Langella was best known early in his career for his success in the title role of the
Broadway production of
Dracula. In a recent interview, Langella commented that people (in fact, mostly men) always complimented him on the sexual energy of his stage performance as the Count, telling him, "Boy, did my wife make love to me that night!" after seeing him onstage. Despite his initial misgivings about continuing to play the role, he was persuaded to star opposite
Laurence Olivier in the
subsequent film version directed by
John Badham. Langella reports that on his last day of shooting he hung the cloak on a costume rack firmly knowing he could never pick it up again for fear of being
typecast. Langella reminisced on filming with Olivier. In the
The Complete Films of Laurence Olivier (Jerry Vermilye, Citadel Press), Langella says.....
"The thing about him that's pretty wonderful is that when we were on the set together there was no such thing as the legend, the reputation, the past. There was only the moment, how we work this moment and 'Oh, dear boy, what do you think we should do about this?' and 'Oh, my God, will you help me out?' - all those wonderful things he does to make you feel relaxed."
He went on to play
Sherlock Holmes in an
HBO adaptation (1981) of
William Gillette's famous stage play. He repeated the role on
Broadway in
1987 in
Charles Marowitz's play
Sherlock's Last Case.
For years afterward, Langella largely avoided acting film in order to seriously pursue theatre. He has done more film and television work in recent years after finding a niche; in 1993 he made a memorable three-episode appearance on
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the devious Jaro Essa. He also appeared in a
2003 episode of
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and as a villainous pirate in the summer
1995 release
Cutthroat Island. He picked up the
Peter Sellers role in
Adrian Lyne's remake of
Lolita (which gave him a still-controversial frontal-nude scene, much to Langella's outrage and embarrassment). More recently, he appeared in
George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck (
2005) as former
CBS chief executive
William S. Paley and in
Bryan Singer's Superman Returns (2006) as
Daily Planet editor
Perry White.
Langella is still best known as an accomplished stage actor, most recently appearing in
Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon which received enthusiastic reviews during a run at the
Donmar Warehouse and Gielgud Theatre in London before moving to New York's Bernard B. Jacobs Theater in April 2007. Langella has been announced to reprise his Tony award winning role as
Richard Nixon in the upcoming film adaptation to be directed by
Ron Howard.
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