Nosferatu creative team in creating Bill Skarsgard’s prosthetic penis

Fans will probably never forget it Bill Skarsgard‘s full frontal moment as the decrepit Count Orlok Nosferatu – but the creative team behind the scenes remains just as haunted.

Heavy prosthetics are nothing new for Skarsgård, 34, as he has transformed into various levels of terrifying creatures in films like It And The Crow. Adding a prosthetic penis to his body for his role as Count Orlok Nosferatu, however, was a new experience – one that created a memorable moment not only for Skarsgård’s on-screen character, but costar as well. Nicholas Hoult‘s Thomas Hutter and the film’s creative team.

“Of [Nick’s character] Thomas, they had a scene where Orlok was sucking his blood and the penis kept rubbing his leg and he didn’t know how to respond to him.” Traci Charger, Nosferatu‘s lead makeup designer, told We weekly in an exclusive interview.

“I don’t think you’ll forget that moment,” said the film’s head of hair. Suzanne Stokes-Muntonadded, to which Loader replied, “No, that will live on forever!”

The audience gets their own look at the prosthetic appendage in the third act when Thomas attempts to escape Orlok’s castle after realizing he is being fed by the ancient vampire. Making his way to the basement, he tries to deploy a sleeping Orlok, but wakes him up instead. As Thomas runs for his life, Orlok rises from his sarcophagus and exposes himself free of clothing.

As for why the prosthetic penis was needed for filming in the first place, says head of prosthetic makeup effects designer David White – who made the prop – gave it Us some insight into the scene.

“[Bill] I knew it was coming, and as soon as I saw that shot on screen, I thought, ‘Oh no, here come the questions about that.’ Because no one had said a word until then,” White said. “It was a creation that went beyond Bill himself… We had to find a way to make the whole body work for the shot of him rising from his sarcophagus. So there was no escape.”

Hoult himself has opened up about the awkward moment on set and shared Elle in a recent interview that after saying he felt the support pushing against his leg, director Robert Eggers sent him a surprise gift.

“As a wrapping gift, 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 [the shop owner] how strange it was that I was possibly portraying this vampire penis,” Hoult explained. “And he said, ‘Is this some kind of collector’s item?’ and I thought, ‘Hmm, you could say that.’

Although the fake genitals caused some problems for Hoult, wearing them was not a problem for Skarsgård. White said Us the actor was the ultimate ‘professional’.

According to the team, Skarsgård was also involved in the creative process and had a say in creating Orlok’s mustache. The facial hair initially had to be much longer and a different color than the final product, thanks to Skarsgård’s input.

“There were a few different sizes of mustaches to choose from,” White recalls. “I offered a whole variety. At first it was a little bit big, believe it or not it was bigger than what it is now, and then it was shrunk down and if you look closely it’s actually diluted in the mid area and that was done on purpose so that you and just a little bit more of the teeth and everything underneath.

He continued: “I added a little bit of silver to the end which I thought would be really nice and give a little extra character and suggest aging but not take it too far. And Bill was aware of those color changes. So he agreed and wanted that to be the case.”

White added that on set, Skarsgård tended to stay in character and was “quiet and in the shadows like Orlok would be.” However, seeing the actor in full gear was much more comical behind the scenes than you might think.

“When he first went on set, he was half-dressed and in sweatpants,” Loader recalls, laughing.

Nosferatu now playing in theaters.