Bill Skarsgård on remaking 'Nosferatu' and printing 'F–king With a Masterpiece'

Are you curious about the more dangerous side of human nature?

The darker characters also tend to be more complex. It takes more mental gymnastics. It's the same with Orlok: Okay, if it's an ancient wizard who speaks from another realm and has all this power and knowledge, what causes that power and knowledge to end up corrupting a soul instead of creating a messiah ?

Do you ever worry about being typecast?

I definitely don't want that exclusively I play roles like that, but I've never seen the appeal of the classic star, a movie star. The difference between a movie star and an actor is that a movie star plays himself to some extent in every role. While an actor changes. There are people who play themselves and are brilliant every time, but it's the same thing and they have this trick. I just don't think I'm that charismatic or interesting, so I can't just rely on that. I have to get as far away from myself as possible.

Do you feel a connection to actors from the past, such as Lon Chaney or Boris Karloff, who played dark beings and often changed their regular appearances?

That's a great question. Yes, I do. However, it was never my particular goal to be the “creature actor,” if you will. There are so many [actors] I take inspiration from. Many other actors are too not The films known for their intense transformations are also some of my favorites. I haven't really studied the great prosthetics or creature performances in this way. I've watched a lot of it, but I don't watch performances for inspiration per se, because there's always that kind of imitation that I don't want to let go down. For Orlok, predators were a cleaner source of inspiration.

You mentioned earlier that you've played a character familiar to you from previous series several times, but you've done it in a new and different way. Did you feel that again? Nosferatu?

Orlok is also Dracula. For me, Dracula/Nosferatu is the number one iconic horror character. It is easily the most groundbreaking work of Gothic horror literature. I think it's probably been adapted more than any other book. This story is so deeply embedded in our subconscious that it was very daunting to delve into it. I was a big fan of [Robert] Eggers before. He and I always thought, “What are we doing?” Why are we doing this? Nosferatu? Are we taking on something too big here?” We felt the pressure to fuck with a masterpiece. But the film deserves its place as a reimagining.

What's next for you?

I've always appreciated the idea of ​​being as versatile as possible. I also want to do a kitchen drama, I want to do a dark, fucked up comedy. I want to make these decisions or advocate for these decisions. You have to fight against being pigeonholed or pigeonholed. The more you fight it, the bigger the box becomes.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. For fashion and beauty details, visit VF.com/credits.