Bill Skarsgård is not new to the world of prosthetics in movies, we all remember his terrifying role as Pennywise in the movie. He – she. In Robert Eggers’ reimagining of the classic Nosferatuthe Swedish actor is back in the makeup chair, ready to transform into the main character, also known as Count Orlok.
“Bill is really tall, very slim, charming and a real fun-loving kind of guy, with a lovely, warm personality,” says David White, prosthetics lead. Hollywood Reporter. “I remember that during the first make-up session, while we were putting on this make-up, this nice, charming young man started disappearing and someone else came in. Within four hours he transformed into this very dark character.”
White always begins his prosthetics work by commenting on one side of the actor’s face. In Skarsgård’s case, it was his large eyes and “gorgeous” bone structure. About 10 prosthetics were used on his face and head alone, bringing the number of prosthetics on his body to 60. Sixteen people applied the pieces at a time. “It’s kind of like stopping at a car race,” White says. “They know exactly how to change those tires really, really quickly.”
The actor was in the chair for four hours just for his head and hands. Given his experience with prosthetics, Skarsgård has learned tricks to deal with the amount of time he spends in a chair, White says; The actor goes to the “world of meditation” to conserve his energy and save it for performing on screen.
When the first trailer was released, many fans were quick to point out how Orlok’s mustache and hair deviated from the character’s look in the original 1922 film. Nosferatuwhich was an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. White admits that Orlok’s appearance in Eggers’ iteration is “quite unusual” but says there is a reason why he made that choice.
Much of the film shows only Orlok’s silhouette, which was taken into account in the work of prosthetics designer David White.
Courtesy of Focus Features
“Robert would hand over these illustrations and things he found from the 16th century about these noblemen of the time, and they all had these mustaches,” he explains. “It’s very likely that any noble would have a mustache like that, even Orlok.” Regarding Orlok’s hair, White also stuck to the period in which the film was set: “You see that kind of look all over this part of the world, and it wouldn’t stand out.” When he was in his coffin, Robert was very adamant that he wanted his hair to be “Flat and lumpy, full of mud and dirt, and when it’s outside, it’s fuller and richer and more elegant.”
For most of the film, we only see Orlok’s silhouette or see him rise from the shadows. This also took into account the way White worked. “While sculpting, my lead sculptor, Colin Jackman, and I were very careful because Robert mentioned that he would be shooting it not only in low light, but he didn’t want to expose the decomposition and rot that was coming from the back of his head to the front. On the one hand, you have to sell it. As a normal guy, he might be a bit eccentric, but on the other hand, he’s actually cracking up. With that in mind, White set up lights during the sculpting process to measure how far he could reach with the prosthetics, and a lot of tests were done. Camera to ensure no Detecting anything too early.
Head of makeup Traci Loader also used lighting to get her style just right, especially given the film’s colorism – the film was shot in color on 35mm but de-saturated to make it look as if the action was taking place in the constant pale glow of moonlight. “I did too The lighthouse and The witchso I’m familiar [cinematographer] “Garyn Blaschke lighting,” she says. THR. “I have lights in the trailer that I put gels on to supplement the lighting so I know I’m going in the right direction. With black and white, you have to be careful with red and purple — anything that has blue in it, you have to change it. So, with candlelight, it’s not possible Any yellow or red you use has to be orange-based; otherwise it won’t read so there’s a lot of color theory involved.
Count Orlok’s hands required a lot of prosthetic work: eight extensions for his fingers plus two for his thumb.
Aidan Monaghan/Focus Features
Color theory has also been applied in Loder’s work to the character of Ellen, played by Lily-Rose Depp, who appears sicker as she becomes more possessed by the demon. “We wanted to keep it realistic in terms of what it would have looked like in that era,” Loder says. “Our approach — Robert really liked no-makeup makeup — for Ellen, in that era, they didn’t wear a lot of makeup. It was more corrective.”
Use a silicone makeup primer that has an illuminating quality so it doesn’t look matte or dry like foundation. She also had four different levels of pallor for Ellen, each getting progressively lighter as filming continued. The loader then added fine veins. “We tried to keep everything as authentic with her as possible,” she says.
Makeup designer Tracey Loder made Depp paler and paler throughout the film to show Elaine’s possession of Orlok.
Aidan Monaghan/Focus Features
This story first appeared in the January standalone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To get the magazine, Click here to subscribe.
