I've seen Dracula and it is truly epic, it's a version of Dracula that we've never seen before, isn't it? Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

I think first of all, it's a soul grabbing gothic love story. It's a reimagining of this old tale, and it focuses on love, but most importantly, acceptance.

That's very, very true. And you're playing Jonathan Harker, which is a dream role. Can you tell me more about his motivation, in this adaptation?

The motivation of Jonathan in this is… well, it changes obviously, throughout the movie. At first, he's just motivated to go and close his first deal. But after that he discovers this whole story between Count Dracula and his wife, and the connection that this trio has – two men loving the same person. So, his motivation I don't think it's to be a hero, but it's to ensure that his wife is okay and safe. And that's all he wants, to make sure that she's safe.

Absolutely, a wonderful character arc?

Yes, yes. Truly amazing. I mean, it really goes from, up there, jolly, happy, a little bit innocent, naïve and excited. He's excited to be here, and everything is brand new for him. It's his first trip with this new law office. And then obviously, he goes through hell. I mean, the deepest sides of darkness in this castle. Then having to fight his fears and grab his inner courage to go in and find his loved one again.

Jonathan Harker has been portrayed before in other movies. What sort of stamp and interpretation did you want to bring to him?

I think I came to this project with a real openness. I read the script. I loved the story. I loved the version of it. I just truly wanted to see what kind of adventure I had in me. You know, bouncing off the ensemble that was around me, playing off Caleb [Landry Jones] and Christoph [Waltz] and Zoë [Bleu]. That's the kind of thing that I wanted to bring to the table. I didn't really have a plan in mind, like, ‘Oh, I'm going to do this, or do that.’ Also, that was not what Luc [Besson] wanted. He said, “Come and just be open.” So, I truly came with that sense of, ‘Let's go out there, let's have some fun, let's see what the ensemble can bring, and let's see how we can bring this whole story to life, together.’

I was going to ask you about that because that ensemble, as you've mentioned, is just phenomenal. I imagine that they are actors that are really generous that want to give?

I have rarely seen such a generous ensemble. It was magnificent to see how much Caleb would give and his openness to try things. We would do takes that would be completely different. And it helped me to just listen and react. And the same with Zoë and Christoph. Everybody just bounced off each other, and that's what I loved about it.

What is it about the story of Dracula for you as an audience member do you think that stays in the public's consciousness and has done for hundreds of years?

 First of all, this topic of love is rarely expressed over such a long period of time. I think these days love can be quite challenging, we’re used to people, staying together for fifty, sixty years, and that was kind of the norm. Now couples seem to have a shorter lifespan. So I think a story like this, when someone is in love for four hundred years, brings a hope in people that, maybe we'll have a soulmate that could have this level of love for them.

The production value, the costumes are outstanding in this film, aren't they? Can you tell me a little bit more about how that helps you? Obviously, you come to the job, you're prepared, you know your character, you know your lines. But what is it about putting on a costume and stepping onto a set or a location that helps elevate your performance?

Well, first of all, when you undress yourself as the actor and you step into the character's clothes, specifically because it's a period drama as well. You start from the ground up, you have the shoes that are a bit tighter. When we filmed in Lapland, it was minus fifteen degrees, it was around midnight, it was icy. My lungs were a little bit painful and sharp because of the cold, and it was slippery. And because it’s cold it helps you naturally build that posture. Because Jonathan Harker is a lawyer, he's got this nice suit, and he's got to have this posture as well. So having that nicely fitted suit really helped the stature that Jonathan Harker has. That really helped just having that restraint a little bit, you know? With the shoes, the coldness and the environment, everything just comes into play. It helps you be in the world and be in the present moment.

Yeah and following on from that because in the Victorian times, people were a little more restricted emotionally as well, so their clothing reflects that and helps add those layers to the character?

Yeah, absolutely. You also had Caleb with his four hundred year old, prosthetics and costume. He had massive shoes and you could tell that it just made him more of an imposing person. And for him, having all the prosthetics must have helped him as well. But it helped me tremendously. When I faced him for the first time, I tried to tell everybody, ‘Please, I don't want to see Caleb / the Count before our first moment together.’ I didn't want to see the Count's face. Then when the camera rolled, when I looked up, that's the first thing I saw. I was, ‘Wow! This is a little bit scary. I’ve got to keep my composure here.’ So all this production value, the costumes, the set, being that grand just makes our life as actors easier.

And you're used to big budget productions because you worked on Andor as well. That must have been a dream job too.

That was truly a dream job. Star Wars is notorious for recreating the world and specifically Andor. Everything was recreated. My planet was Ghorman, so they recreated as much as they could. Even a few scenes with the rain and everything, so that production value truly helps immerse us into the world.

You mentioned Ghorman there, your character was part of the Ghorman massacre, that's like an award-winning TV scene. What was it like being on set and being a part of all of that? Because the choreography and how that must have worked must have been tense, wasn't it?

For sure. We knew we were onto something very important here for the franchise, for the [Star Wars] world in general. We knew that this was something that needed to be done with a true sense of humanity and we all truly wanted to be our best in this part of the story. Obviously, it was very big. Loads of people. I couldn't tell you how many, but I'm sure more than two hundred people on set. The amount of cast and crew and people working on this was truly epic. So, it helped having this chaos, of having all these people around you. And we had that freedom of adding a few bits here and there if we felt like it. So that helped as well.

I saw you running around with a gun and it must be like your five year old self going, ‘I can't believe I'm doing this!’

It was quite tricky, because you don't realise until you're there, you're holding the weapons that they use in this world and trying to understand. We had training towards it. How do you handle such a weapon in thisuniverse? There's no recoil or anything like that. So of course, at first, we were all, ‘Oh, there's no recoil here, it's a laser weapon.’ It was, as you said, a little bit of a child’s dream to be out there and experiencing all of that.

And going back to Dracula finally. It must be a production that you're incredibly proud of being a part of. But if you think back to being there, what have you taken away with you from being a part of the production and the film and that storytelling?

I think what I took away from it is how an ensemble can truly make a great film. We had such a good connection with everybody, and the crew as well. The team that was put together on this was truly incredible. Everybody was working so hard, but in such a great atmosphere and everybody wanted to help each other. But having this ensemble, having this openness and working hand in hand. I'm not at the same level in my career as Christoph Waltz, but it didn't matter on this set. We all sat together during lunch, during takes, working together, sharing experiences. I think that that's what I took away from it, is how openness and the ensemble is kind of the core of a film.

Ewens Abid

stars in

Dracula

Available in the UK

Premieres in US theaters on the 6th February 2026

Team Credits

Photographer: David Reiss

Stylist: Nathan Henry

Groomer: Nadia Altinbas 

Style Credits

Dark Suit look: Suit & Shirt – Edward Sexton, Vest – Sunspel, Shoes – Russell & Bromley

Beige Trench look: Jacket, Trousers, Shirt – Amiri, Tie – Cenci   

 With special thanks to Personal PR