Doug Jones is adding another iconic character to his filmography withNosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. Jones is generally best known for his work playing characters brought to life with a combination of his physical performance and practical effects, some of the more notable being in his frequent collaborations with Guillermo del Toro, some of which includeHellboy’s Abe Sapien, both the Faun and Pale Man inPan’s Labyrinthand the Amphibian Man inThe Shape of Water. Beyond del Toro, Jones has also found acclaim asAdmiral Saru inStar Trek: Discoveryand Billy Butcherson in theHocus Pocusmovies, among others.
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrorsees Jones reteaming with writer/director David Lee Fisher for their second project, the previous film being the 2005 remake ofThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, in which they utilized a similar process to updating the original short film by mixing both practical sets and CGI to recreate the backgrounds of the source material. Interestingly,A Symphony of Horroralso marks one of two vampire-related projects Jones is a part of, as he’s also set to return forWhat We Do in the Shadowsseason 6, the final season of the hit comedy.
25 Best Dracula Movies Ranked
Dracula is one of the biggest villains in pop-culture history. But which of the many films based on the iconic vampire are the best Dracula movies?
Updating F.W. Murnau’s iconic unauthorizedadaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula,Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horrorcenters on the idealistic real estate agent, Thomas Hutter, sent by his boss Herr Knock to visit their new client, Count Orlok, to help him plan to purchase a new property in the fictional town of Wisborg, only to discover his true nature of a vampire. Emrhys Cooper stars in the film as Thomas alongside Jones as Orlok, Sarah Carter as Thomas' wife Ellen, Joely Fisher as Ruth and Time Winters as Professor Sievers.
In anticipation of the movie’s release,Screen Rantinterviewed Doug Jones to discussNosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, its 10-year journey from its successful Kickstarter campaign to release, wanting to honor original Orlok actor Max Schreck with his performance, the joy of reuniting with Fisher for the project, as well as his potential return forHocus Pocus 3.
Nosferatu’s Count Orlok Has Always Been “A Dream Role” For Jones
“…he’s the dark vampire that came to me when I was younger…”
Screen Rant: I’m delighted to get to chat with you again, and to chat aboutNosferatu: A Symphony of Horror. I watched it earlier this morning and was so enthralled by what you and David have done to revisit that world. I love that this has been a great passion project for you both since it first got announced a decade ago. How has it been for you reflecting on this journey as it finally gears up to come out?
Doug Jones: Yeah, well, it has been a labor of love, for sure. From the first Kickstarter campaign 10 years ago, to filming nine years ago, and then doing reshoots and pick-up shots seven years ago, it’s like, “[Mimics panting].” [Laughs] And it’s been a very, very long post-production process. But now, I’m sure that you saw, and you understood going in that this was a combination of old movie and new movie put together, digitally, right?
Yes, I did!
Doug Jones: I think that’s the fascinating part of this and what set this movie apart for me, personally. So, I got to play in the same environment that Max Schreck did back in 1922, getting to combine the old, original silent film, but add and do an homage to that movie, because scene for scene, it’s pretty much the exact same movie, but with the addition of dialogue that helps you flesh out the story, and sound, and a symphonic soundtrack of music and musical score. It was just such a passionate thing for me, and a dream role for me. That’s the vampire I always wanted to play.
I’ve been goofy vampires, I was a stinger vampire on The Strain, as a recurring character in that series. I’ve been the goofy Baron Afanas on What We Do in the Shadows, which has been a complete joy to play. He’s coming back for season 6. You will be seeing more of me in What We Do in the Shadows. But then this one, though, he’s the dark vampire that came to me when I was younger, putting my bucket list together of what characters I wanted to play. Nosferatu or Count Orlok is the vampire that made sense to me, because I’m not sexy enough to be Dracula, and I’m not young and pretty enough to be a sparkling one in that other franchise. [Laughs]
So, I thought, “You know what? The scraggly, ugly one. That I can get.” I think the Count doesn’t know how repulsive he looks. He still walks around with the confidence that he’s the glorious Count of the past. I don’t think he realizes how much he’s faded, so it’s like, “That’s something I can relate to as Doug Jones.” [Laughs] Now that I’m 54 years old. And he’s got [plenty] of heart and soul at the end of his journey through this retelling of the story. He finds the object of his desire in the character of Ellen, played by Sarah Carter, who was one of my co-stars from Falling Skies, by the way.
So, she was kind of the ultimate — even when he makes the move from Transylvania into the small town Thomas and Ellen live, to move across the street from them and move into that old property, he kind of bites his way through the town first. There’s people dying left and right, and he saves her for his cherry on the top dessert. And once he has had his bites with her, once he has feasted on her beautiful neck and the sun comes up through the window, it’s like he has a decision to make there.
Like, “Well, oh dear, do I try to get out of this room? Do I take my chance going through the sun? Will I burn up?” And if so, I wanted to give him a flavor of, “That’s okay.” I think he had a little bit of a heart for the first time. Like, “What have I done? I’ve destroyed this beautiful human being that was the ultimate, and it doesn’t get better than that. So what’s left for me? Oh my gosh.” So, I think walking in front of the window finally made sense.
Because when I watched the silent movie and the Count steps in front of the window and does that very dramatic hand to the heart and the other arm extended, it was a very dramatic pose that I always thought, “He could duck under the window or something to avoid the sunlight.” [Chuckles] But I wanted to do an homage to Max Schreck’s original performance by taking that same exact pose, but giving it some more purpose, and hopefully, I pulled that off.
Jones Looked To Only 1 PriorNosferatuActor For Inspiration
He Also Finds A Unique Bright Side To The Competition With Robert Eggers' Remake
I did want to ask, you just mentioned Schreck, but there’s been so many different incarnations, both of, essentially, Dracula as well as Nosferatu, over the years. Who did you find you pulled the most from? Was it from Schreck? Was it from Klaus Kinski? Was it even fromDafoe playing Schreck?
Doug Jones: [Chuckles] Right. I think since Max Schreck started this off, he’s the example that we all work for. I did not study the others at all, I went back to the silent film before we filmed our version. Because we were doing such a scene-for-scene replica, I wanted to get Max into my system, so I could honor him while still giving him some of my own performance. And you’re right, so many beautiful performances, and Willem Dafoe killed it, I think. He was fantastic.
And I can’t wait to — Honestly, I know this is a very confusing time, that we’re coming out two months before the Robert Eggers version with Bill Skarsgård in the same role, and I’m a big fan of Bill’s, I’m a big fan of Robert Eggers, and I can’t wait to see their movie as well, and I think Bill Skarsgård is going to also kill it. But we all have our own spin on that original tale, and I think the fans out there, hopefully, will want to see all of them and celebrate this tale, this fable of Nosferatu in whatever version comes out. And hopefully there’s audience enough for all of them.
I certainly think there is. I love, too, that it’s not only a doubleNosferatuviewing, but that Willem’s coming full circle in the new one by being Van Helsing. I think it’s so funny.
Doug Jones: Oh, exactly, right? And I’m sure they came looking for him for that talking point in the press. [Laughs]
Symphony Of Horror’s Approach To Recreating Original Sets Was A “Combo Platter”
“…it gave the whole film, to me, a very ethereal, dreamlike look.”
So, in looking at your film, you’ve talked about how it was awesome to get to sort of walk in Schreck’s steps, as far as the sets and the CGI landscapes, so to speak. I’d love to hear what that balance was like, because so many of the sets that I watched in the film really do feel practical versus just CGI.
Doug Jones: Well, it was a combo platter. So, there were certain scenes in our movie that were completely, 100% green screen. For instance, the outdoor shots where young Thomas, played by Emrhys Cooper, where he’s stepping off the train, and walking up to my castle, or me stepping out of the shadows in that courtyard in my castle. That’s 100% green screen with just us, with marks on the floor so we could match where we belong in the old movie.
Then, there were other combination scenes, where we had a door in the wall, but then there might have been a window next to it, and that was green-screened with the original movie in the window. So, lots of practical, of course, props, and architecture, and certain walls. Ellen’s bedroom frame was a completely different set with the window that had green screen behind it, and then original footage behind that from the original movie. So, it gave the whole film, to me, a very ethereal, dreamlike look.
Jones Loves Working With The “Poetic” David Lee Fisher (& Is Even Talking About Their Next Project)
“…without naming characters, we’re kicking around a classic monster-type piece.”
So I mentioned you reuniting with David for this one after the similarCabinet of Dr. Caligariremake. There was essentially a decade between when that one came out and when you first started working on this one. What were some of the big changes you maybe saw in David’s approach to direction between the two productions?
Doug Jones: Yeah, Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror are both very similar in the production process that the old movie, new movie put together with a green screen and new sets filled in digitally. But the technology has gotten much better in those 10 years between Caligari and Nosferatu. It was cleaner, and the digital world has come so far. So, David was boasting about the tools that he has to work with now, making that a smoother transition. And for Nosferatu, he had a smidge more of a budget. Caligari was on a super, super low, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we haven’t made a movie for that” budget.
Nosferatu was still a small budget, for sure, which is another reason why post-production might have taken so long, but basically the nuts and bolts were kind of the same for both movies, especially including the passion to make them. David Lee Fisher is also a big fan of classic black and white silent films, as am I, so getting to do these remixes and tell these stories with dialogue to flesh out what’s missing in a silent film [is wonderful]. You know, when you watch a silent film, you only have so much dialogue with those dialogue cards that come up, and there’s a lot of miming in between. So, with dialogue actually written as a script, which David Lee Fisher wrote as well, word for word. He’s a very poetic writer, as well.
I think he does a great job honoring those original tales with dialogue and with verbiage. We have a very, very great working relationship, for sure, and we’re already talking — now, movies take a long time from filming to releasing. [Chuckles] I just talked with him yesterday, and he’s already thinking, “Is there a third one we can do to film sort of a trilogy of this type of film?” So, we are already kicking around titles in the classics to find out, “Do we have a third one in us?” [Chuckles] I don’t know, hopefully, because when you’re an actor, like me, and I have 38 years in big productions on television and film, it’s these smaller projects that have heart, and soul, and freedom to create whatever we want that sing to me.
I’m sure you don’t want to spoil what that third title might be, but can you give me maybe a hint of one or two ideas you are kicking around for it?
Doug Jones: Well, without naming characters, we’re kicking around a classic monster-type piece. So, if your imagination comes up with one, we’ve probably talked about it. [Chuckles]
Jones Would “Abso-Freaking-Lutely” Return ForHocus Pocus 3If Asked
“…unfortunately, you know as much as I do about this.”
I did also want to ask you, aside fromNosferatu, I loved seeing you come back forHocus Pocus 2. We, in fact, even talked about it right before it came out, and they’re nowworking on a Hocus Pocus 3. I don’t know how far along it may be, or if Billy is even going to be involved, but have you maybe heard anything if they’re looking at having you come back?
Doug Jones: No, unfortunately, you know as much as I do about this. I saw the same press release that Disney put out that you did and everybody did, that they had a part three in development. But I’ll tell you, I’m not going to be the first one they call, because even with Hocus Pocus 2, I got a call later in the pre-production game, because they needed to secure the three ladies first.
Once their contracts were all signed and dated, that’s when I got a call that they were going ahead and so, then, Billy’s back in the second one. So would I do a part three? Abso-freaking-lutely, I would. If that offer comes, yes. But story-wise, I don’t know who’s involved, who would be involved in the development right now. Will the three original witches come back? Will Billy come back? That’s all yet to be determined from my end. I don’t have a part of those discussions. It’s a bit above my pay grade.
Well, I’m in the same boat as you, but if the three witches are back, Billy better be back. I want to see more, especially more with you and Sam Richardson’s character. That was such a great dynamic duo in the last one.
Doug Jones: Oh, thank you. Well, and again, if that call comes, my answer’s a big fat yes. I love Billy so much. And even from part one to part two, being a 29-year gap in those two movies, if you had asked me before Hocus Pocus 2 was ever made, “Is there a character you wanted to revisit in your career?” Billy’s the one. I really wanted to find out more about him, his backstory, more of his relationship with Winnie, what went wrong there. And we got some of that in Hocus Pocus 2, so I was very satisfied with that. And I’m also kind of tickled pink that it’s been living on Disney+ ever since it came out — the second one, the sequel. And now, for the first time, it’ll be airing all month long in October, playing as a double feature with Hocus Pocus 1, so those who still have cable TV will be able to see it on the Freeform channel all month.
Jones HopesA Symphony Of HorrorGives Audiences A “Revived Appreciation” OfNosferatu
“…these old classic monsters that started off the legacy that became my career one day.”
I would love to know what is the biggest thing you are excited for audiences to take away fromNosferatu, since there’s everything from, like we talked about, David and your passion of recreating it, to the updated dialogue, to the unique visual aesthetics.
Doug Jones: The thing I’m most excited for is for our audience to take away a revived appreciation of old classics. Even though it’s through new actors telling this old tale, hopefully it inspires them to want to go back and watch the original silent film if they have never done so. Silent films are a part of our industry, they started us. [Chuckles] That’s the granddaddy in our entertainment family, the silent films, and these old classic monsters that started off the legacy that became my career one day. I would love for that love to be there for the fans.
AboutNosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
The unearthly Count Orlok (Doug Jones) summons young land clerk, Thomas Hutter (Emrhys Cooper), to his faraway Transylvania castle. Leaving his loving wife, Ellen (Sarah Carter), behind, Thomas makes a harrowing journey into the Count’s dark world as Ellen begins to have visions of a shadowy phantom in her dreams. After Orlok reveals his hunger for blood and sinister designs on Ellen, Thomas struggles to escape the castle and race home to her, only to be thwarted by the Count’s spellbound servant, Knock (Edgar Poe). Soon, mass panic of a deadly plague heralds the arrival of the bloodthirsty vampire, Nosferatu.
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
Cast
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (2024) is a feature-length retelling of the classic 1922 vampire film directed by David Lee Fisher. This reimagined version brings Count Orlok’s chilling tale to life, combining elements from the original with new sound and music in a tribute to golden-age horror.
