Transcription
Stephen: WELCOME BACK! Ladies and gentlemen, my next guest is an actor you know from "It," "John Wick: Chapter 4," and "The Crow." His new film is "Nosferatu."
I wish to depart as soon as, well, as soon as agreeable. My services rendered, I have been enduring the most irregular dreams. I feel I have taken ill.
It's a black omen. You will remain and well rest yourself.
I must object.
You will obey in this, my counsel.
My lord. Count?
Stephen: Please welcome back to "The Late Show," Bill Skarsgård. [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] ♪ ♪ [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] ♪ ♪ [CHEERING] Nice to see you again. I've got to say I like the outfit. It has sort of a Swedish nautical quality.
Bill: Thank you.
Stephen: You look like a defrocked admiral. You were born in Sweden, you grew up there. Christmas traditions in Sweden, I understand you brought us a few things to start off the Christmas season properly, that you might have over in Sweden this time of year.
Bill: Yes.
Stephen: This was from your instructions, you have to tell me what this is.
Bill: The pickled herring. This is what we do.
Stephen: They look different.
Bill: I think you have, this is the mustard one which is quite good. This is the traditional one. This is the Skargardssill, I think.
Stephen: What is this?
Bill: Skargardssill.
Stephen: What does this mean?
Bill: It means our archipelago herring. It's always pickled.
Bill: That's surprisingly sweet.
Stephen: To go with it, we have two chilled glasses to have all convened. What do I need to know about Aquavit?
Bill: It gets you drunk.
Stephen: Many things can do that. What has it got going for it?
Bill: It gets you drunk. Do you want to sing a Swedish Christmas song?
Stephen: Of course. Do we shoot this or sip?
Bill: We shoot it. It's the festive season.
Stephen: I'm not fighting you.
[SINGING IN SWEDISH] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [CHEERING] Yeah! Yeah, baby!
Stephen: So what did that mean?
Bill: Um...
Stephen: Is it just Jingle Bells in Swedish?
Bill: Yes. I don't even think I can translate it for you.
Stephen: Does everyone sing it?
Bill: Yeah.
Stephen: What are some of the other traditions you had in the family?
Bill: We celebrate Christmas Eve, that's our big day of celebration. So in Sweden Santa Claus appears on Christmas Eve and gives out gifts.
Stephen: He doesn't come down the chimney?
Bill: No, he comes knocking on your door and he's usually a really drunk on coal.
Stephen: Like it.
Bill: I remember this, it was always a friend of our families, he really liked to drink his Uncle Beat. So, get really, really drunk. It was just like, someone is knocking on the door. Bill, kids, kids, open the door and see who it is and you open it. It was just. [SHOUTING] And then I cried for two hours.
Stephen: There you go. You are here before. Now you're here for "Nosferatu." Highly anticipated coming on Christmas Day, great to have a go story on Christmas Day.
Bill: I think so.
Stephen: Do you remember the first horror movie you saw?
Bill: Yeah. It was "An American Werewolf in London."
Stephen: That's a good one.
Bill: A very good one. I got exposed to horror films way too early because I have three older brothers.
Stephen: You want to play up to their level?
Bill: They have all the knowledge, the danger. I remember the VHS cover of "American Werewolf in London." It's the face of the werewolf screaming. It just had 18. You had to be 18 years old to see it and I was like six. [LAUGHTER] All right. Let's see what this has to offer.
Stephen: Did you ever see the original "Nosferatu"?
Bill: Yeah.
Stephen: Hold when you were watching that? That's a silent film, right?
Bill: It's a silent film. My dad was an actor as well and we would have this -- I have a cherished memory. We would watch movies together. He would show me movies. We had sort of a silent film era phase. It was like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton. And then "Nosferatu." I saw it as a young kid, yeah.
Stephen: I understand you had to make a personal appeal to be Count Orlok, the vampire here. What's the story? Why did you have to go to such measures?
Bill: I don't know. I saw Robert Eggers' first film "The Witch," which is incredible, and then I met with him after I'd seen the film. I fell in love with him even more. I met with Eggers and read the first draft of "Nosferatu" and read the script. I read for another part. Set I think Bill can do Thomas Hutter which Nicholas Hoult does. I read for Thomas Hutter and then I booked it. I was supposed to play Thomas Hutter ten years ago. Then the movie fell apart. Movie fell apart. Finally, it came again. I am Thomas Hutter in the movie. No, he cast Nicholas Hoult. Aaron Taylor-Johnson. And I was like, this was the point where it was just rumors, the casting. I wrote this shamefully earnest letter to Rod going, Listen, listen here. I am destined to be part of this film and work together and I was really, really pleading, no response.
Stephen: That's tough.
Bill: But then he turned around and he thought, What about Orlok? I was like... What about him? [CHEERS AND APPLAUSE] And then we can say Gud Yul. Merry Christmas.
Stephen: "Nosferatu" is in theaters Christmas Day. Bill Skarsgård, everyone. We'll be right back.