Between 1919 and 1922, Schreck appeared at the Munich Kammerspiele. He had a role in the expressionist production of Bertolt Brecht's debut, " ("Drums in the Night"). He played the "freakshow landlord" Glubb. During this time he also worked on his first movie "Der Richter von Zalamea". In 1921, he was hired by Prana Film for their first and only movie, "Nosferatu". The company declared itself bankrupt after the movie was released. They did not want to pay copyright infringement costs to "Dracula" author Bram Stoker's widow. Schreck portrayed Count Orlok in the movie. The character was very similar to Count Dracula.