Willem Dafoe Starring In Movie About Most Terrifying Vampire In Cinema History
Willem Dafoe is set to have a role in a Nosferatu remake with Robert Eggers in the director's chair.
Willem Dafoe is one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. Just last year, the Oscar-nominated star appeared in the acclaimed picture The Northman, the Walter Hill-directed western Dead for a Dollar, and in several episodes of the television series The Kingdom. Now, Deadline is reporting Willem Dafoe is in talks to join Nosferatu at Focus Features.
Robert Eggers is directing the film from his own screenplay. Willem Dafoe will join stars Bill Skarsgard, Lil Rose-Depp, and Nicholas Hoult, who were already on board the project. There is no word about who Dafoe will be playing in this film.
The forthcoming movie is being produced by Eggers, Chris Columbus, Eleanor Columbus, Jeff Robinov, and John Graham. Willem Dafoe will reunite with Eggers for Nosferatu, which is said to be a re-imagining of the gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman (Depp) in 19th century Germany and the ancient Transylvanian vampire (Skarsgard) who stalks her, bringing untold horror to him.
Willem Dafoe and director Robert Eggers recently collaborated on last year’s spectacular picture The Northman. The story follows a young Viking prince on a quest to avenge his father’s murder. Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Elliott Rose also have roles in the film.
Before that, Willem Dafoe and the director worked together on the 2019 thriller The Lighthouse. The black-and-white feature centers on two lighthouse keepers who try to maintain their sanity while living on a remote and mysterious New England island in the 1890s. The cast also consists of Robert Pattison, Valerila Karaman, Logan Hawkes, and Shaun Clarke.
Interestingly enough, this will mark the second movie starring Willem Dafoe that centers around the Nosferatu creature. One of the actor’s four Academy Award nominations came from his portrayal as the famous monster in the 2000 feature Shadow of the Vampire. Directed by E. Elias Merhige, the film also stars John Malkovich, Udo Kier, Cary Elwes, and Catherine McCormack.
Shadow of the Vampire is a film about the making of the 1922 classic horror movie Nosferatu. The production of the silent picture had to deal with numerous strange occurrences including the disappearances and deaths of several crew members. Merhige’s film focuses on the difficult relationship between director Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (Malkovich) and lead actor Max Schreck (Dafoe).
Although Willem Dafoe won’t be portraying Nosferatu in Robert Egger’s upcoming movie, we’re certain he’ll deliver a solid performance as whatever character he ends up playing. The 67-year-old star is one of the most versatile actors in the industry.
Willem Dafoe currently has 12 upcoming projects in various stages of production, including Nosferatu. He can be seen next in the Vasilis Katsoupis-directed drama Inside, which is scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 17. The film follows a high-end art thief who becomes trapped in a New York penthouse after his heist doesn’t go as planned, and he must use all his cunning and invention to survive.
