Willem Dafoe
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).
Acted in
Nosferatu
2024
as Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
2024
as Wolf Jackson
Kinds of Kindness
2024
as Raymond / George / Omi
Finally Dawn
2024
as Rufo Priori
Poor Things
2023
as Godwin Baxter
Gonzo Girl
2023
as Walker Reade
Pet Shop Days
2023
Asteroid City
2023
as Saltzburg Keitel
The Wild One
2023
as Narrator (voice)
Inside
2023
as Nemo
Franco Battiato - La voce del padrone
2022
Creation of the Kingdom of Exodus
2022
as Self / Grand Duc
Dead for a Dollar
2022
as Joe Cribbens
7 Deaths of Maria Callas
2022
as Film Actor
Il coraggio di essere Franco
2022
Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home
2022
as Self
The Northman
2022
as Heimir the Fool
Finding Satoshi
2022
as Narrator
Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious
2022
as Self
Spider-Man: No Way Home
2021
as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
Nightmare Alley
2021
as Clem Hoatley
The French Dispatch
2021
as Albert 'the Abacus'
Why Are We (Not) Creative?
2021
as Self
The Card Counter
2021
as Gordo
River
2021
as Narrator
Maresco / Pasolini
2021
as Self
Zack Snyder's Justice League
2021
as Nudis Vulko
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
2020
as Self
Sportin' Life
2020
as Self
Wim Wenders, Desperado
2020
as Self
Siberia
2020
as Clint
Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago
2020
The Last Thing He Wanted
2020
as Richard McMahon
The Lighthouse: A Dark & Stormy Tale
2020
as Self
Tommaso
2020
as Tommaso
Togo
2019
as Leonhard Seppala
Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee
2019
as Self / Norman Osborn/ Green Goblin (archive footage)
Vincent van Gogh Superstar
2019
as Vincent van Gogh (archive footage)
Motherless Brooklyn
2019
as Paul Randolph
The Lighthouse
2019
as Thomas Wake
Love, Antosha
2019
as Self
Manou the Swift
2019
as Manou's Father (voice)
Opus Zero
2018
as Paul
Aquaman
2018
as Nuidis Vulko
At Eternity's Gate
2018
as Vincent van Gogh
Brothers in Arms
2018
as Self
Friedkin Uncut
2018
as Self
Vox Lux
2018
as Narrator (voice)
Theatron. Romeo Castellucci
2018
Under the Rainbow: Making The Florida Project
2018
Mountain
2017
as Narrator (voice)
Murder on the Orient Express
2017
as Gerhard Hardman
NHK WORLD PRIME
2017
as Self - Narrator (voice)
The Florida Project
2017
as Bobby
Piazza Vittorio
2017
as Himself
Death Note
2017
as Ryuk (voice)
What Happened to Monday
2017
as Terrence Settman
Ballad of a Righteous Merchant
2017
as Self
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait
2017
as Self
Sanctuary
2017
as Narrator
The Great Wall
2016
as Ballard
Dog Eat Dog
2016
as Mad Dog
Father
2016
as James Verdun
A Family Man
2016
as Ed Blackridge
Finding Dory
2016
as Gill (voice)
Nelson Algren Live
2016
as Role1 / Frankie Machine / Role2 / Blackie Cavanaugh
Mind the Gap
2016
as Self
My Hindu Friend
2015
as Diego Fairman
Fukushima: A Nuclear Story
2015
as Narrator
The Making of A Most Wanted Man
2015
as Self
John Wick: Calling in the Cavalry
2015
as Self
Don't F*#% With John Wick
2015
as Self
John Wick
2014
as Marcus
Bad Country
2014
as Bud Carter
Pasolini
2014
as Pier Paolo Pasolini
SPYMASTER: John le Carré in Hamburg
2014
as (archive footage)
A Most Wanted Man
2014
as Tommy Brue
The Fault in Our Stars
2014
as Peter van Houten
The Grand Budapest Hotel
2014
as Jopling
The Benaki Museum
2013
as Narrator (voice)
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
2013
as L
Out of the Furnace
2013
as Tom Petty
Love's Routine
2013
as Barry
The Smile Man
2013
as Willem
Saving Norman
2013
as Lionel Pembrooke
Odd Thomas
2013
as Wyatt Porter
Tomorrow You're Gone
2012
as The Buddha
Bob Wilson's Life & Death of Marina Abramovic
2012
as Self
4:44 Last Day on Earth
2012
as Cisco
John Carter
2012
as Tars Tarkas
The Hunter
2011
as Martin David
Miral
2010
as Eddie
A Woman
2010
as Max Oliver
The Making of Daybreakers
2010
as Self
Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World
2010
as Narrator
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
2010
as Self (archive footage)
Daybreakers
2010
as Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
2009
as Detective Hank Havenhurst
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
2009
as Paul Smecker (uncredited)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
2009
as Rat (voice)
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
2009
as Gavner Purl
Farewell
2009
as Feeney
Antichrist
2009
as He
The Dust of Time
2008
as A
Adam Resurrected
2008
as Commandat Klein
Fireflies in the Garden
2008
as Charles Waechter
Wintergasten
2007
To Each His Own Cinema
2007
as (segment "Occupations") (archive footage)
Cannes: All Access
2007
as Self
Voom Portraits
2007
as Self
Anamorph
2007
as Stan Aubray
The Procedure
2007
as Christopher
Go Go Tales
2007
as Ray Ruby
Spider-Man 3
2007
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Mr. Bean's Holiday
2007
as Carson Clay
The Walker
2007
as Larry Lockner
Paris Je T'aime
2006
as Le cow-boy (Place des Victoires)
Inside Man
2006
as John Darius
American Dreamz
2006
as Chief of Staff
Ripley Under Ground
2005
as Neil Murchison
Before It Had a Name
2005
as Leslie
Manderlay
2005
as Grace's Father
This Is an Adventure
2005
as Self
Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal
2005
as Self
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
2005
as Willem Dafoe (uncredited)
xXx: State of the Union
2005
as Gen. George Octavius Deckert
On the Set: 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'
2005
as Self / Klaus D.
The Aviator
2004
as Roland Sweet
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004
as Klaus Daimler
Control
2004
as Dr. Michael Copeland
The Misbehavers
2004
as Self
Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate
2004
as Narrator (voice)
The Clearing
2004
as Arnold Mack
Spider-Man 2
2004
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
The Reckoning
2004
as Martin
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
2003
as Himself
Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty
2003
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
2003
as Barillo
Overnight
2003
as Self
Finding Nemo
2003
as Gill (voice)
Rockets Redglare!
2003
as Self
Auto Focus
2002
as John Carpenter
Spider-Man
2002
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Spider-Mania
2002
as Self
Behind the Ultimate Spin: The Making of 'Spider-Man'
2002
as Self
Edges of the Lord
2001
as Priest
Pavilion of Women
2001
as Father Andre
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
2001
as Self
Animal Factory
2000
as Earl Copen
Bullfighter
2000
as Father Ramirez
Shadow of the Vampire
2000
as Max Schreck
American Psycho
2000
as Detective Donald Kimball
Globehunters: An Around the World in 80 Days Adventure
2000
as Hunter (voice)
eXistenZ
1999
as Gas
New Rose Hotel
1999
as X
The Boondock Saints
1999
as Paul Smecker
Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle
1999
as Narrator
The Directors
1999
as Self
Lulu on the Bridge
1998
as Dr. Van Horn
Affliction
1998
as Rolfe Whitehouse
Abel/Asia
1998
as Self (archival footage)
The Wonderful World of Disney
1997
Speed 2: Cruise Control
1997
as Geiger
Victory
1996
as Axel Heyst
The English Patient
1996
as David Caravaggio
Basquiat
1996
as The Electrician
The Night and the Moment
1995
as Lo scrittore
The Kingdom
1994
as Grand Duc
Clear and Present Danger
1994
as John Clark
Tom & Viv
1994
as Tom Eliot
Faraway, So Close!
1993
as Emit Flesti
Brace Up!
1993
as Colonel Alexander Ignatyevich Vershinin
White Homeland Commando
1993
as Karl
Body of Evidence
1993
as Frank Dulaney
Rhyme 'Em to Death
1993
Light Sleeper
1992
as John LeTour
White Sands
1992
as Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
North on Evers
1992
Fishing with John
1991
as Self
Flight of the Intruder
1991
as Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole
Wild at Heart
1990
as Bobby Peru
Cry-Baby
1990
as Hateful Guard
Born on the Fourth of July
1989
as Charlie
The Simpsons
1989
as The Commandant / Jack Lassen (voice)
The Simpsons
1989
as Commandant (voice)
Triumph of the Spirit
1989
as Salamo Arouch
Mississippi Burning
1988
as Ward
Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of the Christ
1988
as Self
The Last Temptation of Christ
1988
as Jesus
Off Limits
1988
as Buck McGriff
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
1987
as Elephant Grass (voice)
Platoon
1986
as Sergeant Elias Gordon
To Live and Die in L.A.
1985
as Eric Masters
O Panama
1985
Roadhouse 66
1984
as Johnny Harte
Streets of Fire
1984
as Raven Shaddock
New York Nights
1984
as Boyfriend
Atalanta Strategy
1984
as Immigration Staff
The Hitchhiker
1983
as Jeffrey Hunt
The Hunger
1983
as 2nd Phone Booth Youth
The Loveless
1981
as Vance
Heaven's Gate
1980
as Willy (uncredited)
The Oscars
1953
as Self
The Legend of Ochi
as Maxim
The Man in My Basement
as Anniston Bennett
American Nails
SNL 1975
as David Tebet
Late Fame
as Ed Saxberger
Late Fame
as Ed Saxberger