Willem Dafoe has worked with filmmaker Robert Eggers on two critically acclaimed movies. One of Dafoe's best films was Eggers’ The Lighthouse, where he played former sailor Thomas Wake, and he was also part of the cast of The Northman as Heimer the Fool. One of Dafoe’s upcoming movies, the Nosferatu remake, is making headway reuniting him with the American director. A recently-released photo has the Poor Things actor in his “Crazy Vampire Hunter” look, and there's a wild story behind it.
The Academy Award-nominated actor will be playing the vampire hunter Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz from this new adaptation of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, whick itself was an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula. EW posted a sneak peek photo of Willem Dafoe in his undead-creature-hunting duds seemingly laughing maniacally next to a tomb surrounded in flames. Robert Eggers spoke to the publication about the wild story that went on surrounding that photo. It turns out the Spider-Man actor wasn’t alone in it, with the director saying:
That sequence, aside from having real flames, had 2,000 real rats. Which was challenging but also fun.
That really does feel like a horror story! I give Willem Dafoe a lot of credit for being able to stand in character like that despite thousands of four-legged rodents. This wouldn’t be the first time that the cast and crew of a Robert Eggers movie were in an uncomfortable situation. A24’s The Lighthouse was apparently “miserable” to make because of the constant, stinking rain. But like Eggers remarked about the Nosferatu remake, he still had a lot of fun making these movies despite the challenges.
What we know about Willem Dafoe’s character of Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz is that he’s an amped-up version of Professor Bulwer, who had a few scenes in the 1922 version. In many adaptations, this vampire slayer is known for being the arch-nemesis of Count Dracula/Count Orlok readily equipped with crucifixes and stakes.
But if you know anything about Bram Stoker’s book Dracula, his character actually goes by Abraham Van Helsing, and he's played by a number of talented actors, including Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Jackman and Christopher Plummer. In fact, a Van Helsing reboot is in the works, with The Pope’s Exorcist’s Julius Avery reportedly directing. In Eggers’ version of the famed gothic horror story, it looks like we’ll be seeing Dafoe show off a lot of insanity we've never seen before in the role.
Other things to know about Robert Eggers’ horror remake Nosferatu is that Bill Skarsgård, known for the horror films IT and Barbarian, will creep us out yet again by taking on the iconic role of Count Orlok. Lily-Rose Depp will be playing Orlock’s object of affection, Ellen Hutter, who is pursued by the undead being. Nicholas Hoult, whose latest project had him under the influence of Count Dracula and his razor-sharp fangs in Renfield, has him playing Depp’s husband in the Eggers adaptation.
Funnily enough, Willem Dafoe also has a previous connection to the vampire folklore story playing original Orlok actor Max Schreck in the 2000 indie film adaptation Shadow of the Vampire, who in this was an actual vampire. As many of these cast members have experience working with vampires, this upcoming horror film should be a cakewalk for them all.
Robert Eggers’ “Crazy Vampire Hunter” actor for his Nosferatu remake deserves a pat on the back for taking that photo surrounded by real flames and thousands of rats. Willem Dafoe proves to be the right man for the job to be able to handle that. You can watch him portray the legendary vampire hunter with the 2024 movie release slaying in theaters on December 25th.
