Bill Skarsgård’s next terrifying role hits screens this Christmas with his take on Nosferatu. And, according to the actor, the hope is that viewers will leave a bit conflicted, finding themselves attracted to someone that’s “pure evil” in the remake of the iconic horror film from “The Witch” and “The Lightouse” filmmaker Robert Eggers.
In a new interview with Esquire, Skarsgård got blunt about his take on the legendary vampire, revealing that it was hard for him to leave the character behind once filming had finished because it was so intense.
“It took its toll,” he said. “It was like conjuring pure evil. It took a while for me to shake off the demon that had been conjured inside of me.”
That said, he does expect audiences to experience an uncomfortable attraction to Nosferatu. According to the actor, his take on the character is “gross” but still “very sexualized.”
“It’s playing with a sexual fetish about the power of the monster and what that appeal has to you,” Skarsgård explained. “Hopefully you’ll get a little bit attracted by it and disgusted by your attraction at the same time.”
Eggers said Skarsgård was so into the role he even out-occulted the director of “The Witch.”
“I remember early on, him trying to talk to me about what it meant to be a dead sorcerer—and I’m into some pretty heavy occult s–t, but he was on a different level,” Eggers said with a laugh, according to Esquire. “I was like, ‘This sounds accurate, but I don’t know how to converse about this with any fluidity.’ ”
CinemaCon attendees were the first to get a taste of that feeling earlier this year, when footage played exclusively at the event. In it, Lily-Rose Depp tearfully asks Professor Von Franz (Willem Dafoe) about the nature of evil, as shots of women puking blood, horse-drawn carriages riding through shadowy, snow-covered alleys, and the menacing castle where Nosferatu calls home are shown.
Eggers previously heaped praise on Skarsgard’s transformation into the vampire character, telling Empire magazine last year that “Bill has so transformed, I’m fearful that he might not get the credit that he deserves because he’s just … he’s not there.”
“Nosferatu” hits theaters on Christmas Day.
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