Actor Gary Oldman scared off a group of young women while he was preparing for his movie role as Dracula by showing them his prop coffin.

The British star played the bloodsucking killer in the 1992 film, and director Francis Ford Coppola was so determined to make the screen vampire's coffin a good fit, he sent a sample to Oldman at his home.

The actor stored the macabre object in a garage, and when he wanted to call an early close to a party at the property, he spooked his guests by showing them the coffin - and they all fled.

Oldman tells U.K. talk show host Graham Norton, "Francis Ford Coppola sent me a coffin to try out. One night I went out for dinner and everyone ended up at my place and at some point I wanted them to leave so I opened the garage door and the light came on and instead of a Porsche under the light, it was a coffin. I never saw those girls again!"