“I like complex, weird f***ing s***” Bill Skarsgård on his most transformative role yet in ‘Nosferatu’

With over 170 movie and TV adaptations, Count Dracula is the most prolific character in the horror genre. Because of this, one could wonder why there would be a need for a new portrayal of the iconic vampire, but there’s not much familiar about director Robert Eggers’ version. The new Nosferatu draws inspiration both from Bram Stokers’ original story from 1897 and its remake – the 1922 film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. A far cry from the charmingly palatable vampires of today, Eggers’ movie explores the folklore of 19th-century Romania and delves further into the macabre than ever before. At the center is a twisted love story, as Lily-Rose Depp’s Ellen is torn between her husband and the vampire whose demonic possession she can’t escape.

The villain, named Count Orlok instead of Dracula, is played by Bill Skarsgård. Even though he has made a name for himself playing hauntingly terrifying monsters, like the clown It in the Stephen King classic, we have never seen him quite like this. “That Robert believed in me was very flattering, but also terrifying because I didn’t know if I could do it. I’ve done a few transformative performances but as far as transformation goes, this is it, I can’t transform more than what I did in this movie”, Skarsgård says when Vogue Scandinavia sits down with him during a hectic press day.

This gothic retelling of Nosferatu has been nine years in the making, a story that has been close to Eggers’ chest but one that he never had time to prioritise. During the development of the film, Skarsgård has been considered for not less than three different roles in the movie, those of both Nicholas Hoult and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. With that in mind, it seems meant-to-be that the project had time to evolve during the last decade. A development that also mirrors the trajectory of Skarsgårds’ career, where he no longer seems the obvious choice for the love interest but the villain. “Out of all the characters, Orlok is the one I wanted to do the most. It’s the biggest challenge,” he says.