Robert Eggers and Bill Skarsgård Reveal Controversial Changes to Count Orlok in ‘Nosferatu’: “I was worried that I couldn’t perform through it”

Orlok is a centuries-old vampire who travels to the town of Wisborg to spread fear and drain the life of his victims. He is based on the character of Count Dracula from the novel ‘Dracula,’ but with a more monstrous and eerie look.

In the original ‘Nosferatu’ (1922), Count Orlok is a creepy vampire with a very pale, bald head, sharp teeth, and long, claw-like fingers. His face is gaunt and skeletal, giving him a haunting, otherworldly appearance.

The latest take on the character, Eggers’ ‘Nosferatu’ presented a different look for the iconic character. In the new ‘Nosferatu’ film Director Robert Eggers wanted to give the character a fresh, unique look. When Thomas Hutter (played by Nicholas Hoult) finds Orlok in his sarcophagus, the vampire is revealed with a bushy mustache, a skeletal face, and decaying skin all over his body, including a full frontal nude scene.

Bill Skarsgård who plays Orlok expressed concern that the heavy prosthetics might limit his ability to perform and make the character feel lifeless. He admitted that at one point before the full makeup was applied, he felt he looked more like the Grinch or a goblin and didn’t like how it was turning out.

I was worried that I couldn’t perform through it, that it would feel like giant prosthetic pieces, and I couldn’t come alive through that. There was definitely a stage when they hadn’t put everything on, where I was like, I look like the f—ing Grinch or a f—ing goblin. I did not like at all how it was translating.

I, too, think about my career in every aspect of it if I hadn’t done Pennywise. I’ve approached characters very differently ever since I did the first It movie. In terms of the prosthetics, that is, in a lot of ways, a very superficial part of the job. It is something that’s on top of the surface.

In terms of creating something that is incredibly abstract and so far away from what I am as a person, Pennywise was the biggest [at the time]. I think Orlok is an even bigger leap.

Robert Eggers explained that he had a clear vision for Orlok’s appearance, but Bill Skarsgård didn’t naturally resemble that vision. Sculptor David White carefully worked on the prosthetics to create the look Eggers wanted without making Bill’s face too bulky.

Skarsgård even commented that he didn’t look like the character when he was alive, which Eggers said was exactly the point.

I knew what I wanted Orlok to look like. It happened to be that Bill doesn’t really look like that. When [David White] did the sculpt, he put in a lot of care to not overly bulk up Bill’s face but still give it the look that I wanted. Bill was like, ‘Man, I didn’t look like this guy when he was alive,’ which was sort of my intention.

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Eggers explained that he drew inspiration from vampire folklore to create a scarier version of Count Orlok, which led to the decision to give him a mustache. He argued that it was historically accurate, as Transylvanian nobles often had mustaches, referencing figures like Vlad the Impaler and even Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel.

As for the film’s ending, Eggers shared that they added gruesome details to Orlok’s death scene, including bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and anus, though the latter had to be stopped for comedic reasons.

There was going to be some good stuff there, and the vampire of folklore is a putrid, walking undead corpse. And so the question then became, ‘What does a dead Transylvanian nobleman look like?’ That means this complex Hungarian costume with very long sleeves, strange high-heeled shoes and a furry hat. It also means a mustache.

No matter what, there’s no way this guy can’t have a mustache. Try to find a Transylvanian person who’s of age who can grow a mustache that doesn’t have a mustache. It’s part of the culture. If you don’t want to bother Googling, think of Vlad the Impaler. Even Bram Stoker had the sense to give Dracula a mustache in the book.

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