Robert Pattinson rose to fame with his role as vampire Edward Cullen in "The Twilight Saga". Apparently, the actor indeed has vampire blood running in his veins, being related to Dracula, the most famous blood-sucking creature of them all.

Genealogy web site Ancestry.com said on Wednesday that the British star is distantly related to Vlad III Dracula, a cruel ruler during the 15th century who inspired Bram Stoker's literary Count Dracula in 1897.

"Tracing Pattinson's family back to Vlad was difficult research, but the pieces that unraveled created the perfect accompaniment to 'The Twilight Saga'," said Anastasia Tyler, a genealogist at Ancestry.com.

Pattinson's role in the hit film franchise was based on novels written by author Stephenie Meyer. The first two movies maid a combined $1.1 billion at worldwide box offices. The third film, "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse", is sure to make hundred millions more when it hits the big screen on June 30.

Family history experts said Pattinson and Vlad, the Transylvania-born tyrant and was also called Vlad the Impaler, are likely related through today's British royal family.

Pattinson is a distant cousin of Prince William and Prince Harry on their father's side, most likely through the Pickering family who lived in northern England in the early 1500s, Ancestry.com said.

"Without any myth or magic, we find royalty and vampires lurking in Pattinson's life -- making his story just as supernatural as the one he is playing on screen," Tyler said.

Pattinson isn't the first movie star whose past has a mysterious similarity with his on-screen role. Last year, Ancestry.com reported that actress Emma Watson, who plays teen witch Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" series, is related to a 16th century woman accused of witchcraft.