radu Vladislas, Subspecies series

“Your blood grows bitter. Soon, you’ll be mine completely.”

Played by: Anders Hove
Real name: Radu Vladislas
Born in: Romania
Age when introduced: Unknown, but he’s described as being “centuries old”.
Scary or sexy: Scary
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: Hypnotism, his blood can create mini-demons (the Subspecies)
Effects of sunlight: Radu go bbq
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, sunlight, fire, decapitation
Alive at the end?: No. He actually “dies” at the end of each film, but is always found to be (barely) alive at the beginning of the next chapter. The fourth and final film sees him dead too, but since there are no more, I guess we’re meant to believe that he’s really gone this time.
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: He’s decapitated by Michelle and Ana, and his head is left out in the sun to burn.

 

Selene, Underworld series

“Lycans are allergic to silver. We have to get the bullets out quickly, or they end up dying on us during questioning.”
“What happens to them afterward?”
“We put the bullets back in.”

Played by: Kate Beckinsale
Real name: Selene (unknown last name)
Born in: Hungary
Age when introduced: 620
Scary or sexy: Sexy
Good or evil: Ambiguous. It’s never really said where the vampires get their blood from, if they feed from humans or not. She also blindly follows her masters orders, which means she’s killed many Lycans that may have been innocent of wrong doing.
Powers: Super speed, strength, stamina and agility, weapon mastery, able to jump crazy distances and fall from great heights without being hurt
Effects of sunlight: Selene go bbq (until the last film, apparently, but I haven’t seen that one yet)
Ways she can die: Sunlight, decapitation
Alive at the end?: After the first two films (the only ones I’ve seen), yes.
If not, how did she bite it, and by whom?: N/A

 

Severen, Near Dark

“Howdy. I’m gonna separate your head from your shoulders. Hope you don’t mind none.”

Played by: Bill Paxton
Real name: Severen (last name unknown)
Born in: unknown
Age when introduced: unknown
Scary or sexy: Sexy
Good or evil: Evil
Powers: None
Effects of sunlight: Severen go bbq
Ways he can die: Sunlight, fire
Alive at the end?: No
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: Caleb runs him over with his truck, then when that fails and Severen has crawled up onto the truck’s hood, Caleb jackknifes the truck and jumps out to safety just as the truck, and Severen, gets blown up.

 

Spike, Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel

“Yeah, I did a couple o’ Slayers in my time. I don’t like to brag. [laughs] Who am I kidding? I love to brag!”

Played by: James Marsters
Real name: William
Born in: London
Age when introduced: 145
Scary or sexy: Both. His human face is super hot, but his vampire face is demonic.
Good or evil: Both. He starts out evil, but through loving Buffy and eventually getting his soul back, he becomes a good man.
Powers: Super strength, fast healing, awesome fighting skills
Effects of sunlight: Spike go poof
Ways he can die: Stake in the heart, decapitation, sunlight, fire
Alive at the end?: Yes (though he died at the end of Buffy, he was resurrected in season 5 of Angel through the amulet he wore when he died).
If not, how did he bite it, and by whom?: N/A

 

Honourable mentions:
Zachary Simms (Love Bites)
Barnabus Collins (Dark Shadows)
Jeremy Cappello (My Best Friend is a Vampire)
Goodie (Vamps)
Jessica (True Blood)
Drusilla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Luther (Supernatural)

And that’s my list! Agree? Disagree? Who are your favourite fanged friends? Let me know! 🙂

M.