Bill Skarsgard isnt new to the world of prosthetics in film we all remember his horrifying turn as Pennywise in It. In Robert Eggers reimagining of the classic Nosferatu, the Swedish actor was back in the makeup chair, ready to be transformed into the title character, also known as CountOrlok.

Bills really tall, and hes very slim and charming and a real kind of fun guy, and hes got this lovely, warm personality, prosthetic lead David White tells The Hollywood Reporter. I remember during the first makeup session, as were putting this makeup on, this sweet, charming young guy began to disappear and somebody else was coming in. He transformed within the space of four hours into this very darkcharacter. White always begins his prosthetics work by hanging onto one aspect of the actors face. In Skarsgards case, it was his big eyes and fantastic bone structure. Around 10 prosthetics pieces were used on his face and head alone, with the body prosthetics taking the count up to 60. Sixteen people applied the pieces at a time. Its a bit like a pit stop in a car race, says White. They know exactly how to change those tires really, really fast.

The actor was in the chair for four hours just for his head and hands. Given his experience with prosthetics, Skarsgard has learned tricks to deal with the amount of time in the chair, White says; the actor goes into a meditation world to preserve his energy and save it for the performance onscreen.

When the first trailer dropped, many fans were quick to point out how Orloks mustache and hair deviated from the characters appearance in the original 1922 Nosferatu, which was based on Bram Stokers novel Dracula. White admits that Orloks look in Eggers iteration is quite unusual but says theres a reason that choice was made.

Much of the film only shows Orloks silhouette, which factored into the work of prosthetics designer DavidWhite. Courtesy of Focus Features Robert would hand over these illustrations and things he found from the 16th century about these noblemen at the time, and they all had those mustaches, he explains. Its highly likely that any nobleman would have had a mustache like that, even Orlok. In terms of Orloks hair, White also stuck with the period in which the film was set: You see that kind of look throughout that part of the world, and he wouldnt stand out. When hes in his sarcophagus, Robert was very insistent that he wants his hair all flat and matted, full of muck and dirt, and when hes out and about, its a little bit more full and rich and elegant.

For much of the movie, we see only Orloks silhouette or see him rising from the shadows. That also factored into the way White worked. During the sculpt, my key sculptor, Colin Jackman, and I were very careful because Robert had mentioned that hes going to shoot him not only in low light, but he didnt want to reveal the decay and rot that was coming from the back of his head forward. On the one hand, youve got to sell him as this normal guy who is maybe a little eccentric, but on the other hand, hes actually falling apart. Keeping that in mind, White set up lights during the sculpt to gauge how far he could go with the prosthetics, and lots of camera tests were done to ensure nothing was revealed too soon.

Makeup head Traci Loader also used lighting to get her technique just right, especially given the films tinting the movie was shot in color in 35mm but was desaturated to make it look like the action was taking place in the constant pale glow of moonlight. I also did The Lighthouse and The Witch, so Im familiar with [cinematographer] Jarin Blaschkes lighting, she tells THR. I have lights in the trailer that I put gels on to complement his lighting so that I know that I am going in the right direction. For black and white, you have to be careful with your reds and purples anything that has blue in it, you have to alter it. So with candlelight, any yellows or reds you use cant be orange-based; they have to be blue-based. Otherwise its not going to read. So theres a lot of color theory involved.

Count Orloks hands required a lot of prosthetic work: eight finger extensions plus two for his thumbs. Aidan Monaghan/Focus Features Color theory also applied in Loaders work on Lily-Rose Depps character, Ellen, who looks more sickly as she becomes more possessed by the demon. We wanted to keep it realistic in how they would look in that era, Loader says. Our approach Robert really likes a no-makeup makeup to Ellen was, in that era, they didnt wear a lot of beauty makeup. It was more corrective.

Loader used silicone makeup that possessed a luminous quality so it wouldnt look as matte or dry as a foundation would. She also had four different levels of paleness for Ellen, each becoming progressively lighter as filming went on. Loader then added subtle veining. She says, We tried to keep everything as authentic with her as we could.

Makeup designer TraciLoader made Depp paler and paler throughout the film to showcase Ellens possession by Orlok. Aidan Monaghan/Focus Features This story first appeared in a January stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.