Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
William J. "Willem" Dafoeis an American actor. A member of the experimental theater company The Wooster Group, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Platoonand Shadow of the Vampire. His other film appearances include The Last Temptation of Christ, The English Patientand the Spider-Man trilogy. He has also had voice roles in Finding Nemoand Fantastic Mr. Fox...
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth22 July 1955
CityAppleton, WI
mistake thinking choices
I think, as I've gotten older, I've been able to be more reckless with my choices, because practically speaking, you get less careful. Your choices become more instinctive, and you feel like if you make a mistake, it won't destroy you.
father names netherlands
I was born William. My father was William. I came from a big family, I hated being called Billy. Willem's a nickname; it's a Dutch name, very common in the Netherlands.
theatre ready
With theatre, you have to be ready for anything.
giving stronger directors
I aspire to be an instrument of the director. I'm happiest like that. The stronger the director, the more I'm willing to give them.
nurse together patient
The English Patient' is about the coming together of a French-Canadian nurse, an English patient, a Sikh in a turban and me, Caravaggio, and each of us is seeking a resolution to our own problems.
dancer actors doers
Sometimes I say I feel more like a dancer than an actor, because there are things implied about being an actor that I don't really like. I feel more comfortable with the word 'performer'. I like being the thing. I like being the doer. There's a factualness to it. And then certain resonances happen out of how you apply yourself physically.
character thinking roles
It's true in the beginning I started playing villains, and I think that's pretty clear, because if you don't conventionally look a certain way and you've got a certain kind of presence when you're young, then what's available to you is character roles, and the best character roles when you're young tend to be villains.
opportunity directors sleeves
It's fair to say that if you have a lot of experience, your power is greater. You have more of an opportunity to roll up your sleeves with younger directors.
moving play luxury
In films you do a scene, you play around with it and unless you're doing a lot of reshooting, which no one has the luxury to do, you deal with the problem for a day and then you move on. On some level, it never allows you to go very deep into what performing is about.
patterns taste advertising
I'm an optimist. I hope if a movie's good that it will be a success, but as we know, that's not always true, just because of popular taste, advertising, distribution patterns - there's lots of reasons.
opportunity interesting stuff
I love doing action and stuff; the problem is usually action movies are not that interesting. Also as I get older I feel like there's less opportunities for me.
interesting people stories
I have some sort of affinity for compulsive behavior. The most interesting stories come up from the people on the outside.
sound should turns
Turn off the sound in a movie, and if you can tell what's going on, the movie should work.
actors ready best-things
The best thing an actor can be is ready. Be flexible, be ready.