Willem Dafoe
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1955-07-22 (69 years old)
Place of Birth
Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
Willem Dafoe
Biography
William James "Willem" Dafoe (/dəˈfoʊ/də-FOH or /ˈdeɪfoʊ/ DAY-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 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).
Description above from the Wikipedia article Willem Dafoe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Acting
Late Fame
as Ed Saxberger
Tropico
as Raymond
The Man in My Basement
as Anniston Bennett
Tenzing
as Colonel John Hunt
Cuddle
as Dante
A Christmas Carol
as Ebenezer Scrooge
The Birthday Party
as Marcos Timoleon
(2025)
The Phoenician Scheme
as Knave
(2025)
The Legend of Ochi
as Maxim
(2025)
Wick Is Pain
as (archive footage)
(2025)
Zero
as (voice)
(2024)
Nosferatu
as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz
(2024)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
as Jackson
(2024)
Kinds of Kindness
as Raymond / George / Omi
(2024)
Saturday Night
as David Tebet
(2024)
Finally Dawn
as Rufo Priori
(2024)
Nosferatu: An Inside Look
as Self
(2024)
(2024)
Jesus Goes to Hollywood
as Self (archive footage)
(2024)
Da Suisa - Tributo
as Himself
(2024)
(2023)
Poor Things
as Godwin Baxter
(2023)
Asteroid City
as Saltzburg Keitel
(2023)
Inside
as Nemo
(2023)
Gonzo Girl
as Walker Reade
(2023)
Pet Shop Days
as Francis
(2023)
The Wild One
as Narrator (voice)
(2023)
Interior (The Spectator)
as Narrator
(2022)
The Northman
as Heimir the Fool
(2022)
Dead for a Dollar
as Joe Cribbens
(2022)
(2022)
(2022)
7 Deaths of Maria Callas
as Film Actor
(2022)
Creation of the Kingdom of Exodus
as Self / Grand Duc
(2022)
Finding Satoshi
as Narrator
(2022)
Il coraggio di essere Franco
as Sé stesso
(2022)
(2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home
as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
(2021)
Zack Snyder's Justice League
as Vulko
(2021)
The French Dispatch
as Albert 'the Abacus'
(2021)
Nightmare Alley
as Clem Hoatley
(2021)
The Card Counter
as Gordo
(2021)
River
as Narrator
(2021)
Maresco / Pasolini
as Self
(2021)
Why Are We (Not) Creative?
as Self
(2020)
The Last Thing He Wanted
as Richard McMahon
(2020)
Siberia
as Clint
(2020)
Tommaso
as Tommaso
(2020)
Wim Wenders, Desperado
as Self
(2020)
Sportin' Life
as Self
(2020)
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
as Self
(2020)
(2020)
(2019)
The Lighthouse
as Thomas Wake
(2019)
Togo
as Leonhard Seppala
(2019)
Motherless Brooklyn
as Paul Randolph
(2019)
Manou the Swift
as Manou's Father (voice)
(2019)
Love, Antosha
as Self
(2019)
Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee
as Self / Norman Osborn/ Green Goblin (archive footage)
(2019)
Vincent van Gogh Superstar
as Vincent van Gogh (archive footage)
(2018)
Aquaman
as Nuidis Vulko
(2018)
At Eternity's Gate
as Vincent van Gogh
(2018)
Vox Lux
as Narrator (voice)
(2018)
Friedkin Uncut
as Self
(2018)
Opus Zero
as Paul
(2018)
Brothers in Arms
as Self
(2018)
(2018)
(2017)
What Happened to Monday
as Terrence Settman
(2017)
Murder on the Orient Express
as Gerhard Hardman
(2017)
The Florida Project
as Bobby
(2017)
Death Note
as Ryuk (voice)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
Mountain
as Narrator (voice)
(2017)
Piazza Vittorio
as Himself
(2017)
Sanctuary
as Narrator
(2016)
The Great Wall
as Ballard
(2016)
Finding Dory
as Gill (voice)
(2016)
My Hindu Friend
as Diego Fairman
(2016)
A Family Man
as Ed Blackridge
(2016)
Dog Eat Dog
as Mad Dog
(2016)
Father
as James Verdun
(2016)
Nelson Algren Live
as Role1 / Frankie Machine / Role2 / Blackie Cavanaugh
(2016)
Mind the Gap
as Self
(2016)
(2015)
Don't F*#% With John Wick
as Self
(2015)
(2015)
(2015)
Fukushima: A Nuclear Story
as Narrator
(2014)
John Wick
as Marcus
(2014)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
as Jopling
(2014)
The Fault in Our Stars
as Peter van Houten
(2014)
Bad Country
as Bud Carter
(2014)
A Most Wanted Man
as Tommy Brue
(2014)
Pasolini
as Pier Paolo Pasolini
(2014)
SPYMASTER: John le Carré in Hamburg
as (archive footage)
(2013)
(2013)
Odd Thomas
as Wyatt Porter
(2013)
Out of the Furnace
as John Petty
(2013)
(2013)
The Smile Man
as Willem
(2013)
Saving Norman
as Lionel Pembrooke
(2013)
Love's Routine
as Barry
(2013)
The Benaki Museum
as Narrator (voice)
(2012)
John Carter
as Tars Tarkas
(2012)
4:44 Last Day on Earth
as Cisco
(2012)
Tomorrow You're Gone
as The Buddha
(2012)
(2011)
The Hunter
as Martin David
(2010)
Daybreakers
as Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac
(2010)
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
as Detective Hank Havenhurst
(2010)
Miral
as Eddie
(2010)
A Woman
as Max Oliver
(2010)
Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World
as Narrator
(2010)
The Making of Daybreakers
as Self
(2009)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
as Rat (voice)
(2009)
Antichrist
as He
(2009)
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
as Gavner Purl
(2009)
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
as Paul Smecker
(2009)
Farewell
as Feeney
(2008)
Adam Resurrected
as Commandat Klein
(2008)
Fireflies in the Garden
as Charles Waechter
(2008)
The Dust of Time
as A
(2007)
Spider-Man 3
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
(2007)
Mr. Bean's Holiday
as Carson Clay
(2007)
To Each His Own Cinema
as (segment "Occupations") (archive footage)
(2007)
Go Go Tales
as Ray Ruby
(2007)
Anamorph
as Stan Aubray
(2007)
The Walker
as Larry Lockner
(2007)
Voom Portraits
as Self
(2007)
Cannes: All Access
as Self
(2007)
The Procedure
as Christopher
(2006)
Inside Man
as John Darius
(2006)
Paris Je T'aime
as Le cow-boy (Place des Victoires)
(2006)
American Dreamz
as Chief of Staff
(2005)
xXx: State of the Union
as Gen. George Octavius Deckert
(2005)
Manderlay
as Grace's Father
(2005)
(2005)
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
as Willem Dafoe (uncredited)
(2005)
Before It Had a Name
as Leslie
(2005)
On the Set: 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'
as Self / Klaus D.
(2005)
This Is an Adventure
as Self
(2005)
Ripley Under Ground
as Neil Murchison
(2004)
Spider-Man 2
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
(2004)
The Aviator
as Roland Sweet
(2004)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
as Klaus Daimler
(2004)
Control
as Dr. Michael Copeland
(2004)
The Reckoning
as Martin
(2004)
The Clearing
as Arnold Mack
(2004)
(2004)
(2004)
Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate
as Narrator (voice)
(2004)
The Misbehavers
as Self
(2003)
Finding Nemo
as Gill (voice)
(2003)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
as Armando Barillo
(2003)
Overnight
as Self
(2003)
Rockets Redglare!
as Self
(2003)
(2003)
(2002)
Spider-Man
as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
(2002)
(2002)
Auto Focus
as John Carpenter
(2002)
Spider-Mania
as Self
(2002)
Globehunters: An Around the World in 80 Days Adventure
as Hunter (voice)
(2002)
The Spider-Man Story
as Self
(2001)
Edges of the Lord
as Priest
(2001)
Pavilion of Women
as Father Andre
(2001)
(2000)
American Psycho
as Donald Kimball
(2000)
Shadow of the Vampire
as Max Schreck
(2000)
Animal Factory
as Earl Copen
(2000)
Bullfighter
as Father Ramirez
(1999)
The Boondock Saints
as Paul Smecker
(1999)
eXistenZ
as Gas
(1999)
New Rose Hotel
as X
(1999)
Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle
as Narrator
(1998)
Lulu on the Bridge
as Dr. Van Horn
(1998)
Abel/Asia
as Self (archival footage)
(1997)
Speed 2: Cruise Control
as Geiger
(1997)
Affliction
as Rolfe Whitehouse
(1997)
Wrong Guys
as Jack Straw
(1996)
The English Patient
as David Caravaggio
(1996)
Basquiat
as The Electrician
(1996)
Victory
as Axel Heyst
(1995)
The Night and the Moment
as Lo scrittore
(1994)
Clear and Present Danger
as John Clark
(1994)
Tom & Viv
as Tom Eliot
(1993)
Body of Evidence
as Frank Dulaney
(1993)
Faraway, So Close!
as Emit Flesti
(1993)
Brace Up!
as Colonel Alexander Ignatyevich Vershinin
(1993)
White Homeland Commando
as Karl
(1993)
(1992)
White Sands
as Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
(1992)
Light Sleeper
as John LeTour
(1992)
(1991)
Flight of the Intruder
as Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole
(1990)
Wild at Heart
as Bobby Peru
(1990)
Cry-Baby
as Hateful Guard
(1989)
Born on the Fourth of July
as Charlie
(1989)
Triumph of the Spirit
as Salamo Arouch
(1988)
Mississippi Burning
as Agent Alan Ward
(1988)
The Last Temptation of Christ
as Jesus
(1988)
Off Limits
as Buck McGriff
(1988)
(1987)
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
as Elephant Grass (voice)
(1986)
Platoon
as Sergeant Elias Grodin
(1985)
To Live and Die in L.A.
as Rick Masters
(1985)
(1984)
Streets of Fire
as Raven Shaddock
(1984)
The Loveless
as Vance
(1984)
Roadhouse 66
as Johnny Harte
(1984)
New York Nights
as Boyfriend
(1984)
Atalanta Strategy
as Immigration Staff
(1983)
The Hunger
as 2nd Phone Booth Youth
(1980)
Heaven's Gate
as Willy (uncredited)
Crew
Tropico
Producer
(2020)
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
Associate Producer
(2018)
(2005)
Before It Had a Name
Screenplay
(1999)
New Rose Hotel
Co-Producer