Stranger/30 Days of Night

The Stranger was a supporting character featured in the 2007 vampire film 30 Days of Night. He was played by actor Ben Foster.

Biography
The stranger was a human who was approached by vampire Marlow Roderick and recruited to serve as the instrument through which he would prepare for a coming feeding frenzy in the desolate town of Barrow, Alaska. The stranger believed that if he did as Marlow asked, he would be rewarded by being turned into a vampire. The stranger's job was to isolate Barrow from the outside world by cutting off all means of external communication and transportation. The most opportune time to do this was during mid November when Barrow would be plunged into thirty days of endless, sunless night - the perfect environment for vampires. First, he gathered up as many cell phones as he could find in the town and destroyed them. Then he cut off power to the communications station and sabotaged Wilson Bulosan's helicopter. He also slaughtered the sled dogs owned by John and Ally Riis. Once he was done, there was nothing left to do but wait.

The residents of Barrow first learned about the stranger when he came into the Ikos Diner. Surly and unkempt, he demanded whiskey and a plate of raw hamburger. The proprietor of the diner, Lucy Ikos, told him that the sale of alcohol was restricted during the winter months and she refused to serve him the raw meat as he requested. The stranger grew agitated and behaved in a threatening manner. Sheriff Eben Oleson came in and tried to calm the stranger down, but when he refused to back off, Even's estranged wife, Stella Oleson came up behind him and leveled a revolver at his head. Eben took the stranger into custody and locked him up at the North Slope Borough police station. While locked up, the stranger baited Eben's young brother Jake Oleson into coming up to the cell, at which point, he reached through the bars and attacked him. Eben returned just in time and shot the stranger in the shoulder, forcing him to release Jake.

Shortly thereafter, Marlow Roderick and his vampire brood descended upon the town. They committed wholesale slaughter, feeding indiscriminately off of anyone they could find. Marlow eventually made his way to the police station where the stranger expected him to honor his promise to make him a vampire. Roderick had no intention of giving the man what he wanted and snapped his neck with his bare hands.

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of the Stranger was created by writer Steve Niles and artist Ben Templesmith. He is one of the few characters who is common to both the comic book series and the film. In the comic series, the Stranger is much taller and more powerfully built than the version portrayed by Ben Foster in the film.


 * The Stranger is the first character seen in the movie.


 * First lines: "No whiskey. No rum."


 * The visual representation of the stranger is slightly different in the comic book series than it is in the film. In the comic, he is much taller and more menacing with long, raggedy black hair. In the original script treatment for issue #1 of the series, writer Steve Niles identifies him only as "Freak". The scenes involving the stranger at the Ikos diner are almost identical between the comic and the movie. In the film, Marlow kills the stranger after refusing to turn him into a vampire. In the comic, he uses superhuman strength to pry open the bars of his cell, forcing Eben to shoot him in the head. Stella then shoots him several more times just for good measure. Steve Niles categorizes the stranger as the "Renfield" of his vampire story.