'Nosferatu': How Lily-Rose Depp prepared for upcoming horror film
Robert Eggers's Nosferatu is among the highly anticipated Hollywood films of the year. The lead actor of Nosferatu, Lily-Rose Depp, has revealed that French actor Isabelle Adjani's performances inspired her. Speaking to IndieWire, Depp revealed that while Adjani's portrayal of Ellen Hutter in Werner Herzog's 1979 film Nosferatu the Vampyre shaped her own take on the character, it was Adjani's role in Possession that was a direct source of inspiration.
'She's an actress that inspires me a lot'
Depp spoke about her admiration for Adjani. She said, "I thought a lot about Possession, of course. Isabelle Adjani has an incredible and iconic performance in that." "She also was an Ellen of the past [in Werner Herzog's 1979 Nosferatu the Vampyre] and so I was very honored to carry the French girl Baton to play Ellen in this version. She's an actress that inspires me a lot."
Adjani's career-defining role in 'Possession'
Most people remember Adjani for her performance in Andrzej Zulawski's 1981 thriller Possession. The film saw her as a woman who descends into insanity after leaving her marriage, leading her husband (Sam Neill) to discover the dark truth behind her infidelity. The performance won her the Best Actress award at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival but also allegedly caused an attempted suicide due to its intense emotional demands.
The actor's commitment to authenticity in 'Nosferatu'
Depp was also certain about keeping things real in her performance, even in difficult scenes where CGI could've been employed. She said, "That's not something that we ever discussed, honestly. Rob is a very practical filmmaker and he wants everything to be real." "I mean, even Bill in the movie, his physical appearance and the voice and everything is completely unaltered. That's what it was. And same for my very physical movement."
Her preparation and performance in 'Nosferatu'
In Nosferatu, Depp's character Ellen finds herself in a sinister love triangle with her husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) and the demonic Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard). To prepare for this role, Depp worked with various specialists to learn how to move in character. She was introduced to Japanese butoh, a form of performance art dance that she found "incredibly inspiring." "I also worked [with a] movement coach who was incredibly helpful, and we mapped out all those movements."
Her perspective on her character in 'Nosferatu'
At the Los Angeles premiere of Nosferatu, Depp opened up about playing Ellen Hutter. She told Deadline, "Ellen's perspective is one that we've never gotten to see in such a central way as this one, and Rob made the deliberate choice to make Ellen's perspective the central one." "And we see the story really unfold through her eyes, which I think was such a beautiful thing, and was an honor for me to play."
