The Nosferatu creative team develops Bill Skarsgard’s penile prosthesis
Fans will probably never forget it Bill Skarsgardis the full frontal moment as the decrepit Count Orlok Nosferatu – but the creative team behind the scenes remains just as restless.
Heavy prosthetics are nothing new for 34-year-old Skarsgård, as he has transformed into various levels of haunting Creatures in movies like It And The crow. For his role as Count Orlok in: He added a prosthetic penis to his body Nosferatu, However, it was a new experience – one that represented an unforgettable moment not only for Skarsgård’s on-screen character, but also for his co-star Nicholas HoultThomas Hutter and the film’s creative team.
“With (Nick’s character) Thomas, there was 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, Nosferatu‘s lead makeup designer, tells Us weekly in an exclusive interview.
“I don’t think you’ll forget this moment,” said the film’s head of hair. Suzanne Stokes Muntonadded, to which Loader replied, “No, this will live on forever!”
Bill Skarsgård knows how to get into character, drastically transforming himself into several scary roles throughout his career. Skarsgård cemented his role as the Scream King when he portrayed Pennywise in the It film series. However, his filmography was already filled with other horror projects, including Netflix’s Hemlock Grove. The actor who played Roman played the main role (…)
The audience gets their own look at the prosthesis in the third act, as Thomas attempts to escape Orlok’s castle after realizing he is being fed by the ancient vampire. When he finds his way to the basement, he tries to stake a sleeping Orlok, but instead wakes him up. While Thomas runs for his life, Orlok rises from his sarcophagus and exposes himself naked.
The chief make-up effects designer for the prosthesis asked why the penis prosthesis was even necessary for filming David White – who created the prop – gave Us a few insights into the scene.
“(Bill) knew it was coming and when I saw the shot in the frame I thought, ‘Oh no, here come the questions.’ Because up until then, no one had said a word,” White said. “It was a creation that transcended Bill’s own self… We had to find a way to train the entire body for the shot of him emerging from his sarcophagus. So there was no way around it.”
Hoult himself opened up about the awkward moment on set Elle In a recent interview, he said he felt the brace pressing against his leg after he uttered, director Robert Eggers sent him a surprise gift.
Nicholas Hoult Aidan Monaghan
“As a gift wrap, Rob had it framed and sent it to my house,” Hoult told the outlet, noting that he ultimately had to take the prosthetic to a frame shop after the gift arrived damaged.
“When I went back to pick it up, I think it occurred to me (the store owner) how strange it was that I was possibly framing this vampire penis,” Hoult explained. “And he said, ‘Is this some kind of collector’s item?’ and I thought, ‘Hmm, you could say that.'”
While the artificial genitals presented some challenges for Hoult, wearing them was no problem for Skarsgård. White told Us The Actor was the ultimate “Professional.”
Skarsgård, according to his team, was also involved in the creative process and had a say in the making of Orlok’s mustache. Thanks to Skarsgård’s input, the facial hair was originally intended to be much longer and a different color than the final product.
“There were different mustache sizes to choose from,” White recalls. “I offered a whole variety. At first it was a little big, believe it or not, it was bigger than what it is now, and then it was reduced in size, and if you look closely, it actually became thinner in the middle, and that was on purpose, so you can see a little bit more of the teeth and everything underneath.”
He continued: “I added a bit of silver at the end, which I thought would be lovely and would give it a bit more character and age it but not take it too far.” And Bill was keen on those color changes consciously. So he agreed and wanted this to be the case.”
White added that on set, Skarsgård tended to stay in character and be “quiet and in the shadows, like Orlok would be.” However, behind the scenes, seeing the actor in full costume was a lot weirder than one might imagine would.
“When he first walked on set, he was half-dressed with sweatpants on,” Loader recalls, laughing.
Nosferatu is now in cinemas.
