I was going to write a piece for the tenth anniversary of Unfriended, but I’m pretty sure that can wait because I was reminded today that it’s Matt Berry’s birthday. He is a favourite of mine, having been watching him in films and TV since about 2008, and I would be remiss if I didn’t use my horror account to just quickly talk about one of my favourite horror characters of all time, Laszlo Cravensworth, one of Matt’s most beloved roles to date.
What We Do in the Shadows is not a show for every vampire lover, but if you are deep into vampire lore and are a fan of Taika Waititi in general, then it is the perfect television series for you. (They mention the counting every grain of rice piece of vampire lore, which is so niche, I just love it.) A spin off of the original movie by the same name, What We Do in the Shadows is about four vampires and essentially their human caretaker, bodyguard, and reluctant friend, who all live together in this decrepit mansion on Staten Island. Not really losers, but also not the domineering cool vampires they could be, the Staten Island vampires have a film crew following them around so they can show off the night to night mundane life of being a vampire. The vampires include Nandor, the self appointed “leader” of the house, Nadja, Laszlo’s badass and superstitious wife and his sire, Colin Robinson, an energy vampire, and Laszlo Cravensworth, a vampire with many hats (one of which is cursed – I think that joke is overplayed but I couldn’t resist.)
Laszlo was sired, or bitten, by Nadja when his village had been overtaken by a leprosy plague. While being a very doting and devoted husband, the couple also are polyamorous and have one of the healthiest relationships I’ve ever seen for vampires, or on television in general. They hardly ever fight, and when they do it is resolved quickly. Laszlo, unlike many television husbands, is completely enamored with his wife and their marriage – he publicly talks her up even when she isn’t around, he supports her in almost all of her personal and business ventures, they even dress the same and do their hair the same (Matt Berry’s idea, actually – one day he saw Nadja getting the red streaks in her hair and thought Laszlo would want the same). He even has multiple plant sculptures in his topiary garden dedicated to her, which if that isn’t the pinnacle of romance, I don’t know what is. In season three, it is also revealed that he gave up his wealthy social circle back in London because his friends made fun of Nadja’s more impoverished status, and he hadn’t been back to England since on principle.
And it’s not just Nadja who can see the more selfless side of Laszlo; his friendship with his human neighbor Sean is honestly heartwarming, and when something was happening to Colin in Season 3, Laszlo kept the information from him to spare his feelings and attempted to be his friend. In an iconic episode, Laszlo runs away from Jim, a vampire he owes chump change to, and takes up the ‘human bartender’ persona of Jackie Daytona. While this episode is hysterical and one of Matt Berry’s best performances of his life, it also explores the ‘real human’ side of Laszlo, who gets completely swept up in playing Jackie. He is there for the people in town, he helps support the local volleyball team as they go to championships. He even teaches Jim about the importance of the people in this small town – and this was all possible because he was avoiding paying a debt and then killed the owner of the bar before just taking it from the guy.
Laszlo, when he does good things, are because he wants to – other than that, the man is hedonistic and doesn’t give a fuck what anyone thinks. He doesn’t care about impressing people, or the Vampire Council, and essentially enjoys being a vampire because it empowers him to do whatever he wants to do. Laszlo is a free agent in regards to his role in the show – Laszlo wants to be friends with certain humans, so he is; Laszlo wants to write music, so he does. Laszlo is selfish, but he is also the most honest about who he is, which gives him the capability to care. Laszlo’s selfishness is his greatest strength and weakness, and while Nandor and Nadja do more good things, they do these things to feel good about themselves or to validate they are capable of good. Because he is usually coming from a place of doing whatever he wants, Laszlo can do good just for doing good.
He’s a romantic, he’s a poet, he’s a queer icon who said free love, baby. But he’s also so much more than that.
Laszlo also, at one point in time, was Jack the Ripper, a mere throwaway joke but shows how it’s not always positive when Laszlo engages with humanity. Nadja’s lover in every timeline, Jesk/Gregor, comes back for her in the first season – however, Laszlo confronts him, revealing that he knew about the affair the whole time and has been killing Jesk in every fucking rebirth cycle. Why? Because Jesk makes Nadja cry. Another time, Laszlo was attempting to help Guillermo cure vampirism, and in doing do basically became Doctor Moreau, creating these hybrid animals that could talk. He also conducted experiments on Guillermo to help him – sort of, but also to further his own scientific advancements. It is here where Laszlo’s selfishness is his downfall and illustrates his absolute callousness. Ironically, when Laszlo offers to help here, the results are violent or horrific. While in the universe this is played up for comedic purposes, I think also is a huge strength to the character – you never know what you will get with Laszlo, which is part of the reason I love him so much.
Despite the completely bizarre situations the vampires find themselves in, and even being vampires, there is something very tangible about the show (which is aided by the found footage style as well). You feel like these are vampires that could very much exist in the real world, and I think the grounding force in that is Laszlo. Without him (and Colin), the other vampires are tremendously out of touch. Laszlo is also out of touch, but in the way of a mad scientist. Everything is an experiment to him, and while he is capable of sins against man, he is also capable of great kindness. Giving him this unpredictability in what he’s going to do or why allows audiences to fall right into the madness. Laszlo is chaotic, but so is life, and he is aspirational in the fact that he doesn’t give a fuck and is capable of doing anything, thereby making the show feel plausible. He’s funny, yes, but as a character he is so much more than that. Laszlo cares while keeping almost everyone at arms length, he’s a poet and a scientist, he’s a killer but the creator of life (albeit, those hybrid lives are fucked). Laszlo is a walking contradiction, and you need him there so the show feels less cartoonish – which again is a contradiction, because in ways Laszlo straight up is a cartoon character. Matt Berry plays this balance out perfectly, going from over pronouncing words to softly telling Nadja he loves her in such a brilliant way, the change hardly feels out of the ordinary.
He is one of the most interesting characters in television, and I think he is so important to vampire lore. The hypocrisy of the character is representative of the hypocrisy of life, and how strangely beautiful that can all be.
Happy birthday, Matt. Thank you for giving us this character, for your music, and for just being the guy that ties every project together, each and every time.