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	Max Schreck (1922) Klaus Kinski (1979 & 1988) Alexander Ward (SpongeBob SquarePants) Doug Jones (2023) Bill Skarsgård (2024)
In-universe information
Aliases	Count Dracula The Bird of Death Nosferatu
Species	Vampire Demon (in original 1922 film) Undead human (in 2024 film)
Gender	Male
Nationality	Romanian

Count Orlok (German: Graf Orlok; Romanian: Contele Orlok) 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-sacrifing woman.

The character would reappear in subsequent remakes, played by Klaus Kinski, Doug Jones and Bill Skarsgård, as well as in comic book adaptations and sequels.

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.