Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage stars as Dracula in the new movie Renfield, and in the film, both he and co-star Nicholas Hoult ate real insects during the filmmaking process. Cage is a big believer in bug-eating, while Hoult had generally nice things to say about crunching on bugs, too.
“If we could get over our phobia of eating insects you could solve world starvation,” Cage told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s high protein, no fat, extreme nutrients, and they’re just abundant, they’re everywhere. But, no, we’re not going to do that!”
Hoult, meanwhile, said the crickets he and Cage ate had a “smoky bacon flavor,” as well as hints of salt and vinegar.
“I love salt and vinegar, so I was happy about eating the crickets. You would occasionally get little bits stuck in your teeth. But, then, the props team were amazing…” Hoult said.
Hoult’s character also consumed cockroaches and worms for Renfield, but this was movie magic. The cockroaches were made of caramel and the worms were gummy worms in crushed-up Oreos to appear like they were in dirt.
Hoult also ate potato bugs during the making on Renfield, Cage told Yahoo Entertainment. “It wasn’t good,” Hoult said. “It didn’t dry out so good, and tasted every bit of bug.”
In Cage’s first high-profile vampire movie, 1988’s Vampire’s Kiss, he ate a real live cockroach, so eating insects on a movie set is nothing new for the actor.
There is some truth to what Cage is saying about eatings bugs. According to the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization, more than 2 billion people already eat insects as part of their diet. With the global population expected to close in on 10 billion by 2050, eating bugs–the right ones, at least–could help people people get good nutrition and address food security issues, according to The American Heart Association.
Renfield is in theaters now. For more, check out GameSpot’s interview with Robert Kirkman about why he’s happy the movie is not part of a wider universe.
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