Willem Dafoe addresses comparisons between his role in Robert Eggers’ upcoming Nosferatu remake and his turn in 2000’s Shadow Of The Vampire.
It’s been just under a year since Willem Dafoe was announced as part of the ensemble for Robert Eggers’ upcoming remake of Nosferatu, the horror classic that unleashed an unofficial Dracula adaptation on cinema screens all the way back in 1922. Dafoe’s casting made a few waves at the time, partly because of his acclaimed previous work with Eggers. Dafoe has previously collaborated with the director on 2022’s The Northman and 2019’s The Lighthouse and both of those creative partnerships turned out very well indeed.
However, it wasn’t just a general outpouring of appreciation for a third collaboration between the pair that had the internet buzzing at the time. What was particularly noteworthy was that Dafoe had previously played the role of Nosferatu in the acclaimed 2000 indie film, Shadow Of The Vampire. In that flick, Dafoe plays Max Schreck, the actor who portrayed Nosferatu in the now-legendary silent film.
Read more: How The Northman went from box office flop to a VoD goldmine
Dafoe got a Best Supporting Actor nod for his work too, and although he won’t be playing the same role in Eggers’ upcoming film (the title role has gone to Bill Skarsgard), he’s been chatting about the comparisons that have been drawn between the two projects. Speaking with Total Film, Dafoe states that ‘he hadn’t drawn that same connection between the new Nosferatu and Shadow Of The Vampire as the two projects have “very different” aesthetics and “intention”.
Dafoe added that, “I think Robert and [cinematographer] Jarin [Blaschke] were in a very good place, and he’s getting more and more refined. It’s a bigger scale – maybe not quite as big as The Northman, but he was very on top of it. I just saw some pieces, and I didn’t get a sense of the film itself, but it was just beautifully photographed. I can’t think of another film that quite looks like it.”
The actor isn’t the first person to compliment the film’s visual style, so we’re very much looking forward to seeing a trailer. Despite Eggers himself saying previously that it was a tough shoot, hopes are high for this one, which is set to release at the very end of the year. Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult co-star alongside Dafoe and Skarsgard. We’ll bring you more updates on Nosferatu as we hear them.
