Christoph Waltz was persuaded to join Dracula: A Love Tale by the doomed romance element

Christoph Waltz was intrigued by the romantic element of 'Dracula: A Love Tale'.

The Oscar-winning actor features in Luc Besson's upcoming horror movie as the priest and revealed that the reimagining of Bram Stoker's classic novel as a doomed love story was instrumental in him joining the cast.

Speaking to Collider, Christoph said: "I wanted to work with Luc and this angle on 'Dracula'. I read the novel; I really think the novel is a drag. It's boring, it's flat. It's popular because it was popular in the late 19th century.

"There have been 'Dracula' movies before. It needs to be seen clearly, but I wanted to work with Luc and Luc's – it's more than an angle, it's more than an approach – Luc's idea of the vision of the story is that 'Dracula' is a love story. So, that's wonderful."

Christoph is also starring in Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of 'Frankenstein' and described it as "ridiculous" to be featuring in two legendary horror movies within a short space of time.

The 67-year-old actor said: "To be perfectly frank – and don't give me away – it's a little ridiculous. But it's fun!

"It wasn't engineered, it wasn't planned. There was no scheme behind it, no strategy. It just happened that way. I find it amusing."

Christoph also described what it was like to work under Besson's direction as he lauded the filmmaker's "energy".

The 'Django Unchained' star said: "He is not in any way – forgive me for calling it such – corrupted by Hollywood mainstream. He's a commercial filmmaker, he's not an arthouse auteur kind of thing, even though he writes a script, he produces the movie, he directs it, he operates the camera. It's his push and his energy.

"My first two weeks of the shoot were something I've never experienced before – the drive, the energy behind it, and the tempo."