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Willem Dafoe
Acting
Biography
William James "Willem" Dafoe (/dəˈfoʊ/ də-FOH; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades, including a Volpi Cup Award for Best Actor, with nominations for four Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards. He received an Honorary Golden Bear in 2018.
Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Dafoe made his film debut with an uncredited role in Heaven's Gate (1980). He is known for collaborating with both mainstream and auteur filmmakers, including Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Sam Raimi, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Andr…
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William James "Willem" Dafoe (/dəˈfoʊ/ də-FOH; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades, including a Volpi Cup Award for Best Actor, with nominations for four Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards. He received an Honorary Golden Bear in 2018. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Dafoe made his film debut with an uncredited role in Heaven's Gate (1980). He is known for collaborating with both mainstream and auteur filmmakers, including Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Sam Raimi, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Andrew Stanton, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. He received Academy Award nominations for playing a compassionate army sergeant in the war drama Platoon (1986), Max Schreck in the mystery film Shadow of the Vampire (2000), a kindly motel manager in the coming-of-age film The Florida Project (2017), and Vincent van Gogh in the biopic At Eternity's Gate (2018). His other films credits include To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), The English Patient (1996), American Psycho (2000), Animal Factory (2000), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Antichrist (2009), The Hunter (2011), John Carter (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), John Wick (2014), The Lighthouse (2019), Togo (2019), Poor Things (2023), and Nosferatu (2024). Dafoe was a founding member of experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He portrayed Norman Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007) and reprised the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). He has also voiced roles in the animated films Finding Nemo (2003), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), and The Boy and the Heron (2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Willem Dafoe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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BODY OF WORK
Willem Dafoe's Filmography
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Werwulf
as Old Hunter
Tenzing
as John Hunt
Late Fame
as Ed Saxberger
The Heist
as Babs against fascism badge
The Birthday Party
as Marcos Timoleon
The Resurrection of Christ
The Souffleur
as Lucius
The Man in My Basement
as Anniston Bennett
Avrio Vrady
as Dancing man
The Phoenician Scheme
as Knave
Grande Envie
as Count
The Legend of Ochi
as Maxim
Zero
as (voice)
Pet Shop Days
as Francis
Nosferatu: An Inside Look
as Self
Nosferatu
as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz
Jesus Goes to Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
run 002
Saturday Night
as David Tebet
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
as Jackson
Kinds of Kindness
as Raymond / George / Omi
Can Creativity Save the World?
as Self
Finally Dawn
as Rufo Priori
Poor Things
as Godwin Baxter
Interior (The Spectator)
as Narrator
Willem Dafoe
Gonzo Girl
as Walker Reade
Asteroid City
as Saltzburg Keitel
The Wild One
as Narrator (voice)
Inside
as Nemo
Franco Battiato - La voce del padrone
as Self
Creation of the Kingdom of Exodus
as Self / Grand Duc
Dead for a Dollar
as Joe Cribbens
7 Deaths of Maria Callas
as Film Actor
Il coraggio di essere Franco
as Sé stesso
Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home
as Self
The Northman
as Heimir the Fool
Finding Satoshi
as Narrator
Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious
as Self
Spider-Man: No Way Home
as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
Nightmare Alley
as Clem Hoatley
The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
as Albert 'the Abacus'
Why Are We (Not) Creative?
as Self
The Card Counter
as Gordo
River
as Narrator
Maresco / Pasolini
as Self
Zack Snyder's Justice League
as Vulko
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
as Self
Sportin' Life
as Self
Wim Wenders, Desperado
as Self
Siberia
as Clint
Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago
The Last Thing He Wanted
as Richard McMahon
The Lighthouse: A Dark & Stormy Tale
as Self
Tommaso
as Tommaso
Togo
as Leonhard Seppala
Vincent van Gogh Superstar
as Vincent van Gogh (archive footage)
Motherless Brooklyn
as Paul Randolph
The Lighthouse
as Thomas Wake
Love, Antosha
as Self
Manou the Swift
as Manou's Father (voice)
Opus Zero
as Paul
Aquaman
as Nuidis Vulko
At Eternity's Gate
as Vincent van Gogh
Brothers in Arms
as Self
Friedkin Uncut
as Self
Vox Lux
as Narrator (voice)
Theatron. Romeo Castellucci
Under the Rainbow: Making The Florida Project
as Self
Mountain
as Narrator (voice)
Murder on the Orient Express
as Gerhard Hardman
The Florida Project
as Bobby
Piazza Vittorio
as Himself
Death Note
as Ryuk (voice)
What Happened to Monday
as Terrence Settman
Ballad of a Righteous Merchant
as Self
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait
as Self
Sanctuary
as Narrator
The Great Wall
as Ballard
Dog Eat Dog
as Mad Dog
Father
as James Verdun
A Family Man
as Ed Blackridge
Sculpt
Finding Dory
as Gill (voice)
Nelson Algren Live
as Role1 / Frankie Machine / Role2 / Blackie Cavanaugh
My Hindu Friend
as Diego Fairman
Mind the Gap
as Self
Fukushima: A Nuclear Story
as Narrator
The Making of A Most Wanted Man
as Self
Don't F*#% With John Wick
as Self
John Wick: Calling in the Cavalry
as Self
John Wick
as Marcus
Bad Country
as Bud Carter
Pasolini
as Pier Paolo Pasolini
No Poster
SPYMASTER: John le Carré in Hamburg
as (archive footage)
A Most Wanted Man
as Tommy Brue
The Fault in Our Stars
as Peter van Houten
The Grand Budapest Hotel
as Jopling
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
as L
Out of the Furnace
as John Petty
No Poster
Love's Routine
as Barry
The Smile Man
as Willem
No Poster
Saving Norman
as Lionel Pembrooke
Odd Thomas
as Wyatt Porter
Tomorrow You're Gone
as The Buddha
Bob Wilson's Life & Death of Marina Abramovic
as Self
4:44 Last Day on Earth
as Cisco
John Carter
as Tars Tarkas
The Hunter
as Martin David
Miral
as Eddie
A Woman
as Max Oliver
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
as Detective Hank Havenhurst
The Making of Daybreakers
as Self
Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World
as Narrator
Daybreakers
as Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
as Paul Smecker (uncredited)
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
as Gavner Purl
Fantastic Mr. Fox
as Rat (voice)
Farewell
as Feeney
Antichrist
as He
The Dust of Time
as A
Adam Resurrected
as Commandat Klein
Fireflies in the Garden
as Charles Waechter
Go Go Tales
as Ray Ruby
Ripley Under Ground
as Neil Murchison
To Each His Own Cinema
as (segment "Occupations") (archive footage)
Cannes: All Access
as Self
Voom Portraits
as Self
Anamorph
as Stan Aubray
No Poster
The Procedure
as Christopher
Spider-Man 3
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
On the Set: Spider-Man 3
as Self
Mr. Bean's Holiday
as Carson Clay
The Walker
as Larry Lockner
Paris Je T'aime
as Le cow-boy (Place des Victoires)
Inside Man
as John Darius
American Dreamz
as Chief of Staff
Before It Had a Name
as Leslie
Manderlay
as Grace's Father
This Is an Adventure
as Self
Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal
as Self
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
as Willem Dafoe (uncredited)
xXx: State of the Union
as Gen. George Octavius Deckert
On the Set: 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'
as Self / Klaus D.
The Aviator
as Roland Sweet
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
as Klaus Daimler
Control
as Dr. Michael Copeland
Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart
No Poster
The Misbehavers
as Self
Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate
as Narrator (voice)
The Clearing
as Arnold Mack
Spider-Man 2
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Behind the Scenes of 'Spider-Man'
as Self
The Reckoning
as Martin
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
as Self
Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
as Armando Barillo
Overnight
as Self
Finding Nemo
as Gill (voice)
Rockets Redglare!
as Self
Globehunters: An Around the World in 80 Days Adventure
as Hunter (voice)
Auto Focus
as John Carpenter
The Spider-Man Story
as Self
Spider-Man
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Spider-Mania
as Self
Behind the Ultimate Spin: The Making of Spider-Man
as Self
Edges of the Lord
as Priest
Pavilion of Women
as Father Andre
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
as Self
Animal Factory
as Earl Copen
Bullfighter
as Father Ramirez
Shadow of the Vampire
as Max Schreck
American Psycho
as Donald Kimball
eXistenZ
as Gas
New Rose Hotel
as X
The Boondock Saints
as Paul Smecker
Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle
as Narrator
Lulu on the Bridge
as Dr. Van Horn
Affliction
as Rolfe Whitehouse
Speed 2: Cruise Control
as Geiger
No Poster
Wrong Guys
as Jack Straw
Victory
as Axel Heyst
The English Patient
as David Caravaggio
Basquiat
as The Electrician
The Night and the Moment
as The Writer
Clear and Present Danger
as John Clark
Tom & Viv
as Tom Eliot
Faraway, So Close!
as Emit Flesti
Brace Up!
as Colonel Alexander Ignatyevich Vershinin
White Homeland Commando
as Karl
Body of Evidence
as Frank Dulaney
Rhyme 'Em to Death
Light Sleeper
as John LeTour
Blast 'Em
as Self (uncredited)
White Sands
as Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
North on Evers
Flight of the Intruder
as Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole
Wild at Heart
as Bobby Peru
Cry-Baby
as Hateful Guard
Born on the Fourth of July
as Charlie
Triumph of the Spirit
as Salamo Arouch
Mississippi Burning
as Agent Alan Ward
Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of Christ
as Self
The Last Temptation of Christ
as Jesus
Off Limits
as Buck McGriff
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
as Elephant Grass (voice)
Platoon
as Sergeant Elias Grodin
To Live and Die in L.A.
as Rick Masters
O Panama
Roadhouse 66
as Johnny Harte
Streets of Fire
as Raven Shaddock
New York Nights
as Boyfriend
The Loveless
as Vance
Atalanta Strategy
as Immigration Staff
The Hunger
as 2nd Phone Booth Youth
Heaven's Gate
as Willy (uncredited)
No Poster
Tropico
as Raymond
run 003
No Poster
Time Out
American Nails
No Poster
Lincoln in the Bardo
Cuddle
as Dante
The Sleeping Shepherd
No Poster
White Lies
No Poster
A Christmas Carol
as Ebenezer Scrooge