The cast and crew of Suspiria spent the past year pretending Tilda Swinton was actually a nonexistent German actor


Suspiria's biggest twist has just been revealed, and it has nothing to do with the film's actual plot.
Tilda Swinton admitted to The New York Times this week that one of the supposed main actors of the new Suspiria, a remake of the 1977 horror classic, doesn't actually exist and was really her in makeup and prosthetics all along. This concludes a ridiculously elaborate hoax, which began earlier this year when director Luca Guadagnino claimed the role of Dr. Klemperer was being played by a first-time German actor named Lutz Ebersdorf. But curiously, nobody could find any proof that Ebersdorf was actually a real person.
Things got even stranger when Ebersdorf did not appear at any events to promote the film despite being the third lead. Fans began to speculate that the role of Dr. Klemperer was actually being played by Swinton in heavy prosthetics and makeup, but the Suspiria crew insisted Ebersdorf was definitely a real actor. Guadagnino called the theories "complete fake news" in February, per Yahoo. And at the Venice Film Festival, Swinton even read a statement supposedly written by Ebersdorf, saying he's a "private individual who prefers to remain private."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Swinton told The New York Times that everyone was so focused on asking her if she was playing Dr. Klemperer that they never asked if she was playing actor Lutz Ebersdorf. If they had, she implies, she would have revealed the truth earlier. Swinton committed to the bit so hard, she even wrote an entire fake IMDB profile for Ebersdorf, The New York Times reports.
So what was the point of this elaborate, year-long hoax? As Swinton put it, "for the sheer sake of fun above all."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programs
The Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play