Their metamorphosis is not nearly as startling as their Lycan counterparts. When they metamorphose, their eyes turn a shade of electric blue or bright gold, while their upper
canine teeth lengthen to become pointed fangs. At all times, the
upper lateral incisors and
upper canine teeth on all
vampires are elongated and come to a sharp point.
Biologically immortal transgenics, the
Vampires of
Underworld display most of the prominent superhuman physical prowess commonly seen in popular culture, including superhuman strength, reflexes and speed, as well as an inhuman resistance to injury and accelerated healing. These abilities are maintained by feeding on blood, which is a prominent factor in their healing capabilities in addition to being strengthened with age. They do not possess any of the mystical weaknesses of mythological
Vampires (crosses, holy water, garlic, stakes, etc.); however, they are
highly vulnerable to
ultraviolet radiation. They can also die from a broken neck,
blood loss,
nightshade poisoning, dismemberment, mutilation, and other extreme physical trauma, especially if their head or heart is destroyed or removed. The oldest Vampires, the Elders, are the strongest of their race, even stronger than Lycans in Werewolf form. In the novelizations, the Vampire population as a whole is referred to as the "Vampire Nation", consisting of
covens; traditionally, before the events of
Evolution, the two main covens were the
Old World Coven (based in
Hungary, in the
environs of
Budapest, with branch covens all-over the
Euro-Asian continent), and the
New World Coven (based in the
United States, in
New York). However, the original Vampire Elders, Lady Amelia, Lord Viktor, and Lord Markus, are all deceased. Lady Amelia was assassinated alongside the Vampire Council by the Lycans. Lord Viktor was killed by Selene after she discovered he had murdered her family long ago. Lord Markus, the first Vampire, was also killed by Selene to stop him and his rampaging brother William, the first Werewolf. After many years, the leadership and organization of the Vampire Nation is once again restored following the ascension of Selene, David, and Lena as the new Vampire Elders. In the
post-production of the film, the pallor of the Vampires was achieved via
D.I. As explained by Selene in the first
Underworld film, a bite from both a Lycan and a Vampire is lethal, but Michael's bloodline allows him to survive and metamorphose into a hybrid of both species. Death Dealers are Vampires that are specifically trained and tasked to kill
Lycans.
Selene Selene appears in the films
Underworld,
Underworld: Evolution,
Underworld: Awakening, and
Underworld: Blood Wars as the main protagonist; as well as in
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans for a brief cameo. Her
lover is
Michael Corvin, and together they have a daughter, named Eve. Selene is portrayed by
Kate Beckinsale, and by Beckinsale's daughter, Lily Mo Sheen, in
Underworld: Evolution in flashback scenes as a child. Selene was created by
Kevin Grevioux,
Len Wiseman, and Danny McBride. According to Kevin Grevioux, Selene is based loosely on the
Marvel Comics character of the same name. After the events of
Evolution, Selene is no longer merely a Vampire but a Vampire/Corvinus-Strain Hybrid, now more powerful and also immune to UV radiation. At the end of
Underworld: Blood Wars, Selene is not only accepted once again by the Vampire Covens but also named a new Vampire Elder alongside David and Lena. In the non-canon novel,
Underworld: Blood Enemy, Selene is also the main protagonist.
Viktor Viktor is a Vampire Elder, and the main antagonist in
Underworld and
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. He is portrayed by
Bill Nighy. Viktor is a
Hungarian general and
warlord born sometime in the 4th or early 5th century. As he is nearing the end of his life,
Markus Corvinus, the first true
Vampire, offers immortality in exchange for Viktor's military expertise and army in fighting against the Werewolves, spawn of Markus's twin brother,
William. When Markus metamorphoses Viktor, the general becomes a vampire Elder. The Death Dealers are created from Viktor's army. Viktor is a ruthless vampire Elder and, with armies loyal to him, he overthrows the original Vampire Markus and sets himself up in Vampire myth as the first Vampire. Viktor is the most powerful Vampire ever to have lived mostly because his manipulation, experience, and cunning far surpass the other Elders'. He is killed by Selene, who cuts his head in half with his own sword. In
Blood Wars, Selene is hunted by the Vampires for killing Viktor. Selene's only two allies are Thomas, who has no love for Viktor, and his son David, whose mother is secretly Viktor's fellow Elder Amelia. Due to the threat of the new Lycan leader Marius, the Vampire Council agrees to pardon Selene for Viktor's death if she will train their new Death Dealers, but Semira, an old favorite of Viktor, frames Selene for murder to get revenge. Following the deaths of Marius and Semira, the Vampires' grudge against Selene for killing Viktor ends, and she goes from pariah to one of the three new Vampire Elders alongside Amelia's son David and the Nordic Vampire Lena.
Sonja Sonja is the daughter of the Vampire Elder
Viktor, introduced by flashback in
Underworld and portrayed by
Jázmin Dammak. The character is heavily featured in
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, and is portrayed by
Rhona Mitra. She fell in love with the Lycan slave
Lucian despite knowing her father would disapprove. Without Viktor's knowledge or blessing, she eventually married Lucian in secret and became pregnant with his child. For breaking the Covenant, Viktor executed her and her unborn child by exposure to sunlight, and her husband was forced to watch. Viktor viewed the child as an abomination and was acting to protect the Vampire line's purity, although Sonja's death haunted him for the rest of his life. His guilt over this led him to spare Selene, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Sonja, from the slaughter of the rest of her family. Sonja wore a pendant, which was given to her by her father. After her death, Lucian took that pendant as a keepsake of his beloved wife. This pendant proved to be vitally important to the events that unfolded in
Underworld: Evolution. Her death started the war between Vampires and Lycans that lasted for centuries afterward.
Markus Corvinus Markus Corvinus is the first Vampire in the
Underworld series, and the main antagonist of
Underworld: Evolution. He is portrayed by
Tony Curran. Markus also appears in the novelization of the sequel. Born sometime in the 5th century; Markus was one of three sons of Helena and Alexander Corvinus, the first immortal. Markus was also the twin brother of William Corvinus, and they each inherited the immortality strain in its active form from their father. Together, Markus and William both shared a bond as twins that Alexander never truly saw. Markus was later bitten by a bat, thus making him the progenitor of what would become the Vampire species. His twin, William, was bitten by a wolf and went on to ravage the countryside of Hungary, infecting the populace with his highly infectious Lycanthropy virus. In order to combat the growing Werewolf threat, Markus approached Viktor, a dying warlord, to utilize his military genius and army (who became the Death Dealers) in exchange for immortality. Viktor accepted and became one of the Vampire Elders. After being revived by the blood of the Lycan Singe, Markus awakens and goes on a rampage to rescue William and metamorphose him into a Hybrid too. He kills his own father and apparently his distant relative Michael Corvin, but he is defeated and killed by an enhanced Selene in a final fight when she stabs him through the head with one of his own wing talons and knocks him into spinning helicopter blades, dismembering him.
Amelia Amelia is one of the three Vampire Elders of the Vampire Nation in the
Underworld series. She appeared briefly in
Underworld, appeared in a flashback sequence in
Underworld: Evolution, and appears in archive footage and as a painting in
Underworld: Blood Wars. She is portrayed by
Zita Görög. Amelia was bitten and metamorphosed into a Vampire, most likely by the first
Vampire,
Markus himself, sometime around 1500 years prior to the events of the first
Underworld installment, according to the first novelization ("
Although nearly fifteen centuries old, the Lady Amelia still had all the youthful beauty and haughty carriage of an international supermodel"). As such, Amelia was the youngest of all three Elders as well as the only female. She was elevated to the rank of an Elder, both in order to help control the chaos created by Markus's brother
William (the first werewolf; William was unable to return to human form after his metamorphosis and his bite caused even the dead to metamorphose into werewolves) and to perform the role as a tie-breaker between her fellow Elders Markus and
Viktor if there was ever a deadlock in the ruling of the coven. Her original background prior to her Vampirism is as yet unrevealed. In 1202 AD. Amelia had to side with Viktor (who also sought to undermine Markus's authority, something he could not do without her help), supported him in locking up
William within a
coffin-like prison in a remote place where Markus could not find him (which turns Markus against her too), as William was just too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. The capture of William would not have happened without Amelia's help. Ultimately, Amelia did not keep control during her last reign, spending the majority of her reign amongst the New World Coven, which only allowed Viktor's regent Kraven to conspire with Lucian and Lucian to work deals with Tanis for weapons to kill Vampires. She herself was killed and "bled dry" by Lycans led by Raze during an attack on her train. In
Blood Wars, Amelia was illustrated as having been something of a '
coven-builder', founding or else supporting the founding of a number of covens. It is also later revealed that Amelia and a high-ranking Vampire
Thomas (later the leader of the Western Coven following the events of the Purge) had fallen in love, having fought first-generation Werewolves alongside one another, and, at some point, had entered into a secret, private relationship. Sometime during their centuries-long love in the late 20th century, Amelia discovered she was pregnant, and she and Thomas made plans to keep her pregnancy a secret. Before her pregnancy started to show, Amelia announced her intention to visit old friends in the Var Dohr coven in Scandinavia and appointed Thomas as her sole escort. They both stayed with the Var Dohr coven for the duration of her pregnancy, culminating with the safe delivery of their pure-born son
David. By this point, Amelia's prolonged absence from the Vampire Nation had aroused at least some suspicion as to why she was absent, and Semira was dispatched to investigate. However, David having been born and Amelia having recovered from the birth, Thomas and Amelia had left with their son and gone their separate ways. To keep up appearances, Thomas put it out that he'd had a low-born Vampiress for a consort who had just died during childbirth, and Amelia returned to the New World Coven with no one wiser to the truth. It would seem that Amelia, despite siding with Viktor against Markus over William's sentence, didn't completely trust him, keeping the existence of her son a secret. During the main events of
Blood Wars, David learnt that he was Amelia's secret son and thus her heir as the new leader of the Eastern Coven. Using some of Amelia's blood she had left behind in case anything happened to her, David was able to prove his claim as Amelia's rightful heir. In the third instalment of the
Underworld franchise, there was an unspoken allusion that Viktor was plotting to get rid of her and replace her with his daughter Sonja: Viktor kept saying "
When you are an Elder" to Sonja rather than
If, but he never alluded to a future
when he would be gone. Touting the bonds of family and blood being stronger than anything else, as he sought to further increase and reinforce his own power base within the Vampire Nation, and believing Markus's lie about how his death would mean the immediate deaths of all Vampires, and that, as his own flesh and blood (and having planned out her whole life for her), Sonja would be a more loyal ally than Amelia if Amelia should ever side with Markus against him (as Amelia had with Viktor against Markus over William's sentence), Viktor, paranoid and ambitious as ever, likely sought to replace Amelia with his daughter Sonja, only to sentence Sonja to death for her affair and pregnancy with Lucian, abandoning this plan. Whether Amelia ever suspected anything about this is unknown, but it would give
credence to her later efforts to keep the existence and birth of her son from Viktor and his followers (and, indeed, the Vampire Nation at large). In the non-canon novel,
Underworld: Blood Enemy, Amelia, though making no physical appearance in the story, is described as having a habit similar to real-life historical Sanguinarian figure,
Elizabeth Báthory the "Blood Countess", of often indulging in baths of blood, believing it to enhance her beauty ("
The aroma of so much fresh blood was intoxicating. Sonja tried to imagine what it would be like to bathe in such a tub; her skin tingled beneath her gown. It was said that Amelia herself sometimes indulged in such luxurious ablutions in order to enhance her beauty",
Blood Enemy novelization, chapter 8).
Erika Erika is portrayed by
Sophia Myles. She is a character in the first two films of the
Underworld film series as well as in the novelization of the first film. She is a
Vampire seductress, a social-climbing courtier in
Viktor's mansion, obsessed with rising through the ranks of the vampire
aristocracy. She is a high-ranking maid who most recently began seeking the attentions of
Kraven, as well as having a one-sided rivalry with Selene.
Kraven Kraven is portrayed by actor
Shane Brolly. The name "Kraven" is a derivation of the English word "
craven", meaning "coward", a reference to Kraven's spineless nature. Kraven has a
vainglorious personality and a highly inflated-but-extremely-fragile
narcissistic ego. He is a long-time suitor of
Selene, a Death Dealer, and fancies himself in a relationship with her even though she spurns him at every turn. Yet Kraven is so obsessed with Selene that the more she refuses him, the more he wants her. When it becomes evident that Selene has fallen in love with
Michael Corvin, Kraven becomes insanely
jealous and highly
irrational, demanding Michael's head, and even shooting Michael multiple times with
silver nitrate bullets, nearly killing him. However, Selene revives Michael in the nick of time by biting him, thus turning him into a Hybrid. In his quest for power, Kraven enters into a secret
alliance with Lucian in order to overthrow the Elders, helping to set up an
ambush for the Lady Amelia. After Lady Amelia's death, and with Lucian and Viktor dead, Kraven goes after a slumbering Markus and tries to murder him in his sleep. However, Markus surprisingly wakes as a Hybrid and
massacres Kraven's men. Markus then bites Kraven and obtains his blood memories. Although Markus stops before Kraven dies of blood loss, he turns down Kraven's offer to 'assist' him, seeing Kraven as untrustworthy. Immediately after that, Markus kills Kraven by crushing his head with his wings.
Andreas Tanis Andreas Tanis is a character in the 2006 movie
Underworld: Evolution and in the 2009 movie
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. He is portrayed by
Steven Mackintosh. Tanis is a Vampire of considerable age (estimated at over 1000 years old at the time of his death), he was at one point the official
scribe and
Historian of the
Old World Coven. An ambitious man, Tanis knew things about other Vampires and kept the things he knew secret until it was of use to him. Coveting a rise in status to a member of the
Vampire Council, Tanis enters into a covert alliance with Sonja and Lucian, aiding them in exchange for his silence and Sonja's seat on the council; his part in Sonja's and Lucian's plan remained a secret after Sonja's execution and later after Lucian's faked death. However, over 300 years prior to the events that occurred in the
first and
second installments, the Vampire Elder, Lord Viktor, in his bid to rewrite history, turns on Tanis and orders his
banishment, citing that Tanis had been recording "malicious lies". The order of banishment was carried out by
Selene, who escorted him to an abandoned monastery on Viktor's orders. Over three hundred years later, Selene would learn the truth about Viktor and realize that what Tanis had recorded years earlier was, in fact, true. Tanis is later killed by Markus after being drained of blood.
Soren Soren, having a surprising lack of personal ambition for a Vampire, was
Kraven's
janissary, played by Scott McElroy. Soren appears predominantly in the first film installment of
Underworld, but he is also referenced in the novelization of the sequel and appears in the comic book prequel as well. Not much is revealed about Soren's past; rumors surrounding him say that he is almost as old as
Viktor himself (and was probably bitten by the Vampire Elder). Soren was originally Viktor's bodyguard, a position he may have held since before either were Vampires. Later, he served as the head torturer in Viktor's employ. He proved to be very skilled in taming Lycan slaves with silver-edged whips, and he even used them on Lucian at Viktor's request prior to Sonja's execution. In the non-canon novel,
Underworld: Blood Enemy, Soren lost his position in Viktor's good graces after he left Viktor's daughter Sonja, whom he was charged to protect, alone during an ambush by mortals who were hateful of Vampires. He also remained ignorant of the fact that Sonja was in love with the Lycan
Lucian until he was informed by a Lycan woman who had been obsessed with Lucian and resented him falling for Sonja. Soren informed Viktor, who then executed his daughter. Viktor blamed Soren for not protecting her. Soren is one of the Vampires involved in Viktor's assault on the Lycan base in the first film, and he ultimately faces Raze in single combat. Soren initially holds the Lycan off, but after Raze shapeshifts into full Lycan form, he tackles Soren and apparently kills him, since Soren is not seen afterward and Raze is.
David David is a character from the 2012 movie
Underworld: Awakening and the 2016 movie
Underworld: Blood Wars. He is portrayed by
Theo James. He is the son of Thomas, leader of the Western Coven, and Amelia, the Vampire Elder. Although never trained as a Death Dealer and, in contrast with his father, Thomas, David is not a coward and fights when situations demand it. Fascinated by Selene's past as a Death Dealer, he brings her back to the Vampire Coven with her hybrid daughter, Eve, hoping she would teach some of the members so that they could become what she used to be, as there are not any left within the coven. David dies after a raid by Lycans led by Quint Lane, but he is revived by Selene using her Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrid blood, metamorphosing him into a Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrid too. During the final assault on Antigen, David, now with similar abilities to Selene, including sunlight immunity, arrives to help unexpectedly. Armed with a shotgun and two blades, David distracts Jacob Lane long enough for Eve to break free and fight back. As more Lycan guards arrive, David turns his focus to them and single-handedly kills around a dozen Lycans. After the battle, David joins Selene and Eve in searching for Michael Corvin who has escaped. In
Underworld: Blood Wars, David attempts to get Selene to return to aid the Vampire Covens against the new Lycan leader, Marius. His resurrection has become something of a legend amongst the Vampires as he is the first Vampire to have ever been brought back from the dead. His fighting skills also have been honed and he is now a capable combatant. After Semira betrays them, David and his father rescued Selene, but Thomas is killed after telling David to take Selene to the Nordic Coven. David is able to use his sunlight immunity to escape Semira's clutches and learns from the Nordic Coven that he is the son of the Vampire Elder Amelia and thus her rightful heir. During the Lycan attack on the Nordic Coven, David helps defend it and is devastated by Selene's apparent death. David then returns to the Eastern Coven and interrupts a coup attempt by Semira by presenting himself as the heir of Amelia with some of her blood to prove it. The Death Dealers and Vampire Council side with David and he leads a futile defense against a massive Lycan attack before a revived and enhanced Selene arrives with the Nordic Coven to help. David and Semira, who has metamorphosed into a Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrid herself by drinking Selene's blood, fight ending with David raising the shutters keeping out the sunlight. David is able to use Semira's distraction over her new sunlight immunity to kill her and after discovering that Selene has killed Marius, cuts off Marius' head and uses it to get the Lycans to retreat. Following the battle, David is made one of the new Vampire Elders alongside Selene and Nordic Vampire Lena.
Thomas Thomas is one of the surviving Vampire Elders in
Underworld: Awakening and the father of David. According to David, his father was once a Vampire who had "
defended [his coven] with fire and steel, rather than hollow words", and that Selene reminds Thomas of the way he once was. He does not trust Selene and openly discriminates against her daughter, Eve, who is a Hybrid. In contrast with his son, Thomas is a coward and ordered the
coven to flee rather than fight, leaving David as the de facto leader because of his demonstration of courage and intelligence, despite Thomas's status now as a Coven Elder. His arrogance made him fail to realize the necessity of Selene's presence or what she has metamorphosed into until she used her blood to resurrect David after he died from the critical injuries he received from Lycans. In
Underworld: Blood Wars, Thomas is approached by Semira to petition the Vampire Council to grant Selene clemency in exchange for her help in training their Death Dealers. Thomas is successful, but Semira later frames Selene for murder and kidnaps her. Thomas helps David rescue Selene and orders his son to take Selene to the Nordic Coven. Thomas then battles both Semira and Varga before Semira kills him with a stab to the back of his head while he's distracted. Upon arrival at the Nordic Coven, David learns that Thomas once had a relationship with the Vampire Elder Amelia and he is their son as proven by blood memories left behind for him by Amelia. He is portrayed by
Charles Dance.
Lena Lena is a vampire warrior from the Nordic Coven. As a daughter of the coven's leader, Vidar, she is depicted as a calm and wise Vampiress, but she is willing to use violence to protect her coven. She provides Selene with the cocooning process, thus not only reviving her but also boosting her hybrid abilities to new heights. At the end of
Blood Wars, Lena becomes one of three new Vampire Elders alongside Selene and David. She is portrayed by Clementine Nicholson.
Semira Semira is one of the leaders of the Eastern Coven. She is a fiercely ambitious Vampiress in
Underworld: Blood Wars. She is also skilled at sword fighting. In
Blood Wars, Semira gets the Vampire Council to grant Selene clemency in exchange for her training their new Death Dealers, but it is in fact a trap so that Semira can get Selene's blood and kill her in revenge for the death of the Vampire Elder Viktor who Semira had once been close to. Selene is rescued by David and Thomas, the latter of whom Semira murders, but Semira is able to get some of Selene's blood and learns of Selene's and David's ability to walk in sunlight. Semira later sends Alexia to the Nordic Coven, knowing she is really the lover of the new Lycan leader Marius, and kills her upon her return. Using Selene's blood, Semira is able to metamorphose herself into a Vampire-Corvinus Strain Hybrid like Selene and David and attempts to overthrow the Vampire Council. However, David returns and reveals himself to be the son of the Vampire Elder Amelia and thus her rightful heir and the true leader of the Eastern Coven. At this revelation, Semira's own Death Dealers turn on her, including her lover Varga, and she is arrested. Semira manages to escape when the Lycans attack the Coven and battles David, being an even match for him with her new powers and proficient fighting skills. Finally, David opens the shutters to Semira's office and lets in the sunlight, causing Semira to get distracted by enjoying her new sunlight immunity as David intended. With Semira distracted, David stabs her through the back of the head and out of her mouth with a sword, killing her in the same manner she murdered his father, Thomas. She is portrayed by
Lara Pulver. ==Lycans==