Trivia
† It was reported that Paul Hogan was in talks to play "Carl". It was subsequently reported that the role went to David Wenham.
† Originally planned in 1994 as a direct sequel to Dracula (1992) with Anthony Hopkins to reprise the title role. After it was pushed back, many story elements were changed.
† Hugh Jackman had hair extensions added for filming.
† During filming, Hugh Jackman accidentally broke an extra's hand.
† The second-to-last scene of X2 (2003) (Cyclops, Wolverine, and Professor X discussing Jean Grey) was filmed while Hugh Jackman had a day off from this movie.
† So that the production company can hold certain rights to the character, the original character from the Dracula series Abraham Van Helsing was changed to the new 'kid brother' Gabriel Van Helsing instead.
† Director Stephen Sommers claimed in an interview he changed the main character's name from Abraham Van Helsing to Gabriel Van Helsing, as he did not think he could have a lead character named Abraham. The Irishman who wrote Dracula, Bram Stoker, named the character after himself - Bram being a shortening of Abraham.
† Richard Roxburgh's interpretation of Count Dracula is taken from the supposedly contemporaneous appearance of Gypsies.
† The role of Igor was written specifically for Sommers's friend and frequent collaborator, Kevin J. O'Connor.
† The opening sequence follows, shot for shot, the original sequence from Frankenstein (1931), right up until Dracula shows up to talk with Viktor.
† Cans delivering the film to theaters were labeled The Vatican Detective.
† Dr. Frankenstein's lab was equipped with antique medical equipment purchased on E-bay.
† While the film is an homage to the 1930s and '40s Universal Monster horror films, the inclusion of Mr. Hyde is an oddity, as he was never one of the Universal Monster roster. Instead, the films based on Hyde during that time were made for Universal's rival MGM. However, in 1953, Universal did feature the monster in the comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953).
† Dracula's diminutive henchmen, the Dwerger, are actually trolls from Germanic folklore.
† Among the most direct references to the original Universal horror films is the use of the Werewolf Poem which was created for the original Wolf Man, The (1941) and quoted in every subsequent Universal film featuring that creature. The character of Igor is also clearly based upon Ygor from Son of Frankenstein (1939) and _Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)_ , though he also exhibits personality traits of Fritz from the original Frankenstein (1931) and Renfield from the original Dracula (1931/I). A scene where Dracula grabs a cross which bursts into flames is almost identical to a scene in Universal's remake of Dracula (1979).
from IMDB
