Willem Dafoe
8 FOLLOWERS • 86 CREDITS • JUL 22, 1955 • 70
Biography
William James "Willem" Dafoe (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 the Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, four Golden Globe Awards, four Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has frequently collaborated with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. Dafoe was a founding member of experimental theatre company The Wooster Group.
He made his film debut with an uncredited role in Heaven's Gate (1980). Dafoe's early career includes credits for The Loveless (1982), Streets of Fire (1984), and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). He earned his first Academy Award nomination for the war drama Platoon (1986), followed by nominations for his roles in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), The Florida Project (2017), and the Vincent van Gogh biopic At Eternity's Gate (2018). He also gained acclaim and wide recognition for his roles as Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and as the supervillain Norman Osborn 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).
His other film appearance include roles in Mississippi Burning (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), Light Sleeper (1992), Body of Evidence (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), The English Patient (1996), Affliction (1997), New Rose Hotel(1998), Existenz (1999), The Boondock Saints (1999), American Psycho (2000), Auto Focus (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Inside Man (2006), Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), Antichrist (2009), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Nymphomaniac (2013), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), John Wick (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Aquaman (2018), The Lighthouse (2019), Nightmare Alley (2021), Poor Things (2023), and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024).
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
Wick Is Pain
Finding Dory
The Aviator
Spider-Man 3: Editor's Cut
The Hunger
Spider-Man 3
Cry-Baby
Asteroid City
Tales from Earthsea
Saturday Night
The Phoenician Scheme
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Spider-Man 2
American Psycho
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Zack Snyder's Justice League
The Northman
On the Set: 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'
John Carter
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Murder on the Orient Express
The Fault in Our Stars
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inside Man
Born on the Fourth of July
Death Note
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
Motherless Brooklyn
Nosferatu
Out of the Furnace
The Last Thing He Wanted
John Wick
Nightmare Alley
American Dreamz
Finding Nemo
Wild at Heart
Kinds of Kindness
What Happened to Monday
The Florida Project
The English Patient
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Aquaman
Daybreakers
Poor Things
The Great Wall
xXx: State of the Union
Odd Thomas
The Clearing
To Live and Die in L.A.
Platoon
Clear and Present Danger
Auto Focus
Spider-Man
Mr. Bean's Holiday
The Lighthouse
Tenzing
Mississippi Burning
Dog Eat Dog
Flight of the Intruder
Shadow of the Vampire
Tommaso
The Boondock Saints
The Last Temptation of Christ
Inside
At Eternity's Gate
Togo
Antichrist
Production Credits
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