Quick Links
Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for Castlevania: Nocturne and the video game franchise
Richter Belmont is continuing the family tradition of vampire hunting inNetflix’snew spin-off animated seriesCastlevania: Nocturne, which introduces a new wave of characters outside Trevor Belmont’s era, except for Dhampir Alucard returning.
Castlevania: Nocturne: Every Character & Their Voice Actor
Trevor Belmont’s descendant is accompanied by a diverse roster. Here’s every character and their voice actor in Castlevania: Nocturne.
Among the new friends and foes of the Belmont clan isMaria Renard, Richter’s young companion, the main antagonist Erzsebet Bathory, and the secondary antagonist Olrox, who has an origin in the video game source material. Here’s everything you need to know about Olrox.
Who Is Olrox?
Olrox (Zahn McClarnon) is a male vampire with an age of around 250 and boasts his strength and agility asa master combatant who can transform into a Mesoamerican feathered serpent. The vampire first appears in episode 1,A Common Enemy in Evil, and he serves as the opening villain of the spin-off asOlrox is the one who killed Richter Belmont’s (Edward Bluemel) mother, Julia Belmont(Sophie Skelton.)
Carrying a tall stature with long black hair and green, serpent-like eyes, Olrox, of course, sports sharp fangs as well and dresses rather dapper in his purple coat accessorized with earrings and jewels. His serpent form, on the other hand, is green with a bright red and purple mane supported by a giant hood made up of his signature color palette.
Brains and his intimidating stature fuel his oppressiveness, and by letting Richter go after killing his mother, he becomes a constant shadow on the protagonist’s life. Part of his backstory, revealing him to bean Aztec in his human form, showed his people being subjugated. The principles ofhis partner, a Mohican man named Mizark, were imprinted on him while the fight against the British Empire took place during the American Revolution. Olrox, therefore, has no desire to worship gods or nobility and instead refuses to bow or worship Erzsebet Bathory (Franka Potente) when she reigns over the vampire elite.Olrox refuses twice to bend the knee, but in the end, he eventually shows allegiance to her in his arc.
Olrox Is Based On An Iconic, Cinematic Vampire
Count Olrox is actually a recurring character in the original video game series by Konami. In his first form,Olrox serves as a boss in 1997’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, patrolling the upper part of Dracula’s castle as an armored vampire. However,his second form, much like the animated spin-off, is a giant humanoid serpent that can project fireballs.
Despite being initially friendly towards Alucard in Symphony of the Night, the pair engage in battle, which sees the boss defeated, with his reptile skin shedding and his skeleton destroyed within a beam of light. Olrox also plays the main villain in the Japanese novel Akumajō Dorakyura: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku (Demon Castle Dracula: Reminiscence of the Divine Abyss) by Dengeki Bunko and attempts to rule the human world and forces of Chaos with the Graham’s cult working under him. This book also reveals that Olrox’s main purpose was to prove that Chaos would disappear if the hearts of humans were controlled. He created a clone of Dracula’s castle and studied humans with a deep fascination before Death engaged in combat and bested the vampire.
Castlevania: Nocturne: When Does The Spin-Off Take Place In The Timeline?
The French Revolution is a huge time jump from the original series. Here’s when Castlevania: Nocturne takes place in the timeline.
Olrox is actually based on Count Orlok from the iconic 1922 German expressionist silent horror movie Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror by F. W. Murnauand carries the on-the-nose HP of 666 in Symphony of the Night. In addition to the 1997 video game, Olrox’s armor appears in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. The vampire is also a part of Castlevania Puzzle: Encore of the Night and his design is similar to the main antagonist of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Brauner.
Meet Zahn McClarnon, Olrox’s Voice Actor
American actor Zahn McClarnon voices Olrox in Castlevania: Nocturne and the actor had accumulated over 90 credits within his career that began back in 1988 whenhe supplied additional voices for the English version of the Studio Ghibli movie My Neighbor Totoro.
After appearing in classic television shows NYPD Blue, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and Walker, Texas Ranger, McClarnon later found recurring roles in the 2012 series Longmire, 2015’s Fargo, and 2016’s Frontier. Other notable roles of McClarnon include playingWilliam Lopez in Marvel Studio’s Hawkeye series, Akecheta in Westworld, and Big in Reservation Dogs. McClarnon also has four upcoming roles, including voicing Thunder Comes Charging in Ark: The Animated and a returning role as William Lopez in Marvel’s Echo series.
Reflecting on his Westworld experience in an interview withVanity Fair, McClarnon spoke about the impact working with Anthony Hopkins had on him:
“To be in the presence of the master Anthony Hopkins—because he is a master—after growing up watching that man and being blown away by his performances was just a dream come true. I just soaked it up as much as I could, to be even mentioned in the same sentences as those actors.”
