When the subject of vampires comes up in pop culture, talk inevitably turns to Dracula. Bram Stoker's classic novel brought many tropes associated with vampirism into the world of fiction, and the Prince of Darkness has been the subject of multiple films and television stories. Nicolas Cage will be the latest actor to slip on Dracula's fangs in Renfield, which centers on the Lord of Vampires' titular servant (Nicholas Hoult). With so many actors playing a classic character, debates have been sparked among film fans about who is the best Dracula — and I'm here to throw my two cents into the ring.

1. Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931)

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Image via Universal

The number one spot had to go to Bela Lugosi, whose portrayal of Dracula in the 1931 Universal Pictures film remains a classic. Lugosi was far from the first person to play Dracula on the silver screen, but his appearance —from his slicked-back hair to his hypnotic stare, which was the subject of many unsettling close-ups — would shape the vision of Dracula in pop culture for decades to come. Lugosi, having previously played Dracula on the stage, only reprised his role once in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Suffice it to say, that was a far cry from his first turn as the Prince of Darkness, mainly due to its comedic nature and the fact that Dracula had to share screentime with Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange), the Wolfman Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) and The Invisible Man (Vincent Price).

2. Christopher Lee in Dracula (1958)

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Image via Sideshow

When it came time for Christopher Lee to don Dracula's cape for Hammer Films' adaptation of the material, he aimed to put the "Darkness" back into the Prince of Darkness. And he succeeded: his performance of Dracula is more monstrous — Lee's glowing red eyes, along with the blood dripping down his chin when he feeds, is pure nightmare fuel. Lee's Dracula also started to introduce more sexual themes into vampirism; women would expose their bare necks to him when he visited them in the dead of night. "He had also to have an erotic element about him (and not because he sank his teeth into women)... It's a mysterious matter and has something to do with the physical appeal of the person who's draining your life," Lee said. That same intensity gave weight to his future villainous roles, including Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels.

3. Gary Oldman in Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula

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Image via Columbia Pictures

The 1992 film adaptation of Dracula has inspired some mixed reactions. While Francis Ford Coppola's direction and the setting/cinematography received praise, fans and critics were split on the performances, particularly Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker and his...questionable attempts at a British accent. However, Gary Oldman made an impressive turn as the Prince of Darkness, particularly with how he was costumed. When Dracula first appears, he is deathly pale with sunken eyes and an elaborate mane of silver hair. However, after feeding on blood he gains a more youthful and handsome look; this feeds into the idea of blood giving life to vampires. Oldman delivers a magnetic and emotional performance throughout, with the opening scene where Dracula renounces God and transforms into a vampire throwing down the gauntlet.

RELATED: 10 Best Vampire Movies to Watch Before 'Morbius'

4. Peter Stormare in The Batman Vs. Dracula

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Image Via Warner Home Video

The Batman animated series remains one of the most underrated takes on the Batman mythos, and its first feature film adaptation is perhaps one of the darkest Batman movies ever put to screen. True to its title, the film pits Batman (Rino Romano) against a resurrected Dracula (Peter Stormare), who seeks to turn Gotham City into his new kingdom. Stormare's Dracula outclasses Batman in strength and speed, nearly killing the Dark Knight in their first encounter. He's also quite terrifying, to the point where the Joker (Kevin Michael Richardson) attempts to run away from him before being dragged into Dracula's coffin. And that's not counting his obsession with Vicki Vale (Tara Strong), who he sees as the reincarnation of his dead wife — this plot point also doubles as a neat nod to Coppola's take on Dracula.

5. Duncan Regehr in The Monster Squad

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Image via TriStar Pictures

The Monster Squad had all the makings of a cult classic, especially its plot, which saw a number of movie monsters coming to life and a group of pre-teens using their horror movie knowledge to defeat said monsters. All the monsters are led by Dracula (Duncan Regehr), who plays his Prince of Darkness as a vengeful, frightening figure. Dracula blows up the Monster Squad's house with dynamite and attacks Phoebe Crenshaw (Ashley Bank), the younger sister of Squad leader Sean (Andre Gower). What really makes Regehr's Dracula a horrible being is the phrase he spits at Phoebe after cornering her: "Give me the amulet, you bitch!" In the end, audiences can't help but cheer when the Count is finally sent into Limbo alongside his compatriots.

6. Adam Sandler in Hotel Transylvania

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Genndy Tartakovsky's directorial debut Hotel Transylvania is a far cry from the animation legend's more action-packed endeavors such as Samurai Jack or Primal — and that extends to its take on Dracula, who is played by Adam Sandler. This Dracula vowed to keep his fellow monsters safe from harm by building a hotel where only they can visit, and that safety is threatened by backpacker Jonathan "Johnny" Loughran (Andy Samberg), who falls in love with Dracula's daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez). Sandler's Dracula is less of a frightening inhuman force and more of an overbearing father, which drew mixed reactions, but it was a hit with younger audiences, and spawned an entire franchise including three sequels and a TV series.

7. Luke Evans in Dracula Untold

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Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe took pop culture by storm, Universal Pictures crafted team-up films that saw its classic monsters encountering each other. The studio has attempted, with little success, to replicate that process, with Dracula Untold being the first film in a planned reboot of the Universal Monsters films. Luke Evans plays the Prince of Wallachia Vlad Dracula, who strikes a dark bargain with a vampire (Charles Dance) in order to protect his kingdom from the Ottman army. Evans plays Dracula as a tormented figure struggling to hold onto his humanity; this is a choice that feels at odds with other portrayals of Dracula, and one that didn't stick with viewers or critics. Ironically, screenwriters Matt Sanzama and Burk Sharpless would tackle another tormented vampire when they signed on to write Morbius.

8. Richard Roxburgh in Van Helsing

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Speaking of uniting Universal Monsters, Van Helsing tried to revive the properties by pitting Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) against monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman), throwing in a Wolfman (Will Kemp) and Frankenstein's Monster (Shuler Hensley). While director Stephen Sommers had found success with his 1999 reboot of The Mummy, Van Helsing didn't quite take off. A large part of that is due to Roxburgh's performance as Dracula; rather than sinking his teeth into necks, he bites off large chunks of scenery. That's not even mentioning his convoluted plan to bring his children to life, or his transformation into a massive bat beast.

9. Gerard Butler in Dracula 2000

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On paper, Dracula 2000 probably sounded like a good idea. A turn of the millennium take on the Prince of Darkness produced by horror icon Wes Craven should have been an easy lay-up; but director Patrick Lussier and writer Joel Soisson opted to lean into every cliché that would come to define the early crop of 2000s-era films. Gerard Butler's Dracula sports a mane of long black hair and a trench coat unbuttoned to reveal his bare chest. He looks less like the infamous vampire and more like a supermodel. And the film chooses to throw in an absurd twist by revealing that Dracula is none other than Judas Iscariot, who was cursed with vampirism after betraying Jesus Christ. Despite the film being critically panned and bombing at the box office, Lussier wrote and directed two sequels, though Butler didn't return for either of them.

10. Dominic Purcell in Blade: Trinity

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The first Blade film launched the Marvel movie renaissance, long before Robert Downey Jr. donned Iron Man's armor or Sam Raimi brought Spider-Man to the silver screen. Two sequels followed, but the third film Blade: Trinity lacked the "bite," so to speak, of its predecessors. And its take on Dracula is nothing to write home about; Dominic Purcell's "Drake" (yes, this is what the movie chooses to call him) walks around with his shirt open to reveal his bare chest and transforms into a bad CGI creation. Purcell found better luck in the comic book world with The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, where he played the pyromaniac thief Mick Rory/Heat Wave (Mick is shown reading Dracula in the Legends episode "Return of the Mack" in a nod to Purcell's time as the Prince of Darkness.)