William
"Willem
" Dafoe
(born July 22, 1955) is an American film and stage actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He is best known for his roles in To Live and Die in L.A.
, Platoon
, The Last Temptation of Christ
, Shadow of the Vampire
, Mississippi Burning
, The Boondock Saints
, American Psycho
, the Spider-Man
films and Antichrist
.
|
WILLEM DAFOE TICKETS
|
Early life
Dafoe, the sixth of eight children, was born William Dafoe in Appleton, Wisconsin, the son of Muriel Isabel (
née Sprissler), a nurse and
Boston native, and Dr. William Alfred Dafoe, a surgeon.
[1] His birth name is William Dafoe; he changed it to "Willem" (
Dutch for "William") so people would not call him "Billy". He studied
drama at the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but left before graduation in order to join the newly formed avant-garde group
Theatre X.
Career
After touring with Theatre X for four years in the United States and Europe, he moved to
New York City and joined
the Performance Group. Dafoe's film career began in 1981, when he was cast in
Heaven's Gate
, but his role was removed from the film during editing. In the mid 80's he was cast by
William Friedkin to star in
To Live And Die In LA
, in which Dafoe portrays counterfeiter Rick Masters. A year later he starred as the leader of a
motorcycle gang in
The Loveless
(and later played a similar role in
Streets of Fire
), but his first breakthrough film role was as the compassionate Sergeant Elias in
Platoon
(1986). In 1988 Dafoe starred in another movie set during the
Vietnam War, this time as
CID Agent Buck McGriff in
Off Limits
. He has since become a popular
character actor. He is often cast as unstable or villainous characters, such as the
Green Goblin in the
Spider-Man film series
and Barillo in
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
. Before that, he was briefly considered for the role of
The Joker by
Tim Burton and
Sam Hamm for 1989's
Batman
. Hamm recalls "We thought, 'Well, Willem Dafoe looks just like The Joker.'" The role ended up going to
Jack Nicholson.
[2] He also played
Jesus in
The Last Temptation of Christ
(1988). He once remarked "To this day, I can't believe I was so brazen to think I could pull off the Jesus role",
[3] though Dafoe received acclaim despite the controversy surrounding the film.
He starred in the erotic drama
Body of Evidence
with
Madonna. In 1991, Willem Dafoe portrayed a
Manhattan drug dealer in the film
Light Sleeper
. This film received very good reviews by both critics and fans. Dafoe played an eccentric
FBI agent in
The Boondock Saints
(1999) and a private investigator in
American Psycho
(2000). He was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1986 for
Platoon
and 2000 for
Shadow of the Vampire
. He played a rare heroic film role when he provided the voice of Gill in the animated movie
Finding Nemo
.
He worked briefly as a
model in a 1990
Prada campaign. In 2004, Dafoe lent his likeness and voice for the
James Bond video game Everything or Nothing
as villain
Nikolai Diavolo. In 2006, he played
NYPD detective Stan Aubray on the hunt for a serial killer, the lead in New York-set thriller
Anamorph
, opposite
Scott Speedman and
Peter Stormare. He stars alongside
Rowan Atkinson in the sequel to 1997's
Bean
,
Mr. Bean's Holiday
which was released worldwide March 30, 2007. After much speculation it was confirmed by Troy Duffy that Dafoe will not be returning for the sequel to The Boondock Saints as Agent Smecker.
Personal life
Dafoe met director
Elizabeth LeCompte at the Performance Group. LeCompte and Dafoe were part of the restructuring of The Performance Group and became professional collaborators and founding members of
The Wooster Group, and began a relationship. Their son, Jack, was born in 1982. The pair eventually split in 2004.
[4]
Dafoe married
Italian director and actress
Giada Colagrande on March 25, 2005.
Dafoe's brother,
Donald, is a transplant surgeon and researcher.
Filmography
Film
|
Year
| Film
| Role
| Other notes
|
1980
| Heaven's Gate
| Extra
| Uncredited Role
|
1982
| The Loveless
| Vance
|
|
1983
| The Hunger
| 2nd Phone Booth Youth
|
|
1984
| Roadhouse 66
| Johnny Harte
|
|
New York Nights
| Boyfriend
|
|
Streets of Fire
| Raven Shaddock
|
|
1985
| To Live and Die in L.A.
| Erick 'Rick' Masters
|
|
1986
| Platoon
| Sgt. Elias K. Grodin
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination
|
1988
| Off Limits
| Buck McGriff
|
|
The Last Temptation of Christ
| Jesus
|
|
Mississippi Burning
| Agent Alan Ward
|
|
1989
| Triumph of the Spirit
| Salamo Arouch
|
|
Born on the Fourth of July
| Charlie - Villa Dulce
|
|
1990
| Cry-Baby
| Hateful Guard
| Cameo
|
Wild at Heart
| Bobby Peru
|
|
1991
| Flight of the Intruder
| Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole
|
|
1992
| White Sands
| Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
|
|
Light Sleeper
| John LeTour
|
|
1993
| Body of Evidence
| Frank Dulaney
|
|
Faraway, So Close!
| Emit Flesti
|
|
1994
| Tom & Viv
| Tom Eliot
|
|
Clear and Present Danger
| John Clark
|
|
1995
| Victory
| Axel Heyst
|
|
The Night and the Moment
| The Writer
|
|
1996
| Basquiat
| The Electrician
|
|
The English Patient
| David Caravaggio
|
|
1997
| Speed 2: Cruise Control
| John Geiger
|
|
Affliction
| Rolfe Whitehouse
|
|
1998
| Lulu on the Bridge
| Dr. Van Horn
|
|
New Rose Hotel
| X
|
|
1999
| eXistenZ
| Gas
|
|
The Boondock Saints
| Paul Smecker
|
|
2000
| American Psycho
| Det. Donald Kimball
|
|
Animal Factory
| Earl Copen
|
|
Shadow of the Vampire
| Max Schreck
| Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination
|
Bullfighter
| Father Ramirez
|
|
2001
| Pavilion of Women
| Father Andre
|
|
Edges of the Lord
| Priest
|
|
2002
| Spider-Man
| Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
|
|
Auto Focus
| John Henry Carpenter
|
|
2003
| Finding Nemo
| Gill
| Voice Role
|
The Reckoning
| Martin
|
|
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
| Armando Barillo
|
|
Camel Cricket City
| Camel Cricket
| Voice Role Short film
|
2004
| The Clearing
| Arnold Mack
|
|
Spider-Man 2
| Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
|
|
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
| Klaus Daimler
|
|
Control
| Dr. Michael Copeland
| Direct-to-Video Release
|
The Aviator
| Roland Sweet
|
|
2005
| xXx: State of the Union
| General George Deckert
|
|
Manderlay
| Grace's Father
|
|
Before It Had a Name
(AKA The Black Widow
- (US Title))
| Leslie
|
|
Ripley Under Ground
| Neil Murchison
|
|
2006
| American Dreamz
| Chief of Staff
|
|
Inside Man
| Capt. John Darius
|
|
Tales from Earthsea
| Cob
| Voice acting - English version
|
Paris, je t'aime
| The Cowboy
| Segment: Place des Victoires
|
2007
| The Walker
| Senator Larry Lockner
|
|
Mr. Bean's Holiday
| Carson Clay
|
|
Spider-Man 3
| Green Goblin/Norman Osborn
|
|
Go Go Tales
| Ray Ruby
|
|
Anamorph
| Det. Stan Aubrey
|
|
2008
| Fireflies in the Garden
| Charles Waechter
|
|
Adam Resurrected
| Commandant Klein
|
|
The Dust of Time
| A
|
|
2009
| Antichrist
| He
|
|
Fantastic Mr. Fox
| Rat
| voice
|
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
| Gavner Purl
| awaiting release
|
2010
| Daybreakers
| Elvis
| awaiting release
|
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
| Detective Havenhurst
| awaiting release
|
L'affaire Farewell
| Feeney
| awaiting release
|
Miral
| Eddie
| in post-production
|
2012
| John Carter of Mars
| Tars Tarkas
| pre-production
|
Television
|
Year
| Title
| Role
| Notes
|
1986
| The Hitchhiker
| Jeffrey Hunt
| Episode
: Ghostwriter
|
1991
| Fishing With John
| Himself
| Segment
: Ice fishing in northern Maine
|
1997
| The Simpsons
| The Commandant
| Voice Role Episode: The Secret War of Lisa Simpson
|
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
- 1987: Nominated, "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" - Platoon
- 2001: Nominated, "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" - Shadow of the Vampire
Saturn Awards
- 2001: Won
, "Best Supporting Actor" - Shadow of the Vampire
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- 2005: Nominated, "Best Acting Ensemble" - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
(shared w/co-stars)
Camerimage
- 2002: Won
, "Special Award:For immense contribution to the art of film."
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- 2001: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" - Shadow of the Vampire
- 2003: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" - Auto Focus
Chlotrudis Awards
- 2002: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" - Shadow of the Vampire
Fantasporto
- 2001: Won
, "Best Actor" - Shadow of the Vampire
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
- 2000: Won
, "Outstanding Creative Performance" - Shadow of the Vampire
Golden Globe Awards
- 2001: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture" - Shadow of the Vampire
Independent Spirit Awards
- 1987: Nominated, "Best Male Lead" - Platoon
- 1991: Nominated, "Best Supporting Male" - Wild at Heart
- 2001: Won
, "Best Supporting Male" - Shadow of the Vampire
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- 2000: Won
, "Best Supporting Actor" - Shadow of the Vampire
MTV Movie Awards
- 2003: Nominated, "Best Villain" - Spider-Man
MTV Movie Awards, Mexico
- 2004: Nominated, "Most Divine Miracle in a Movie" - The Last Temptation of Christ
Online Film Critics Society Awards
- 2001: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" - Shadow of the Vampire
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
- 2001: Won
, "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" - Shadow of the Vampire
Razzie Awards
- 1994: Nominated, "Worst Actor" - Body of Evidence
- 1998: Nominated, "Worst Supporting Actor" - Speed 2: Cruise Control
Sant Jordi Awards
- 1995: Won
, "Best Foreign Actor" - Light Sleeper
Satellite Awards
- 2001: Won
, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical" - Shadow of the Vampire
Screen Actors Guild Awards
- 1997: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast" - The English Patient
(shared w/co-stars)
- 2001: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role" - Shadow of the Vampire
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival
- 2000: Won
, "Best Actor" - Shadow of the Vampire
San Sebastian International Film Festival
- 2005: Won
, "Donostia Award''
References
- Willem Dafoe Biography
- http://www.batmanmovieonline.com/behindthescenes/articles/samhamm.htm
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000353/bio
- http://www.tv-now.com/stars/dafoe.html