Renfield star Ben Schwartz: "How in the world would I pass on a movie where Nic Cage is playing Dracula?"

There are many brilliant and funny actors working today, but few as goofily charming as actor Ben Schwartz. Fans of the hit television show Parks And Recreation will recognise Ben for his role as Jean-Ralphio, the lovable and ridiculous friend of Tom Haverford.

His performance as the flamboyant, always-over-the-top character became an instant fan favourite, earning him critical acclaim and a dedicated following. But Ben’s talent extends far beyond just one role. His ability to improvise and come up with quick-witted one-liners has made him a sought-after guest on talk shows and podcasts, where he never fails to deliver the laughs, and he’s about to bring his improv show across the States to London.

Recently, Ben took on the iconic role of Sonic the Hedgehog in the live-action movie adaptation of the popular video game franchise. His performance as the lovable, speedy hero was praised by audiences and critics alike, and fans love his utter commitment to his roles, bringing an infectious energy to everything he touches – including the new comedy-horror Renfield, which finds him co-starring with Nicholas Cage and Nicholas Hoult.

Courtesy of Universal.

Directed by Chris McKay (The Lego Batman Movie), Renfield focuses on the titular character played by Hoult, who is the tortured aide to his narcissistic boss, Dracula (Nic Cage). After centuries of procuring his master’s prey and doing his every bidding, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of the Prince of Darkness.

But there are obstacles to him escaping, including Schwartz’s Teddy Lobo, a wannabe mob boss and successor to an organised crime family based in New Orleans.

“It’s fun to play the bad guy!” enthuses Schwartz. “I’ve never played the bad guy before. I’m always the good guy, or the voice of an animated animal that’s trying to do good. So it was very exciting to play the bad guy and have shootouts and chase scenes and big fight choreography.

“All that stuff was a big reason, but also the script was amazing. After I got the role, they told me Nic Cage is gonna be playing Dracula. It was like, ‘Oh my god, this is heaven!’ So it was a very fun package to say ‘yes’ to.”

Schwartz is best known for on-screen performances like the spoiled buffoon Jean-Ralphio in Parks And Recreation and Clyde in House Of Lies, but he has also written for shows like SNL and The Late Show With David Letterman, and acted as a vocal consultant for Star Wars: The Force Awakens alongside SNL alum Bill Hader.

Courtesy of Universal.

In 2019, Schwartz appeared alongside one of his comedy idols, Billy Crystal, in the film Standing Up, Falling Down. He paid close attention to how they become leaders on set, working to create a collaborative atmosphere.

“I kind of take a little bit from everything, like watching Don Cheadle on House Of Lies,” he explains. “I saw how he treated everybody else. How when you’re number one on the call sheet, and he’s the big producer, watching how he’s still the kindest person to the crew and making sure everybody’s okay and taking care of them.

“Watching Amy [Poehler] to see how she treats every single person she works with and how collaborative she is when she acts. Seeing Billy [Crystal] being 75 and still taking risks doing an indie with me for $1 million. That movie was so inexpensive that we were doing costume changes in cars, but he loves it. He loves it so much that it doesn’t matter - we had the best time, so I kind of take a little piece of everybody.”

On Renfield, Schwartz was incredibly excited to work with Cage, and was not disappointed to see the energy that the somewhat eccentric actor brought to set.

Courtesy of Universal.

“From Cage, what I took is the 110% commitment,” he notes. “When we came in to play Dracula, the dude was Dracula. The second he walks in the room he’s like, pumping himself up before he gets on camera. And you’re like, ‘Oh my god, I’m watching Nic Cage pump himself up, this is the most exciting thing I’ve ever seen.’ It was so much fun. How in the world would I pass on a movie where Nic Cage is playing Dracula?”

Shooting at night in New Orleans meant that Schwartz sadly didn’t have a lot of time to ask Cage to show him around the city where the latter resides, but Ben embraced every moment he had with the actor.

“The coolest and most surreal part about hanging with Cage is that they say ‘cut’, and he and I go to our chairs, and he’s still dressed as Dracula. But I’m like, ‘I love Adaptation, I watched it twice in a row, I thought it was unbelievable.’ He’s there with fangs going, ‘Thank you, very good.’ But he has more stories than anybody, he knows everybody - and then you randomly forget that he’s a Coppola!

“He has seen and done everything, so it’s a treasure trove inside Nic’s head. He’s the next level. You know that he has a pet crow?!”

Courtesy of Universal.

Schwartz added some improvisation to his role, but most of the ridiculous Teddy Lobo was on the page, including his violent outbursts, temper-tantrums, and chase scenes where he’s running around donning wolf masks and throwing cocaine at cops. He was honoured to hear that his performance bore some resemblance to a Cage role.

“Someone told me today that my character has a lot of similarities to Nicolas Cage in Face/Off when he has those golden guns, because my character has those guns and gets a little crazy! I love that, I grew up watching Mean Streets, Donnie Brasco and Scarface, and I think that my character has those posters on his wall - and could never be them! But playing a character who desperately wants to be as hard as them is a funny thing to toy with.”

There has been much discussion over the past few years about how franchises and big studio films are pushing out smaller independent releases, positing that cinema can only support one or the other. Performing in this quirky comedy-horror, and being a part of big franchises like Sonic and Star Wars, Schwartz expresses his love for all cinema, and while he loves blockbuster sequels and prequels, he will always fight for more original films.

“I mean, listen, I wrote a remake of the movie SoapDish for a telenovela audience with an all-Latino cast. I’m a part of DuckTales, I’m a part of Turtles, I’ve done a bunch of revivals. But any time I write my own scripts now, it’s always original IP.

“I’m a sucker for Marvel movies and DC stuff, I watch them all, because I love superheroes and I was raised on comic books and video games. But I love what Lord and Miller [directors of The Lego Movie and Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse] do, bringing in all these new things. Or if they’re going to tackle an IP like Spider-Man, they do Spiderverse, which I think is one of the best movies of the past decade.

“So I’m all about original things. And for me as a comedy writer, the fact that Cocaine Bear did so well, and the fact that this movie is coming out, allows me to take bigger risks and try to sell films that are comedic. Growing up, I had Steve Martin, Jim Carrey and John Candy movies, and now there’s so few comedies out anymore.

“Nobody’s really letting comedies blossom anymore in theatres. So my hope is this is gonna start a trend to take a couple more risks on comedies, because when you go to a theatre, just like in horror, you get to be scared together. I think the idea of laughing together with a group of people is really cathartic and lovely. So I hope that continues to happen.”

• Renfield is in cinemas from April 14.

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