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Willem Dafoe
7 FOLLOWERS • 79 CREDITS • JUL 22, 1955 • 69
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William James "Willem" Dafoe (born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a British Academy Film Award. He frequently collaborates with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. Dafoe was an early member of experimental theater company The Wooster Group. He made his film debut in Heaven's Gate (1980), but was fired during production. He had his first leading role in the outlaw biker film The Loveless (1982) and then played the main antagonist in Streets of Fire (1984) and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). He received his first Academy Award nomination (as Best Supporting Actor) for his role as Sergeant Elias Grodin in Oliver Stone's war film Platoon (1986). In 1988, Dafoe played Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ and costarred in Mississippi Burning, both of which were controversial. After receiving his second Academy Award nomination (as Best Supporting Actor) for portraying Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Dafoe portrayed the supervillain Norman Osborn / Green Goblin in the superhero film Spider-Man (2002), a role he reprised in its sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) earning him the Guinness World Record for the "longest career as a live-action Marvel character". He also portrayed the villains in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) and XXX: State of the Union (2005), as well as Carson Clay in the film Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007). In 2009, he starred in the experimental film Antichrist, one of his three films with Lars von Trier. Dafoe then appeared in The Fault in Our Stars, John Wick, The Grand Budapest Hotel (all 2014), The Great Wall (2016), Murder on the Orient Express (2017), The Florida Project (2017) (for which he received his third Academy Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category), The Lighthouse (2019), The French Dispatch, and Nightmare Alley (both 2021). He portrayed Nuidis Vulko in the DC Extended Universe films Aquaman (2018), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022). Dafoe has portrayed several real-life figures, including T. S. Eliot in Tom & Viv (1994), Pier Paolo Pasolini in Pasolini (2014), Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate (2018) (for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, his first in that category), and Leonhard Seppala in Togo (2019).
Overview
William James "Willem" Dafoe (born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a British Academy Film Award. He frequently collaborates with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. Dafoe was an early member of experimental theater company The Wooster Group. He made his film debut in Heaven's Gate (1980), but was fired during production. He had his first leading role in the outlaw biker film The Loveless (1982) and then played the main antagonist in Streets of Fire (1984) and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). He received his first Academy Award nomination (as Best Supporting Actor) for his role as Sergeant Elias Grodin in Oliver Stone's war film Platoon (1986). In 1988, Dafoe played Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ and costarred in Mississippi Burning, both of which were controversial. After receiving his second Academy Award nomination (as Best Supporting Actor) for portraying Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Dafoe portrayed the supervillain Norman Osborn / Green Goblin in the superhero film Spider-Man (2002), a role he reprised in its sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) earning him the Guinness World Record for the "longest career as a live-action Marvel character". He also portrayed the villains in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) and XXX: State of the Union (2005), as well as Carson Clay in the film Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007). In 2009, he starred in the experimental film Antichrist, one of his three films with Lars von Trier. Dafoe then appeared in The Fault in Our Stars, John Wick, The Grand Budapest Hotel (all 2014), The Great Wall (2016), Murder on the Orient Express (2017), The Florida Project (2017) (for which he received his third Academy Award nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category), The Lighthouse (2019), The French Dispatch, and Nightmare Alley (both 2021). He portrayed Nuidis Vulko in the DC Extended Universe films Aquaman (2018), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022). Dafoe has portrayed several real-life figures, including T. S. Eliot in Tom & Viv (1994), Pier Paolo Pasolini in Pasolini (2014), Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate (2018) (for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, his first in that category), and Leonhard Seppala in Togo (2019).
Known For
Saturday Night Live
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
The Oscars
The Simpsons
The Colbert Report
The Hitchhiker
The Daily Show
The Graham Norton Show
The Wonderful World of Disney
Vox Lux
The French Dispatch
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Finding Dory
The Aviator
Spider-Man 3
Cry-Baby
The Hunger
Asteroid City
Tales from Earthsea
Born on the Fourth of July
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Spider-Man 2
American Psycho
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Zack Snyder's Justice League
On the Set: 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'
The Northman
John Carter
The Fault in Our Stars
Murder on the Orient Express
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Motherless Brooklyn
Inside Man
Death Note
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Out of the Furnace
Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
John Wick
The Last Thing He Wanted
Nightmare Alley
American Dreamz
Finding Nemo
Nosferatu
Odd Thomas
Daybreakers
The English Patient
Aquaman
xXx: State of the Union
The Florida Project
What Happened to Monday
Wild at Heart
The Clearing
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Poor Things
The Great Wall
Clear and Present Danger
Auto Focus
Spider-Man
Mississippi Burning
The Lighthouse
Shadow of the Vampire
Flight of the Intruder
To Live and Die in L.A.
Mr. Bean's Holiday
Dog Eat Dog
Inside
The Boondock Saints
Tommaso
At Eternity's Gate
Togo
Antichrist
The Last Temptation of Christ
Production Credits
The House That Jack Built
Originals for Netflix
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