Lily Rose Depp shares insight into feminist take in ‘Nosferatu’

Lily-Rose Depp is grateful she had the chance to put a feminine spin on the film Nosferatu.

The Robert Egger film centers around Depp’s character Ellen Hutter and tells the story from her perspective.

Speaking with Deadline, she said: “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.”

She added: “And it’s very exciting, because I think while, of course, this is a story we are familiar with, this is really a fresh take that is very different from any other iteration. The character, I found so incredibly empowering. I feel like there’s so much strength to her, she has so much agency, also, in the story, without giving anything away. She kind of calls the shots in a very cool way, and I found her incredibly empowering and inspiring. I loved playing her.”

“In the 10 years of trying to make the film, from that first draft to now, hasn’t changed a lot,” said Eggers.

“But I think the thing that has the most appeal to me now with this version of the story is that it centers around Lily-Rose Depp’s character, it’s the female protagonist’s story,” added the filmmaker.

Talking about the original silent German film, he said, “The Murnau film, which I love dearly, becomes Ellen’s story by the final act, she becomes the heroine. But this is with her from the very beginning, which I was hopeful would create more emotional and psychological depth. So, maybe it does, you tell me.”

In Robert’s Nosferatu, Bill Skarsgård plays the titular vampire Count Orlok. The film also stars Emma Corin, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Willem Dafoe.