Count Orlok
| Count Orlok | |
|---|---|
| Nosferatu character | |
Max Schreck as Count Orlok | |
| First appearance | Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) |
| Created by | F. W. Murnau Albin Grau Henrik Galeen |
| Based on | Count Dracula by Bram Stoker |
| Portrayed by |
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| In-universe information | |
| Aliases |
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| Species | Vampire |
| Gender | Male |
| Nationality | Romanian |
Count Orlok (German: Graf Orlok; Romanian: Contele Orlok; Hungarian: Orlok gróf) is a fictional character who first appeared in the silent film Nosferatu (1922) directed by F. W. Murnau. Based on Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, he is played by German actor Max Schreck, and is depicted as a repulsive vampire descended from Belial, who leaves his homeland of Transylvania to spread the plague in the idyllic city of Wisborg in Biedermeier-period Germany, only to find death at the hands of a self-sacrificing woman.
Count Orlok would reappear in subsequent remakes, played by Klaus Kinski, Doug Jones and Bill Skarsgård, as well as in comic book adaptations and sequels. He is also a character in SpongeBob SquarePants, debuting in the season 2 episode "Graveyard Shift". Orlok's distinct appearance, which is closer to that of vampires of Eastern European folklore than to traditional depictions of Dracula, influenced numerous later vampire designs, including those of Salem's Lot, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Blade film franchise, typically in order to distance the creatures from their more conventionally humanized or charming counterparts.