Which actor played Count Orlok in F. W. Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu?

Max Schreck played Count Orlok in F. W. Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu.

Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Because the filmmakers did not obtain adaptation rights, character names and some story details were changed; Count Dracula became Count Orlok.

Schreck’s gaunt appearance, pointed ears, long fingers, and rigid movements made Orlok one of silent cinema’s most influential monsters. The performance helped establish visual conventions that still shape vampire portrayals.

The production faced legal action from Stoker’s widow, Florence Balcombe. A court ordered many prints destroyed, but surviving copies allowed the film to become a landmark of German Expressionist cinema. Bela Lugosi, by contrast, played Count Dracula in the 1931 Universal film Dracula, not Orlok in Murnau’s silent movie.