The original Blade film franchise is credited with much of the popularity of comic book movies in the late ’90s and early 2000s, paving the way for other beloved series such as Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and Fox’s X-Men franchise. In many ways, Blade the Vampire Hunter is directly responsible for the meteoric rise in superhero popularity.
With Blade soon to appear in the MCU, leading plenty of Marvel fans to revisit the original Blade trilogy starring Wesley Snipes in the titular role. In doing so, however, they may find that they recognize a few familiar faces in the cast that they may not have noticed on previous viewings.
Natasha Lyonne
Natasha Lyonne appears in Blade: Trinity as the blind technician Sommerfield, who works with the vampire hunting team known as the Night Stalkers, led by Ryan Reynolds’s Hannibal King and Jessica Biel’s Abigail Whistler. Sommerfield dies tragically at the hands of Dracula halfway through the film, motivating her team to defeat this surging threat.
There are a number of projects that viewers may recognize Natasha Lyonne from, not the least of which is her recurring role as Nicky Nichols in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, a role for which she won a SAG award for Outstanding Performance in an Ensemble Comedy Series. She can also be seen appearing in the main role in another Netflix Original, Russian Doll, which will premiere its second season next month.
James Remar
James Remar makes a brief appearance in Blade: Trinity, which is considered one of the worst superhero movies ever made, and one of the lowest-rated films of producer Kevin Feige’s pre-MCU career. Remar plays Detective Ray Cumberland, who, despite being set up for a larger role in the beginning of the movie, sits out most of the film.
Remar is perhaps best known for his role as Harry Morgan in Dexter, a role which earned him plenty of notoriety over the show’s original eight-season run. Viewers may also recognize the actor from his appearances in films such as Miracle on 34th Street and Django Unchained.
John Michael Higgins
John Michael Higgins appears in a small portion of the third Blade film as the ill-fated psychiatrist Dr. Edgar Vance. Vance is revealed to be a vampire familiar in league with Danica Talos’s gang, though his affiliation with the group does not keep Dominic Purcell’s Dracula from murdering him.
Higgins has appeared in a number of recognizable properties over the course of his career, including a recurring role as acapella judge John Smith in each of the Pitch Perfect films. Viewers born in the nineties and earlier 2000s may also recognize him as the rarely seen hotel tycoon Mr. Tipton from The Suite Life on Deck.
Tony Curran
British actor Tony Curran makes a brief appearance in Blade 2 as Preacher, a member of the group of vampire hunters known as the Blood Pack, whom Blade allies himself with to face a new threat to the world. Preacher is short-lived, however, becoming the first of the Pack to fall prey to their enemies.
Curran has made a number of guest appearances on several noteworthy television series in recent years. He gained some notoriety for his memorable performance as Vincent van Gogh in the Doctor Who episode “Vincent and the Doctor.” More recently, he appeared as the alien villain Despero in The Flash‘s season 8 premiere event, “Armageddon.”
Udo Kier
Udo Kier appears in the first Blade film as the leader of the Shadow Council of vampires, Gitano Dragonetti. Kier’s character runs afoul of the film’s main villain, Deacon Frost, however, and is captured, humiliated, and exposed to sunlight by the antagonist’s goons.
The German character actor, though not typically cast in leading roles, has appeared in well over 200 films over the course of his career, sometimes starring in as many as eight projects in a single year. Interested viewers can find Kier’s latest work on the Amazon series Hunters, in which he portrays the infamous Adolf Hitler.
Luke Goss
Luke Goss acts as the primary villain in Blade 2, Jared Nomak, who is the carrier of a new vampire disease that turns those infected into “Reapers.” Along with those he has already turned, Nomak attempts to infect as many people and vampires as he can with this new genetic illness.
Goss has appeared in a number of B-movies, including the second and third installment of the Death Race franchise. The British actor also portrayed Prince Nuada in Hellboy 2, a role for which he wore thick makeup similar to his character from Blade.
Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen is featured in a surprisingly small role in Blade 2, as one of the many members of the Blood Pack tasked with hunting the Reapers. Yen’s character, Snowman, is among the first of the Blood Pack to be killed by the Reapers, meeting a rather excruciating death, even for a vampire.
Yen has made a name for himself in the martial arts genre of film, most notably in the IP Man franchise, where he portrays the titular master of Wing Chun, who would go on to mentor Bruce Lee himself. Yen also appeared as capable fighter Chirrut Imwe in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Donal Logue
Donal Logue plays Deacon Frost’s right-hand man Quinn in the original Blade film, whose peppiness and surprising positivity is a highlight of the already classic film. Quinn eventually meets his end courtesy of Blade himself, after getting in over his head and challenging the Daywalker to a fight.
Logue has appeared in several superhero-genre projects, including obtaining a main role on the Batman-adjacent series Gotham as Detective Harvey Bullock. More recently, the Canadian actor made an appearance in the Resident Evil reboot as the villainous Brian Irons.
Norman Reedus
A pre-fame Norman Reedus stars as Joshua “Scud” Frohmeyer in the second Blade film. Scud serves as Blade’s replacement for Whistler after his supposed death in the prior movie. However, Scud proves to be a vampire familiar, more interested in saving his own skin than helping Blade in his crusade. The traitor’s lack of loyalty toward the Vampire Hunter eventually cost him his life.
Many fans will recognize Norman Reedus for his work with AMC, where he is currently starring as Daryl Dixon in the finale season of The Walking Dead, a series in which he quickly became one of the most popular characters. Reedus is also a popular favorite to return to Marvel as a version of Ghost Rider in future installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Patton Oswalt
Comedian Patton Oswalt makes a surprisingly short appearance in the final Blade film as computer technician Hedges, who works with the Night Stalkers to track down and stop Dracula. Unfortunately for this character, he is murdered by Dracula while his more powerful friends are on a mission.
Oswalt has gone on to have far more prominent roles in different films and series throughout the years. Perhaps most famous for his role as Spence Olchin in the Kevin James comedy The King of Queens, the actor has also lent his voice to animated projects such as Ratatouille and M.O.D.O.K. Most recently, Oswalt shocked fans with his surprise audial cameo as Pip the Troll alongside Harry Styles’s Eros in the mid-credits scene of Marvel’s Eternals.