Nosferatu Star Had To Avoid 1 Acting Technique Because Robert Eggers "Does Not Like It"

Nicholas Hoult reveals the one acting trick he had to avoid on Nosferatu, because director Robert Eggers dislikes it. Hoult dipped his toe in the horror genre with 2023’s Renfield, though that particular vampire tale inclined toward comedy. But this time around, the star is diving headfirst into the deep end, playing the Jonathan Harker proxy Thomas Hutter in Eggers’ highly-anticipated Nosferatu remake, releasing to theaters on December 25.

The SAG Awards-nominated Hoult brought loads of talent and technique to Nosferatu, but there was one particular acting tool he had to leave in the box this time around, as director Eggers isn't a fan. Hoult revealed recently that he got into the habit of using his eyebrows a lot while starring on the TV series The Great, but had to tame his twitchy brows for Nosferatu, to abide by his director’s very specific acting rules (via THR):

I’d previously been shooting a show called The Great for a while, and with that character, I got away with a lot of comedic eyebrow twitches and movements. So that was something that I quickly had to nix for this role because Rob does not like it. He sent me quite a few [Ingmar] Bergman movies and a lot of other movies to research and watch as prep for Nosferatu, and there’s very little eyebrow acting in them. So Rob does not enjoy that, and that was something that felt very alien at first. I was like, “OK, I have to try and keep my eyebrows as still as possible throughout this whole movie.

What This Means For Hoult’s Nosferatu Performance

Psychological Intensity Is Eggers' Bread And Butter

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Hoult essentially used his eyebrows as a comedic tool on The Great, adding to his dual performances as Peter III of Russia and his double Yemelyan Pugachev. Nosferatu is not a satirical period piece, however, and Hoult was obliged to tone down his eyebrow acting in deference to Eggers, even though it felt strange to the actor at first.

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Eggers’ previous movies are, among other things, exercises in psychological intensity. There may be some hilarious moments in The Lighthouse, due to the characters’ turpentine-fueled unraveling, but overall the film is sweaty and oppressive. There’s not much levity to be found in either of his other films, The Witch and The Northman, and Nosferatu looks to be even more grimly serious than that. It’s understandable, then, that Eggers would make a rule against any expressions that might accidentally slide into the comedic, and potentially break the vampire remake’s horrific spell.

Our Take On Eggers’ Nosferatu Influences And Direction

Ingmar Bergman Is Not Known For Happy Movies

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Eggers sending Hoult some Ingmar Bergman movies to study is significant. The Swedish director, who passed away in 2007, did sprinkle a few lighter films around his filmography, but mostly dealt with intensely dramatic situations, and characters experiencing profound psychological torment. That Bergman was, seemingly, a big inspiration for Eggers on Nosferatu is one more indication of the film’s tone, which unsurprisingly figures to be dark and brooding, and, of course, horrifying.

Nosferatu has a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes

Eggers’ Bergman-esque approach to Nosferatu apparently had a big influence on the performances, to the extent that Hoult, at least for his part, had to alter his whole acting style in order to conform to his director’s vision. That Eggers is indeed a director of vision is not in dispute. He seems the ideal person to tackle Nosferatu, a film that cries out for his psychologically complex, visually arresting approach to the horror genre.

Source: THR