Nosferatu (1922)
Murnau's 1922 Nosferatu invented vampire cinema and still frightens a century later. The estate sued anyway and won, and a court ordered every copy destroyed.
Actor: Max Schreck
Max Schreck played Count Orlok in Nosferatu, and the performance is so complete that a legend grew up that he was a genuine vampire, which Shadow of the Vampire built an entire film around. He was a working German stage actor with a substantial theatre career.