Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Fans will likely never forget Bill SkarsgårdA full frontal moment when the decrepit Count Orlok walked in Nosferatu – but the creative team behind the scenes remains just as creepy.
Heavy prosthetics is nothing new for Skarsgård, 34, as he’s transformed himself into various levels of haunting. creatures in movies like It and Crow. For the role of Count Orlok, he added a prosthetic penis to his body nosferatu, however, it was a new experience – one that created an unforgettable moment not only for Skarsgård’s on-screen character, but also for the costar Nicholas HoultThomas Hutter and the film’s creative team.
“They had a scene with (Nick’s character) Thomas where Orlok was drawing blood and his penis kept rubbing against his leg and he didn’t know how to react to it.” Traci Loader, Nosferatu‘s lead makeup designer, he said My Weekly in an exclusive interview.
“I don’t think you’ll ever forget that moment,” the head of the film’s hair department, Suzanne Stokes-Muntonhe added, to which Loader replied, “No, it will live forever!”
Bill Skarsgård knows how to get into character by drastically transforming into several creepy roles throughout his career. Skarsgård cemented his role as the scream king when he portrayed Pennywise in the It film franchise. However, his filmography has already been filled with other horror projects including Netflix’s Hemlock Grove. The actor who played Roman played (…)
Audiences get their first look at the prosthetic appendage in the third act, when Thomas tries to escape Orlok’s castle after realizing he’s being fed by an ancient vampire. Finding his way into the basement, he tries to stab the sleeping Orlok, but instead wakes him up. As Thomas runs for his life, Orlok rises from his sarcophagus and exposes himself without clothes.
As for why a prosthetic penis was even necessary for filming, the lead prosthetic makeup effects designer David White — who created the prop — gave Our some insight into the scene.
“(Bill) knew it was coming, and as soon as I saw that shot in the shot, I thought, ‘Oh no, there are questions about that.’ Because no one said a word until then,” White said. “It was a creature beyond Bill’s own self… We had to find a way to make the whole body work for the shot where he rises from the sarcophagus .”
Hoult himself was honest about the embarrassing moment on set and told Elle in a recent interview that after he expressed that he felt the prop pressing against his leg, the director Robert Eggers sent him a surprise gift.
Nicholas Hoult
Aidan Monaghan“As a wrapped gift, Rob had it framed and sent it to my house,” Hoult told the store, adding that he ended up having to take the prosthetics to a framer after the gift arrived damaged.
“When I went back to pick it up, I think (the store owner) gauged how weird it was that I was potentially channeling this vampire penis,” Hoult explained. “And he said, ‘Is this some sort of collector’s item?’ and I was like, ‘Um, you could say that.'”
While artificial genitalia may have caused some problems for Hoult, wearing them was no problem for Skarsgård. White said Our and the actor was the best “professional.”
Skarsgård was also involved in the creative process, according to his team, and had a say in the creation of Orlok’s mustache. The facial hair was originally intended to be much longer and a different color than the final product, thanks to Skarsgård’s input.
“There were several different mustache sizes to choose from,” White recalled. “I offered the whole range. It was a little big at first, believe it or not it was bigger than what it is now and then it got smaller and if you look closely it’s actually thinned out in the center area and that’s done on purpose so you can see a little bit more teeth and everything underneath.”
He continued: “I added a bit of silver at the end which I thought would be really beautiful and add a bit of extra character and suggest ageing, but it wouldn’t take it that far. And Bill was aware of the color changes. So he agreed and wanted it to be.’
White added that during filming, Skarsgård tended to stay in character and was “quiet and in the shadows like Orlok”. However, seeing the actors in full gear was far more comical behind the scenes than one would expect.
“The first time he went on set, he was half-dressed and then he had running shoes on,” Loader recalled with a laugh.
Nosferatu now playing in theaters.
