How ‘Nosferatu’ Hair and Makeup Teams Transformed Bill Skarsgard From a “Sweet, Charming Guy” Into Count Orlok

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Bill Skarsgard isn’t a novice when it comes to using prosthetics in movies; we can’t forget his chilling portrayal of Pennywise from It. Once again sitting in the makeup chair, Bill was ready for transformation into Count Orlok, the title character in Robert Eggers’ fresh take on the timeless tale, Nosferatu.

David White from Prosthetics shares with The Hollywood Reporter that Bill is exceptionally tall, slender, charismatic, and a joyful individual with a delightful, welcoming demeanor. He recalls their first makeup session, where they were applying the makeup, and as the hours passed, this affable young man gradually morphed into a completely different persona – a more ominous character.

In every prosthetics project, White initially focuses on one key facial feature of the actor. For Skarsgard, it was his striking eyes and impressive bone structure. Approximately 10 separate prosthetic pieces were applied to his face and head individually, while the body prosthetics brought the total to around 60. Simultaneously, a team of 16 individuals would work together, a process White likens to a fast-paced tire change during a car race.

During a span of four hours, the actor sat in a chair primarily focusing on his head and hands. Due to his extensive work with prosthetics, Skarsgard has developed techniques to manage such lengthy periods in the chair. According to White, he enters a state of meditation to conserve energy and channel it into his screen performances.

When the initial trailer was released, numerous fans swiftly noted differences between Orlok’s mustache and hairstyle compared to his depiction in the 1922 film adaptation of “Nosferatu,” which is inspired by Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.” White acknowledges that Orlok’s appearance in Eggers’ version appears somewhat unconventional, but he explains that this alteration was intentionally made for a specific reason.

Robert shares historical illustrations and artifacts dating back to the 16th century featuring these aristocrats, all sporting those distinctive mustaches,” he details. “It’s quite possible that any nobleman during that era would have worn a similar mustache, even Orlok.” Regarding Orlok’s hairstyle, the director, White, chose to stay true to the film’s time period as well: “The appearance you see in the movie is common in that region, and Orlok wouldn’t look out of place. In his sarcophagus scene, Robert emphasized that he wanted Orlok’s hair to be flat and matted, covered in grime and dirt. When he’s active in the film, it’s slightly more voluminous, yet still simple and elegant.

Throughout most of the film, we primarily observe Orlok’s shadow or watch him emerge from the darkness. This approach significantly influenced how White crafted his character. “During the sculpting process, my primary sculptor, Colin Jackman, and I were meticulous as Robert had mentioned that he would be shooting him not just in dim light, but also desired to conceal the decay and rot emanating from the rear of his head towards the front. On one hand, we needed to present him as a seemingly normal individual with a touch of eccentricity, yet on the other hand, he was literally disintegrating.” With this in mind, White strategically positioned lights during sculpting to determine the extent of prosthetics, and numerous camera tests were conducted to prevent any premature revelations.

Traci Loader, the makeup head, fine-tuned her techniques with the aid of lighting, considering the film’s unique tint – it was filmed in color on 35mm but presented as if under a consistent moonlight-like glow. As I worked on films like “The Lighthouse” and “The Witch”, I’m accustomed to Jarin Blaschke’s lighting style, which I utilized by adjusting the lights in my trailer with gels to match his. For black and white productions, one must be cautious with reds and purples – anything containing blue needs alteration. Therefore, when working with candlelight, any yellows or reds used cannot be orange-based; they must be blue-based. Otherwise, the effect won’t be visible. Thus, there’s a significant role for color theory in this process.

In Loader’s work on Lily-Rose Depp’s character Ellen, color theory was utilized to make her appear increasingly unhealthy as she became more demonically possessed. According to Loader, the aim was to maintain authenticity in depicting their appearance during that time period. To achieve this, our approach – which Robert prefers a natural look over heavy makeup – for Ellen was to minimize the use of beauty cosmetics since such items were not commonly used during that era; instead, they primarily used corrective makeup.

The makeup artist utilized a silicon-based cosmetic that radiated subtly instead of appearing flat or dry like foundation might. For Ellen, she prepared four distinct shades of paleness, each one getting lighter over the course of filming. Additionally, she added delicate veining to maintain authenticity. She stated, “We aimed to keep everything as true-to-life for her as possible.

This tale was initially published in a solitary edition of The Hollywood Reporter’s magazine for January. If you’d like to get the magazine, you can do so by clicking here to subscribe.

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2025-01-12 22:55