
Willem Dafoe
Birthday: 1955-07-22
Place of Birth: Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
Biography: 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).

Heaven's Gate, 1980
Drama
Western
Romance

The Hunger, 1983
Horror
Drama

Streets of Fire, 1984
Action

To Live and Die in L.A., 1985
Detective
Thriller
Action

Platoon, 1986
Drama
War
Action

The Last Temptation of Christ, 1988
Drama

Mississippi Burning, 1988
Drama
Detective

Born on the Fourth of July, 1989
Drama
War

Cry-Baby, 1990
Comedy
Romance

Wild at Heart, 1990
Detective
Thriller
Romance

Clear and Present Danger, 1994
Action
Drama
Thriller

The English Patient, 1996
Drama
Romance
War

Basquiat, 1996
Drama
Historical

Affliction, 1998
Drama
Detective
Mystery

The Boondock Saints, 1999
Action
Thriller
Detective

eXistenZ, 1999
Action
Thriller
Sci-Fi

American Psycho, 2000
Thriller
Drama
Detective

Shadow of the Vampire, 2000
Drama
Horror

Animal Factory, 2000
Detective
Drama

Spider-Man, 2002
Action
Sci-Fi

Finding Nemo, 2003
Animation

Once Upon a Time in Mexico, 2003
Action
Drama
Mystery

The Aviator, 2004
Drama

Spider-Man 2, 2004
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, 2004
Adventure
Comedy
Drama

The Clearing, 2004
Drama
Mystery
Thriller

xXx: State of the Union, 2005
Action
Adventure
Detective
Mystery
Thriller

Manderlay, 2005
Drama

Paris Je T'aime, 2006
Drama
Romance

Spider-Man 3, 2007
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi

Mr. Bean's Holiday, 2007
Comedy

Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2009
Adventure
Animation
Comedy

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, 2009
Adventure
Fantasy
Action
Thriller

Antichrist, 2009
Drama
Horror
Thriller

The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, 2009
Action
Thriller
Detective

Daybreakers, 2010
Action
Fantasy
Sci-Fi

The Hunter, 2011
Drama
Thriller
Adventure

John Carter, 2012
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi

Nymphomaniac: Vol. II, 2013
Drama
Mystery

Odd Thomas, 2013
Mystery
Thriller

Out of the Furnace, 2013
Thriller
Drama
Detective

The Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014
Comedy
Drama

John Wick, 2014
Action
Thriller

The Fault in Our Stars, 2014
Romance
Drama

A Most Wanted Man, 2014
Thriller

Pasolini, 2014
Historical
Drama

The Great Wall, 2016
Action
Adventure
Fantasy

Finding Dory, 2016
Adventure
Animation
Comedy

Dog Eat Dog, 2016
Drama
Detective
Thriller

A Family Man, 2016
Drama

Murder on the Orient Express, 2017
Mystery
Drama
Detective

What Happened to Monday, 2017
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Drama
Mystery
Action

The Florida Project, 2017
Drama

Aquaman, 2018
Action
Adventure
Fantasy

At Eternity's Gate, 2018
Drama

Vox Lux, 2018
Drama

The Lighthouse, 2019
Drama
Fantasy
Thriller

Togo, 2019
Adventure

Motherless Brooklyn, 2019
Drama
Thriller

Spider-Man: No Way Home, 2021
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi

Zack Snyder's Justice League, 2021
Action
Adventure
Fantasy

Nightmare Alley, 2021
Detective
Thriller
Drama

The French Dispatch, 2021
Drama
Comedy

The Card Counter, 2021
Drama
Thriller

Dead for a Dollar, 2022
Western
Thriller
Action

The Northman, 2022
Action
Adventure
Fantasy

Poor Things, 2023
Sci-Fi
Romance
Comedy

Asteroid City, 2023
Comedy
Drama

Inside, 2023
Thriller
Drama