Trivia / Shadow of the Vampire

• Career Resurrection: After his career was damaged in 1993 by the disaster that was Body of Evidence and the 1997 disaster that was Speed 2: Cruise Control, Willem Dafoe received his best reviews in years and an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Max Schreck. His portrayal of the Green Goblin in Spider-Man two years later restored his bankability.
• Fake Nationality: Other than Udo Kier, none of the actors are actually German (or Romanian in Schreck's case). Cary Elwes' accent as Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Fritz stands out the most.
• Reality Subtext: Of a sort. While the film is a totally fictionalized take on the production of the original Nosferatu, it could also be seen as a take on the production of the 1979 remake. The remake was directed by Werner Herzog, a notoriously half-mad director obsessed with his vision, and starred Klaus Kinski, a notoriously full-mad actor who would disrupt production and terrorize the cast and crew. Minus the fantastical elements and the murder (barely, since Kinski had assaulted extras with swords and guns and on at least two separate occasions came close to being murdered) their relationship mirrored the Murnau-Schreck relationship quite closely.

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