Fans will likely never forget Bill SkarsgĂ„rdthe full frontal moment as the decrepit Count Orlok Nosferatu â but the creative team behind the scenes remains just as obsessed.
Heavy prosthetics are nothing new for SkarsgĂ„rd, 34, as he transforms into various levels of ghosts creatures in movies like it and The crow. Adding a prosthetic penis to his body for his role as Count Orlok c Nosferatu, however, it was a new experience â one that created an unforgettable moment not only for SkarsgĂ„rd’s on-screen character, but for the costar as well Nicholas HoltThomas Hutter and the film’s creative team.
“With (Nick’s character) Thomas, they had a scene where Orlok was sucking his blood and the penis kept rubbing against his leg and he didn’t know how to react to it,” Traci Loader, Nosferatuthe lead makeup designer said Us Weekly in an exclusive interview.
“I don’t think you’ll forget this moment,” the film’s head of hairdressing, Suzanne Stokes-Mantonadded, to which Loader replied: “No, that will live forever!”
Bill SkarsgĂ„rd knows how to get into character, dramatically transforming himself into several ghostly roles throughout his career. SkarsgĂ„rd cemented his role as the scream king when he portrayed Pennywise in the It film franchise. However, his filmography was already full of other horror projects, including Netflix’s Hemlock Grove. The actor who played Roman participated (…)
The audience gets their own glimpse of the prosthetic appendage in the third act, when Thomas tries to escape Orlok’s castle after realizing he’s being fed by the ancient vampire. As he finds his way to the basement, he tries to stake a sleeping Orlok, but instead wakes him up. As Thomas runs for his life, Orlok rises from his sarcophagus, revealing himself without clothes.
As for why a prosthetic penis was needed for filming in the first place, the head prosthetic makeup effects designer David White â who created the support â gave us a little insight into the scene.
â(Bill) knew it was coming, and as soon as I saw that shot in the shot, I thought, âOh, no, here come the questions about that.â Because nobody had said a word up until then,â White said. âIt was a creation above and beyond Bill himself… We had to find a way to make the whole body work for the shot of him rising from his sarcophagus. So there was no way around it.
Holt himself is candid about the awkward moment on set, recounting El in a recent interview that after saying he could feel the support pressing against his leg, director Robert Eggers sent him a surprise gift.
Nicholas Holt
Aidan Monaghan“As a gift-wrapper, Rob got it framed and sent it to my house,” Holt told the store, noting that he ended up having to take the prosthetic to a framing shop after the gift arrived damaged.
“When I went back to pick it up, I think (the store owner) noticed how weird it was that I was potentially shaping this vampire penis,” Holt explained. “And he was like, ‘Is that some sort of collector’s item?’ and I was like, ‘Hmm, you could say that.’
While the artificial genitalia may have posed some challenges for Holt, wearing them is not a problem for SkarsgĂ„rd. White said us on the actor was the best “professional”.
SkarsgĂ„rd was also involved in the creative process, according to his team, and had a say in helping craft Orlok’s moustache. The facial hair was originally supposed to be much longer and a different color than the final product, thanks to SkarsgĂ„rd’s input.
“There were several different sizes of mustaches to choose from,” White recalls. âI offered a lot of variety. It was originally a bit big, believe it or not, it was bigger than what it is now, and then it was scaled down and if you look closely, it’s actually thinned out in the center and that’s done on purpose so you can see a little bit more from the teeth and everything below.â
He continued: âI added a bit of silver towards the end which I thought would be really lovely and give it a bit of extra character and suggest ageing, but not take it too far. And Bill was aware of these color changes. So he agreed and wanted it to be.
White added that while on set, SkarsgĂ„rd tended to keep in character and was “quiet and in the shadows, like Orlock would be.” Seeing the actor in full costume, however, was far more comical behind the scenes than anyone would have guessed it would be.
“When he first went on set, he was half-dressed and then he was wearing jogging bottoms,” Lowder recalls with a laugh.
Nosferatu playing in theaters now.
