Robert Eggers on Nosferatu’s Most Surprising Personal Style Choice

One of the most secret elements Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu– a reimagining of a silent film that famously achieved its plot Dracula– that’s what Count Orlok it would seem Before the film hit theaters, marketing material showed the vampire played by Bill Skarsgård only in silhouette or shadow. This was written in discussion how frighteningly terrifying character will appear on screen, but now that the film is out, audiences are also taking note of a surprising grooming choice.

Obviously… it’s that mustache!

In a spoiler-y interview with VarietyEggers was asked why Count Orlok has such distinctive facial hair. As is often the case with this writer-director, he began while doing extensive research before the production.

“To try to make a vampire scarier than we’ve had in a long time, I turned to folklore,” he told the trade. “It’s something I like anyway, but the first folk vampire was written by people who believed that vampires existed. There had to be something good here, and the folk vampire is a rotting, dead corpse.

Which led him, he explained, to ask “What does a dead Transylvanian nobleman look like?”

From there, Eggers said, he understood that it meant “this complex Hungarian costume with very long sleeves, strange high-heeled shoes and a furry hat. It also meant a mustache. No matter what, there’s no way this guy can’t have a mustache. Try to find a person from Transylvania who can grow a mustache. It’s part of the culture if you don’t want to bother Google the Impaler. Even Bram Stoker had the sense to give Dracula a mustache in the book.

So there you have it: it’s a culturally appropriate choice – as you can see, other characters in the film, including Willem Dafoe’s Professor Von Franz, also rock ‘staches – and it’s one that Stoker himself took into consideration while working on the novel of 1897. which started it all.

Nosferatu it’s in theaters now.

Want more io9 news? Check when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Warsand Star Trek free, what is next for the DC Universe in film and TVand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.