Horror Robert Eggers Nosferatu

[Pennywise]

Would've been a completely different movie.

https://www.justjared.com/2025/01/03/bill-skarsgard-reveals-three-actors-who-almost-played-count-orlok-in-nosferatu-before-he-got-the-role/

Bill opened up about the other actors in an interview with Swedish outlet Moviezine.

"I know [director Robert Eggers] talked about Daniel Day-Lewis. And for a while it was Willem Dafoe who was going to play him, when I was cast as Thomas. And Mads Mikkelsen," he said.

 

[Boom]

Imagining Eggers on the phone with DDL with this pitch.

 

[Lily Adler]

https://www.justjared.com/2025/01/03/bill-skarsgard-reveals-three-actors-who-almost-played-count-orlok-in-nosferatu-before-he-got-the-role/

Willem would have been great too...

 

[AndyTrevino]

DDL would've been absolutely insane, but I'm not entirely sure I'd trade any of those choices out for how transformative Bill was.

 

[C Prometheus]

Willem would have been great too...

He would have, but personally I think he ended up with the right role in this film as Von Franz. IMO way too many people were fan casting Willem for Orlok over the years on account of his turn in Shadow of the Vampire.

Honestly all things considered, I think the right actor ended up with the role. Bill Skarsgard gave a top notch turn as Count Orlok here.

 

[Gothamsknight]

DDL would have been insanity. But I'm glad Eggers went with Bill.

 

[blueharvest]

Bluesky

bsky.app

 

[DarkKnight88]

DDL would have been insanity. But I'm glad Eggers went with Bill.

With DDL though, the behind the scenes stories would’ve been Shadow of the Vampire for real.

 

[Drizzle]

I was wondering if DDL would've even been interested in playing a fictional character that he didn't originate but then I remembered he was John Proctor in The Crucible.

I can't picture anyone else but Skarsgard now though. That voice may very well be the best Orlok/Dracula voice ever committed to film.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

They landed on the best person in Skarsgard for the role. He bailed it and totally disappeared into the character.

 

[DarkKnight88]

but then I remembered he was John Proctor in The Crucible.

I mean, doesn’t hurt that his wife is the daughter of the play writer lol.

 

[Pennywise]

It would have been very interesting to see Mikkelsen or DDL as Orlok. Dafoe would have been great, of course too! I doubt any of them would have lost weight or work with an opera coach for their voice, though.

Skarsgård, FTW.

 

[VictusMortuus]

Yea never in a million years would imagine myself saying this about DDL but I don’t think he could’ve improved on what we got. If you told me Bill got into the role by becoming an actual vampire I’d believe it.

 

[Arachnerd]

So... after watching the movie, I want to read that novel-length backstory Eggers wrote for Orlok pronto.

 

[Drizzle]

So... after watching the movie, I want to read that novel-length backstory Eggers wrote for Orlok pronto.

I'll take more of Eggers's Orlok any way I can get it. I don't know how controversial an opinion this is but right now I might even rank him as the best film villain of this decade over Riddler and Penguin from The Batman and the Harkonnens from Dune.

 

[Lily Adler]

So... after watching the movie, I want to read that novel-length backstory Eggers wrote for Orlok pronto.

If they don't include in the novelization...

 

[AndyTrevino]

What were some of Eggers’ specific inspirations for Orlok that he shared with you, and were there any you came up with yourself?

Bill: There were a lot of different things. There was a Bulgarian movie called Time of Violence—a great movie, over four hours long, set in Bulgaria in the 17th century. And there’s this guy, the antagonist of the movie, taking over a village and forcibly converting Christians, and it’s incredibly violent and horrible. That performance was something Robert talked a lot about in terms of who Orlok could have been when he was alive. We talked about that one a lot, and various different things—little snippets from here and there.

But that was during the very early stages. Once you start delving deeper into a character, hopefully, you start getting inspiration from whatever it is you’re actually working on, and that creates seeds that come out of it. Robert also wrote a backstory for Orlok, just a few pages, that he shared with me, which was also very helpful.

 

[Kane52630]

 

[Mjolnir Reborn]

I've had a thought about the ending for a while and I don't remember if it was answered in the film.

Spoiler

Was it shown why Orlok was with Ellen so long that the sun came up? Orlok wasn't a patient being and nothing was keeping him from visiting her that night so it feels like he would go to her as early as possible, seeing how she the sole reason for him being there. The scene they have together isn't very long and I wouldn't expect him to take many hours draining her, although it is a possibility given the special blood. I only remember the book showing that a willing sacrifice would mean the vampire's death that way but I don't recall it being more specific than that.

 

[AndyTrevino]

I've had a thought about the ending for a while and I don't remember if it was answered in the film.

Spoiler

Was it shown why Orlok was with Ellen so long that the sun came up? Orlok wasn't a patient being and nothing was keeping him from visiting her that night so it feels like he would go to her as early as possible, seeing how she the sole reason for him being there. The scene they have together isn't very long and I wouldn't expect him to take many hours draining her, although it is a possibility given the special blood. I only remember the book showing that a willing sacrifice would mean the vampire's death that way but I don't recall it being more specific than that.

I honestly just assumed it was already close to daylight at that point.

 

[Sawyer]

“There’s not enough John Ford in this German Expressionist remake! **** you, Robert Eggers, **** you HARD!”

 

[Boom]

What an incredibly awful tweet.

Side note, finished watch #3. Favorite movie of the year, one of my favorite movies of the last several years, and I'm anxiously waiting to preorder the Extended Edition Blu Ray.

 

[Drizzle]

 

[blueharvest]

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Awesome. Might be going to see this again next week.