Rudolph Valentino

Rudolph Valentino is an actor and Elizabeth's first love. He is a character in Hotel portrayed by Finn Wittrock.

Background[]

Rodolfo Guglielmi Valentino, known by the stage name of Rudolph Valentino, was a famous Italian-American actor and one of Hollywood's earliest stars. Married to actress Natacha Rambova, Rudolph started a relationship with the then-innocent human Elizabeth, a wannabe actress he had met on the set of The Son of the Sheik. While on tour to promote his latest film, he was approached by director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, a vampire, who afflicted him with a virus that granted eternal life at the cost of requiring a diet of fresh human blood, seeing great potential in Rudolph for greatness over the course of history. A few months later, he faked his own death by killing his stunt double and making people believe it was really him. After Elizabeth found out he was still alive, he turned her into a vampire along with Natacha, promising that they would be together forever. When Elizabeth's husband, Mr. March, found out about his wife's affair, he trapped Valentino and Natacha in a closed hallway of the Cortez with only one room and a few walled doors, leading Elizabeth to believe the duo had abandoned her and forcing her to stay as James's wife.

Personality and Appearance[]

Rudolph is a handsome man with a strong pale face, brown hair and dark eyes, reminiscent of Tristan Duffy. Dressed according to the fashion of his time in a pinstripe suit and silk scarf knotted around his neck. He has an attractive Italian accent. Featuring a narcissistic personality as befits an actor of the 20s, Rudolph Valentino is a man of considerable sexual appetites, but that has proved naïve attitudes in certain occasions concerning modernity, such as technology - that is totally foreign concept to him - making Rudy incapable of facing the modern world and an easy prey.

Story[]

Valentino and his wife attacked two of the men who work under the renovations of the hotel and found a closed hallway with only one room and a few walled doors. When they killed them and drank their blood, they found friends who checked into the hotel. After feeding upon them, they became young and full of life again and left the hotel. ^[1]

Rudolph tries to adapt to modernity, although his wife managed to do that better than him. Tracked down by a private investigator in a motel, the man is joined by Elizabeth and the two have an amorous encounter. ^[2]

Continuing to stay at the motel, Rudolph Valentino has an altercation with Donovan, who is jealous of Elizabeth’s affection towards Rudolph, and when the actor challenges him to a duel with a sword, Donovan shoots him in the forehead. ^[3]

Powers[]

Rudolph was one of the oldest vampires, turned by F.W. Murnau in 1926. He possessed all of the powers common to vampires.

Immortality - Rudolph was not susceptible to human weaknesses, thus being immune to all aging, disease and death. However, he was still vulnerable to physical injuries.
Conversion - Rudolph was able to spread his supernatural virus onto human beings by letting humans drink some of his blood, therefore transforming these humans into vampires.
Enhanced Senses - Rudolph was naturally superior to humans in almost every way, possessed of otherworldly senses which allowed him to easily overcome mortals:
- Night Vision - The ability to see in the dark.
- Heartbeat Detection - The ability to hear a human's heartbeat.
- Blood Smell Detection - The ability to identify specific individuals based off the scent of their blood, allowing him to track others over long distances.
Enhanced Strength - The ability to exhibit strength beyond a normal member of the user's species.
Enhanced Speed - The ability to perform motions, or movements, at a speed and effortlessness that surpasses that of a normal member of the user's species.
Hissing - Rudolph had the ability to emit a loud hiss, similar to a bat, when threatened or angry.
Concilium - The ability to control others' minds, which he often used to seduce hapless men and women.

Associated Characters[]

F.W. Murnau[]

Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was a German director known best for the film Nosferatu. During the process of filming his masterpiece, Murnau traveled deep in the Carpathian Mountains to do further research on vampires, hoping to take inspiration from them for his film, only to discover the vampire's very real existence - humans afflicted by a mysterious blood virus that resulted in eternal youth and life, at the cost of an insatiable thirst for mortal blood. After being turned into an afflicted himself, he approached Rudolph Valentino on a train journey and infected him as one as well, convinced that Rudolph would be a god among men and have an unending legacy.

Quotes[]

To Elizabeth: "I woke from a dreamless sleep into a dream itself. It was a seduction, but mere carnality was not his aim. I was repelled and drawn in all at once."
To Elizabeth: "With a cool touch, and a warm kiss, I was truly free. Immortal. No longer just a shadow."
To Elizabeth: "Join us, little one!"

Notes[]

He is the third character portrayed by Finn Wittrock. For a complete list of his characters, see Cast.
Rudolph shares a lot of characteristics with the Countess's former lover, Tristan, which gives hints as to why the Countess took an interest in Tristan.
He is an in-universe depiction of Rudolph Valentino.