Bill Skarsgard was relieved to “let go of the chains” of Count Orlok when he finished working on ‘Nosferatu’.
The 34-year-old actor stars as the vampire in the upcoming horror flick – which is a reimagining of the silent 1922 film ‘Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror’ – and has admitted he was elated to be set free from the “intense” character after production on the picture concluded.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Skarsgard said: “Wrapping the movie was a relief.
“Everything that he represents is so intense, I was happy to let go of the chains he had on me.”
While Count Orlok may have been a challenge for Skarsgard, the ‘It’ actor emphasised he was very excited to work with director Robert Eggers on the film, and added the moviemaker’s script for ‘Nosferatu’ “floored him”.
He said: “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is so exciting.’
“The script floored me … It was flattering but also very daunting.”
‘Nosferatu’ follows Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) who finds herself the target of the ancient Transylvanian vampire Count Orlok (Skarsgard) after the creature becomes infatuated by her.
Skarsgard isn’t the only actor to struggle with ‘Nosferatu’, as his co-star Depp, 25, admitted the film had been both “physically and emotionally demanding” for her – with the actress’ Ellen Hutter seen contorting her body, rolling her eyes back into her head and having blood stream from her eyes and mouth.
Depp said of her character: “The torment that she’s going through is the meat of the movie.
“The darkness she’s carried within her since she was younger is now coming to a head. She found a husband that has been able to anchor her to the world, the light, and then he goes away and leaves her vulnerable to the forces who want to claim her.
“But it’s not so simple as her [being] plagued by this horrible thing. There is a yearning there. A connection between Orlok and Ellen. She is the one that called out to him and, as he says in the movie, she must surrender herself.”
Depp added sexuality was a major theme of ‘Nosferatu’ that brought the story and characters together.
She explained: “This demonic, dark fairy tale could be a young woman torn between two men, both representing different parts of what she wants. The desire and disgust serves as a mirror for the shame that we feel, certainly the shame that I’m sure a lot of women felt at the time.”
Director Eggers agreed and said ‘Nosferatu’ – which also stars Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult and Emma Corrin – would honour the “sexy” undertones of writer John William Polidori’s 1819 horror short ‘The Vampyre’ through Orlok.
He explained: “It all goes back to John Polidori’s ‘The Vampyre’, which was the first popular, Anglo-literary vampire story.
“He based the vampire off of Lord Byron, not a folkloric vampire. So that sexy aristocrat has been the mold.
“I think as the cinematic vampires evolved, because of their ability to transcend death, there’s something attractive and appealing about that.”
‘The Lighthouse’ filmmaker added: “But I think Bill’s vampire is sexy.”
