Daniel Day-Lewis as Count Dracula? In another world, director Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” could’ve given us just that.
“Nosferatu” evokes images of silent movie actor Max Shreck in a bald cap and pointed ears as he played the vampire Count Orlok. But in Eggers’ new “Nosferatu,” Orlok actor Bill Skarsgård looks nothing like that — or himself, even.
Similar to Skarsgård’s performance as Pennywise in “IT,” he totally submits himself over to the character, disappearing behind make-up and (in “Nosferatu”) an echo effect on his voice. I agree wholeheartedly with /Film’s Chris Evangelista that when you watch Skarsgård’s Orlok, you don’t feel as if you’re seeing a performance, but a true evil walking on screen. In that way, it’s the most fully inhabited villain performance I can recall since Heath Ledger’s Joker in “The Dark Knight.”
Now, this can all sound like a backhanded compliment, treating Skarsgård as a mere stand-in while the make-up and sound design do the work. But I think it’s a sign of humility and skillful restraint, seeing a most actors will want their own face onscreen whereas Skarsgård buries his. Orlok’s movements, body language, and intonations are all Skarsgård’s too; the make-up is only so convincing because he slips into it so easily.
Originally, Skarsgård was cast as the film’s heroic male lead, Thomas Hutter, who wound up being played instead by Nicholas Hoult. I think it worked out; they’re both extremely handsome men, but Hoult has more boyish innocence (even if he’s about to play Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s “Superman”). Skarsgård, with his sharp features and big eyes, is more sinister.
If Skarsgård had played Hutter, though, who would’ve been Orlok? Reportedly, Eggers’ wishlist included Day-Lewis, Mads Mikkelsen, and Willem Dafoe (who instead played the renamed Van Helsing, Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz).