Are The Vampire Diaries’ Damon and Stefan Salvatore the Sexiest Screen Vampires?

No one can deny that brooding Vampire Diaries brothers Damon and Stefan Salvatore are incredibly sexy vampires, but they’re hardly the first undead in pop culture to make us swoon.

So, who paved the way for Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder to suck necks and melt hearts for a living? And who did it best? We rounded up some of history’s hottest vamps to see who smolders most (and to say thank you). Who gets your vote?

Frank Langella is pretty much the OG of sexy vampires; he made Dracula hot in 1979.

Jason Patric went from the sweet new kid in town to running with Kiefer Sutherland in an awesomely ‘80s teenage vampire gang in The Lost Boys (1987).

Gary Oldman wore some over-the-top outfits in Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992, but even with the long hair he was one seductive bloodsucker.

Brad Pitt also had some over-the-top French fashion and flowing locks in Interview With the Vampire (1994), but he’s Brad Pitt, so…

David Boreanaz and James Marsters were the two sides of the vampire coin in TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Angel the conflicted good guy and Spike the unrepentant bad vamp who has undeniable sexual tension with the female lead. Sound familiar?

Robert Pattinson brought sexy back, sparkly vampire style when the Twilight franchise began in 2008. 

Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard are doing the good vamp vs. bad vamp thing again as Bill Compton and Eric Northman on True Blood, but this time with more nudity! 

Klaus (Joseph Morgan), Elijah (Daniel Gillies), and Kol (Nathaniel Buzolic) give the Salvatores a run for the money as the Original brothers on TVD.