Nosferatu: Bill Skarsgård Teases His ‘Gross’ and ’Sexualized’ Character

Bill Skarsgård says his take on Count Orlock in Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu will be “gross” and “sexualized.”

Speaking with Esquire, Skarsgård revealed a few details about his character in the upcoming Nosferatu remake, which is currently scheduled to be released this December.

“I do not think people are gonna recognize me in it,” Skarsgård said.

When asked if his take on Orlock will be “sexy,” Skarsgård answered, “He’s gross. But it is very sexualized. It’s playing with a sexual fetish about the power of the monster and what that appeal has to you. Hopefully you’ll get a little bit attracted by it and disgusted by your attraction at the same time.”

Eggers has also previously teased a “transformed” Skarsgård in Nosferatu, telling Empire Magazine in November 2023, “I’m fearful that he might not get the credit that he deserves because he’s just… he’s not there. He felt like honoring who had come before him. It’s all very subtle. But I think the main thing is that he’s even more [of] a folk vampire. In my opinion, he looks like a dead Transylvanian nobleman, and in a way that we’ve never actually seen what an actual dead Transylvanian nobleman would look like and be dressed like.”

What do we know about Nosferatu?

Nosferatu, which is a remake of the 1922 film of the same name, is written and directed by Eggers, who previously made 2015’s The Witch, 2019’s The Lighthouse, and 2022’s The Northman.

Along with Skarsgård, the film stars Nicholas Hoult as Thomas Hutter, Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Friedrich Harding, Emma Corrin as Hanna Harding, Willem Dafoe as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, Simon McBurney as Herr Knock, Ralph Ineson as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers.

“Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake,” the synopsis for the movie reads.

Nosferatu releases in United States theaters on December 25, 2024, from Focus Features.