On arrival in America, the six-one, 180-pound Lugosi worked for some time as a laborer, then returned to the theater within the Hungarian-American community. He was spotted there and approached to star in a play adapted by John Balderston from Bram Stoker's novel . The production was very successful. Despite his excellent notices in the title role, Lugosi had to campaign vigorously for the chance to repeat his stage success in Tod Browning's movie version of (1931), produced by Universal Pictures.

A persistent rumor asserts that silent-film actor Lon Chaney, Sr. was originally scheduled for this film role, and that Lugosi was chosen only due to Chaney's death. Chaney, however, was under long-term contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and his home studio refused to release him to Universal for this project. Further, although Chaney and Browning had worked together on several projects, Browning was only a last-minute choice to direct the movie version of : this film was not a long-time pet project of Tod Browning, despite some claims to the contrary.

Following the success of

Through his association with Dracula (in which he appeared with minimal makeup, using his natural, heavily-accented voice), Lugosi found himself typecast as a horror villain in such movies as because the role had no dialogue and would have concealed Lugosi beneath heavy makeup. The role was taken by the man who became Lugosi's principal rival in horror films, Boris Karloff. Several films at Universal, such as (1939) paired Lugosi with Karloff. Regardless of the relative size of their roles, Lugosi inevitably got second billing, below Karloff. Lugosi's attitude towards Karloff is the subject of contradictory reports, some claiming that he was openly resentful of Karloff's long-term success and ability to get good roles beyond the horror arena, while others suggested the two actors were - for a time at least - good friends.

Attempts were made to give Lugosi more heroic roles, as in opposite Greta Garbo, but did not help him break out of the "type" into which he had been placed.

After Universal changed management in 1936, he found himself consigned, along with their entire approach to horror films, to Universal's b-film unit, at times in small roles where he was obviously used for "name value" only. In the early 1940s, Universal did not renew its contract with Lugosi, and he ended up having to contract with the Poverty Row company Monogram Pictures, where he received star billing in a succession of horror, psycho and mystery B-films produced by Sam Katzman.

Later on, the acting jobs dried up and Lugosi became addicted to morphine, originally prescribed him for severe back pain in the early 1940s, though he did get to recreate the role of Dracula one last time in the film

Late in his life, he again received star billing in movies when Ed Wood, a would-be filmmaker and fan of Lugosi's, found him living in obscurity and near-poverty and offered him roles in his films, such as . During post-production of the latter, Lugosi entered treatment for his morphine addiction, and the premier of the film was ostensibly intended to help pay for his treatment expenses. The extras in the DVD release of include an impromptu interview with Lugosi upon his exit from the treatment center, which provide some rare personal insights into the man.

Following his treatment, Lugosi made one final film, in late 1955, , for Bel-Air Pictures, which was released in the summer of 1956 through United Artists Corp. with an a-film campaign that included several personal appearances. To his disappointment, however, his role in this film was of a mute, with no dialogue.

Lugosi died of a drug-related heart attack on August 16, 1956 while sitting in a chair in his Los Angeles home. He was 73. The , written by Ed Wood, was in his lap. (His role in this film was later given to Kenne Duncan, and shots from that production made their way into Wood's , a sequel of sorts to "Bride of the Monster".)

Bela Lugosi was buried wearing one of the many capes from the Dracula stageplay, as per the request of his fifth wife and son, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. While it was stated that Lugosi made no requests regarding his burial, either verbally or through his will, this appears to be urban myth; verification can be obtained from the special edition DVD of Dracula.

One of Lugosi's most infamous roles was in a movie released after he was dead. Ed Wood's features footage of Lugosi interspersed with a double who looks nothing like him. Wood had taken a few minutes of silent footage of Lugosi, in his Dracula cape, for a planned vampire picture but was unable to find financing for the project. When he later conceived of to incorporate the Lugosi footage and hired his wife's chiropractor to double for Lugosi in additional shots. The "double" can easily be spotted by the fact that he looks nothing like Lugosi and covers his face with his cape in every shot.

In the postmodern period, Lugosi became the subject of a song by gothic rock band Bauhaus entitled "Bela Lugosi's Dead", and a couple of his worst films turned up for mocking on the televison program (Tim Burton, 1994Bela Lugosi is a sentimental interpretation of the relationship between Lugosi and Wood. Lugosi is played by Martin Landau in a good-natured and sometimes moving interpretation for which Landau received an Academy Award for best supporting actor. Lugosi's son, Bela Lugosi, Jr. initially disapproved of his father's portrayal in the film, despite never having seen it, but after a long correspondance with Martin Landau, Lugosi Jr. was persuaded to view the film in Landau's company. Lugosi Jr. declared that Landau had 'honored' his father with his portrayal and the actor and the late star's son became friends as a result.

Contrary to Burton's film, Lugosi did not receive top billing for