Nosferatu star Willem Dafoe has said that working alongside director Robert Eggers requires a certain "athleticism" that "takes you away from traditional approaches to acting".
The American actor has reunited with his director of The Lighthouse and The Northman for the third time with Nosferatu, Eggers long-gestating and expertly realised reimagining of the iconic cinematic vampire, first brought to the screen by F. W. Murnau in the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which was an unauthorised and unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.
The film has been in various stages of production for almost 10 years, while the story has been of particular interest to Eggers for even longer - he first directed the play at school when he was 17.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, Eggers said it was "incredibly satisfying" and "at times a bit emotional" to begin finally shooting.
"These sets were massive and Craig [Lathrop], the production designer, we've been working together since The Witch [2015], so to go from this little farmhouse to a massive backlot set was kind of overwhelming," he said of the large-scale production.
"Also working with Willem [Dafoe] again and working with so many people I've worked with before, who've known about this and have been through years of hearing about the struggle or been involved in the struggle.
"How gratifying can it be? It's great."
Nosferatu stars Lily-Rose Depp as Ellen Hutter, a young woman in 1838 Germany who is haunted and hunted by Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård), a terrifying ancient vampire who summons her naïve husband Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) to his faraway castle under the pretence of doing business with him.
Dafoe plays Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz, a Van Helsing-style vampire slayer who is the only one who truly comprehends the strange connection between Ellen and Count Orlok.
With a career spanning five decades and more than 150 films, the prolific and instantly recognisable Dafoe has worked with more than his fair share of directors.
What makes working with Robert Eggers so special?
"He gives you a beautiful world to engage in," Dafoe told RTÉ Entertainment. "The world is so detailed, it's so complete that you know what to do. So all your energy, all your passion, goes into the doing. And something happens. For me as an actor, that's what it's about.
"And also, his particular way of these very long takes and very designed shots is very beautiful. There's an athleticism to it. There's a kind of concentration that takes you away from traditional approaches to acting that I love. Every time I've worked with him, I've had a wonderful time."
The 25-year-old Lily-Rose Depp has a star-making turn in Nosferatu. Scenes in which a demon possesses Ellen are particularly mind-blowing; as Depp contorts her body in a way that defies comprehension.
Eggers said it was "inspiring" to witness her performance.
"That body work is very difficult and I often do a whole lot of takes, but at times I knew there was only a certain amount of takes I could get because it's so physically exhausting to do what she did," he explained.
"It was marvellous to watch her work with the choreographer Marie-Gabrielle Rotie and get better and better and better and better at this stuff. It's probably in the press notes, but I just want to point out that it's not [CGI] enhanced and that is really her."
The American filmmaker previously admitted that Nosferatu was a difficult project to shoot.
Elaborating, he said: "It didn't have the weather hardship of my other films. There were some cold scenes and some snow and rain, but it was fine.
"I think particularly for Lily and Nick and Bill, the emotional strenuousness of it I think was the largest challenge and pulling off these complicated shots was challenging to make sure we stayed on schedule."
Despite the challenges involved, Eggers has no regrets.
"Because you know if you don't challenge yourself, then what's the point?", he said. "You have to challenge yourself otherwise you become complacent and stagnant."
Nosferatu is out in cinemas on 1 January 2025.
