How Bill Skarsgård's 'Boyish Face' Was Morphed into a 'Dead Transylvanian Nobleman' for “Nosferatu” (Exclusive)
Skarsgård and filmmaker Robert Eggers detailed his transformation as Count Orlok in a new behind-the-scenes clip from the horror film
Skarsgård and filmmaker Robert Eggers detailed his transformation as Count Orlok in a new behind-the-scenes clip from the horror film
Bill Skarsgård's terrifying look for Nosferatu didn't come to life easily.
In a new behind-the-scenes clip from Nosferatu, exclusively shared with PEOPLE, both Skarsgård and director Robert Eggers detailed his transformation as Count Orlok and how his "boyish face" was morphed for some big-screen scares.
After the 34-year-old actor joked in the clip that him getting his costume adjusted "breaks the illusion," costars Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe also explained what it was like to see Skarsgård in the Orlok getup.
"First time that I walked on set and saw him in costume, I was so scared," Depp, 25, said. "... I thought, 'This is going to be perfect because I won't have to pretend like I'm scared of him in the scenes.'"
Related: Bill Skarsgård Is a Monstrous Vampire Terrorizing Lily-Rose Depp in Chilling New Nosferatu Trailer
As Eggers explained, creating the look of Orlok was a "challenging" task. "He is gonna be a dead Transylvanian nobleman and Bill has a very boyish face," he said, adding that he had worked on sketches and digital paintings before Skarsgård took things from there.
The Orlok look, Eggers added, acknowledged the classic "folk vampire" yet the character was dressed the way a Transylvanian nobleman would be dressed.
"Robert had a very particular vision for Orlok," Skarsgård said. "The references that I got to look at were these sort-of occultist warlords during that time, in that place."
Dafoe, who portrays Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz in the film, described Skarsgård's costume as a "different look than we've seen of any vampire character" and one that let viewers "really feel the blood coursing through his body."
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Released on Christmas Day, the film also features performances from Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Nicholas Hoult, who revealed last month that he kept a special souvenir from Skarsgård's wardrobe after filming wrapped.
Speaking alongside Depp during an "Ask Me Anything" interview with Elle, Hoult shared that he now has the character's "prosthetic penis" framed in his home.
As Hoult explained, he told Eggers he could feel Orlok's "prosthetic penis on my leg" while filming a scene where he slurps his blood, so naturally, Eggers got the costume piece framed and sent it to Hoult's home as a "wrap gift." Unfortunately, the frame itself was broken, so Hoult had to get it repaired at a local frame shop, he added.
"When I went back to pick it up, I think [the employee] clocked like how weird it was that I was framing potentially this vampire penis," Hoult said. "And he was like, 'Is this some kind of collector's piece?' and I was like, 'Hm, you could say that.' "
Nosferatu is now available to watch on demand.