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‘This Will Come Alive Or…’: Bill Skarsgård Opens Up About His Transformation Into Vampire For Nosferatu; Reveals Why He Was 'Terrified'
Bill Skarsgård reflected on his transformation into a dreaded vampire for his latest film. The actor recalled feeling “terrified” over his character not looking believable due to heavy prosthetics!
Bill Skarsgård's dramatic transformation in Robert Eggers' Nosferatu has been kept under wraps for the longest time! Upon the film's theatrical release on December 25, the actor's make-over into a dreaded vampire was finally revealed.
Although Skarsgård's character Count Orlok has been in the film from the beginning, his darker is revealed much later in the plot. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Crow actor opened up about his heavy-prosthetic dependent look. "I never felt like the character until I had everything on. So, full makeup and full costume," he said.
He recalled sitting in a chair, surrounded by candles, during his first camera test when he felt one with his character. "We had done a bunch of rehearsals before that, but that was the first time where I felt the cameras were alive, and I [could] start becoming this thing," he explained.
In addition to the physical changes, the actor also had to go a few octaves lower to deepen his voice. Skarsgård recalled that because of his distinct physicality, body language, and voice, he felt the character was fake and "contrived."
Hence, he was "terrified" about whether Orlok would be believable as a character. "Either this will come alive, or it won't. I can't force it. It needs to be there," he said. Therefore, the actor was relieved once Eggers approved of his portrayal.
The look comprises a skeletal face with protruding cheekbones as if flesh were clinging to the bones and a mustache. Despite being described as a vampire, the director wanted Orlok to resemble an undead sorcerer.
"I knew what I wanted Orlok to look like," Eggars said. "When David 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," he said, speaking of the prosthetic makeup effects designer.
As for Skarsgård, he was worried about performing through the prosthetics because he might appear like "the f---ing Grinch or a f---ing goblin" in the complete look. However, when all the pieces were in place, it started to make sense.
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