NY Bloger

Javier Bardem is being tipped to star as Count Dracula in a new Broadway play.

Producers hope to land the Spanish-born, Oscar-winning star for a revival of Dracula later this year, according to US reports.

A critic wrote: “Bardem is, of course, the way to go: he’d do for Dracula what Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman did for A Steady Rain – which is to say he’d sell every damn seat in the house.”

Meanwhile, a rival Dracula production off-Broadway with a “young actor” in the lead role is also in the works, as producers try to cash in on the current Twilight-led vampire craze.

Dracula was adapted from the Bram Stoker novel by Hamilton Deane and John Balderston in 1927. Bela Lugosi played the title role on Broadway for almost a year before heading to Hollywood, where he recreated his performance on-screen in 1931.

A Broadway production first appeared in 1977 and ran for just over two years.

However, vampire plays do not have a good history on Broadway. Elton John’s Lestat, based on Anne Rice’s novels, failed – losing $10 million in 2005.

A representative for Bardem, 40, who is rumoured to be engaged to Penelope Cruz, was unavailable for comment.