New horror movie Nosferatu retells the chilling story of Count Orlok, an ancient vampire who becomes obsessed with a young woman. Based on the 1922 silent German short film – which in turn is based on Dracula – Robert Eggers’ gothic drama stars Bill Skarsgård as the titular vampire in what has been called a transformative performance.
Clad in full prosthetics for the role, the It actor deepened his voice and went through intense preparation to play Count Orlok. And as he tells GamesRadar+, this meant it was an immense relief when filming wrapped and he could shed the darkness.
“It was… I don’t know, you go places,” he tells us. “I was really happy to shed the character like, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’ve ever been so like, ‘Fucking get me out of this state of mind.’ It was an immense sense of relief on wrap for me. Then, as you separate yourself from it, you start to appreciate the journey that you went through, but it was difficult.”
Not only was it a challenge physically and emotionally to embody the character, Skarsgård also had to deal with some unique challenges too. Namely, being locked in a coffin with live rats and maggots, all while being essentially blind in Orlok’s white contact lenses.
“We had 10 rats, real, live maggots, and then they closed it, so I’m blind, and they just skitter around,” he recalls. “And of course, I’m Orlok, so a rat wouldn’t phase Orlok so, of course, I cannot be scared or uncomfortable in this situation. And Nick [Hoult, who plays Hutter] is outside of the sarcophagus opening it. So I’m listening and being conscious of when it opens, I have a resting zombie, vampire face that I practiced.”
However, it all started to go wrong, the actor explains, when one of the rats ended up getting a bit too close and personal. “It goes and it just sits on my forehead,” he grimaces. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. This is not cool.’ And it’s nibbling on my eyebrows and I’m like, ‘Okay, okay, okay, okay.’ And then 3,2,1… So there’s this one take where the resting face of Orlok looks terrified or constipated. It’s not in the movie.”
Nosferatu is released in US theaters on Christmas Day and UK cinemas on New Year’s Day. Read our Nosferatu review here. For more scares, check out our guides to upcoming horror movies and the best horror movies of all time.