The Hollywood legend Bela Lugosi is best ed for playing the title character in 1931's Dracula, but he was also offered the role of the Monster in Frankenstein the very same year. Lugosi's lengthy career in Hollywood was mostly spent in horror pictures, and the accomplished stage performer brought his theatrical chops to the big screen as the notorious vampire. However, a misstep early on in his film career robbed him of the chance to truly become cinema's most famous ghoul. Though the role of the Monster was unlike his suave Count Dracula, it could have diversified his resume and cemented his legacy.
As it went, actor Boris Karloff was eventually cast as Frankenstein's Monster, and he used the memorable part to catapult himself to the top of the horror movie industry in similar monstrous roles. Though he was largely typecast as a horror movie villain, Karloff refused to let it limit him, and he put his all into nearly every part he played. Lugosi's decision to not take the role immediately proved to be a bad one, and he slowly began to fall further down the bill until he was playing almost exclusively ing roles in the 1940s.
Lugosi Thought The Part Was Beneath Him
As explained in a piece on SlashFilm, Bela Lugosi refused to play the role of the Monster in James Whale's version of Frankenstein because it was originally written as a non-speaking part. The accomplished Hungarian stage actor's signature European accent had made him a star in Dracula, and the prospect of being a lumbering, non-speaking creature in the Mary Shelley adaptation was beneath his accomplishments.
Unfortunately for Lugosi, the script for Frankenstein was tinkered with by the time Boris Karloff accepted the role, and the Monster was a much more intriguing character in the end. Though 1931's Frankenstein wasn't the most book-accurate portrayal, the part allowed Karloff to play the Monster sympathetically, and he actually delivered a stunning performance with a lot of charisma.
Lugosi Played The Monster In Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)
Years after rejecting the role in the 1931 adaptation, Bela Lugosi was tapped to play the Monster in Universal's 1943's horror crossover Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man. Lugosi had played Igor in 1939's Son of Frankenstein and in 1942's Ghost of Frankenstein, and the conclusion of the latter film saw the character transplant his brain into the Monster's body.
As such, Lugosi portrayed Frankenstein's Monster in the next sequel but was saddled with a character who lumbered around because he was blind. Due to the Monster having Igor's brain, the character was supposed to speak, but ultimately, all of Lugosi's lines were cut. Ironically, in Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, Bela Lugosi played the mute monster he never wanted in the first place.
