Being half the man Christopher Lee is, is more than I could ever hope — Christopher Lee

"Fun seems to be a three-letter word these days, although with directors like Tim Burton and George Lucas, its fun, fun, fun while working yourself to death. But if you compare those Hammer movies to what has been made in the last 20 years - Brian de Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Wes Craven, Tim Burton and Peter Jackson have all said the same thing to me: We were brought up on your movies. And it certainly shows in theirs."

"He looked like a miniature Edward G. Robinson, and had the vigour of six, with the promiscuity of six for that matter, as if he wanted to make the most of every second of a life that would not be very long."

"I never thought of him as a vampire, ever. I mean, the blood is the life. Thats one thing you have to bear in mind. And it is for all of us, isnt it? Heres a man who is immortal. Here is a man who, through being immortal, is a lost soul. Here is a man who experiences the loneliness of evil, something he cant control, who wants to die but there is a force in him, a malefic force, which drives him to do these terrible things. I said earlier the character is heroic, based on the real man - a war leader and a national hero, I may say, in Romania to this day - Vlad the Impaler. Certainly a bloodthirsty character, without a doubt. I also told you that the character is romantic - so he is, as far as women are concerned, and erotic. And theres, of course, the obvious association with the bite in a sexual sense, if you like. So I tried to put all those particular characteristics into the character. It appears that I succeeded."

"That is real horror and blood. When the Second World War finished I was 23 and already I had seen enough horror to last me a lifetime. I’d seen dreadful, dreadful things, without saying a word. So seeing horror depicted on film doesnt affect me much."