Jonathan Harker is the primary victim in almost all versions of Dracula. It is no different in the new Netflix co-production with the BBC.
On the Netflix version, the story of Dracula is told by Harker, at least up until the end of the first episode, where everything goes off the rails in the best way possible.
Here is what you need to know about Jonathan Harker on Netflix’s Dracula, and John Heffernan, the actor who plays him.
Jonathan Harker on Dracula
Jonathan Harker on the Netflix version of Dracula starts out the same as he did in the classic Universal Horror movie. He is a lawyer that shows up to help Count Dracula, only to fall under his spell.
When he meets Dracula, the vampire is an old man, weak, but still fast and wise. By the time Dracula leaves to slaughter and kill as many people in England as he can, it is Jonathan who is “drained” and weakened.
The story of Dracula, his powers, and what he really is was Harker’s to tell as he ended up escaping and recovering in a monastery.
By this time, the jumpy and uptight Harker was a shell of a man, sick and weak and clearly at death’s door.
It was an impressive performance by actor John Heffernan.
Who is John Heffernan?
John Heffernan is a British theater and screen actor who toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theater and has also appeared on a ton of popular British television shows.
He has a lot of one-off appearances on extremely popular shows such as a 2014 episode of Outlander, 2014 episode of Ripper Street, 2015 episodes of Luther, and 2017 episode of The Crown.
He had a slightly bigger role on the BBC adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell as Henry Lascelles. He also appeared in 13 episodes of Dickensian as Jaggers and four episodes of the 2018 thriller series, Collateral, as Sam Spence.
Dracula is now streaming on Netflix.