Known for the darkly eccentric characters
he often plays, Willem Dafoe is one of the screen's more provocative and
engaging actors. Strong-jawed and wiry, he has commented that his looks
make him ideal for playing the boy next door -- if you happen to live
next door to a mausoleum.
Although his screen persona may suggest otherwise,
Dafoe is the product of a fairly conventional Midwestern upbringing. The
son of a surgeon and one of seven siblings, he was born on July 22, 1955
in Appleton, Wisconsin. Dafoe began acting as a teenager, and at the age
of seventeen he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Growing weary of the university's theatre department, where he found that
temperament was all too often a substitute for talent, he joined Milwaukee's
experimental Theatre X troupe. After touring stateside and throughout
Europe with the group, Dafoe moved to New York in 1977, where he joined
the avant-garde Wooster Group.
Dafoe's 1981 film debut was a decidedly mixed blessing, as it consisted
of a minor role in Michael Cimino's disastrous Heaven's Gate . Ultimately,
Dafoe's screen time was cut from the film's final release print, saving
him the embarrassment of being associated with the film but also making
him something of a nonentity. He went on to appear in such films as The
Hunger (1983) and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) before making his breakthrough
in Platoon (1986). His portrayal of the insouciant, pot-smoking Sgt. Elias
earned him Hollywood recognition and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.
Choosing his projects based on artistic merit rather than box office potential,
Dafoe subsequently appeared in a number of widely divergent films, often
taking roles that enhanced his reputation as one of the American cinema's
most predictably unpredictable actors. After starring as an idealistic
FBI agent in Mississippi Burning (1988), he took on one of his most memorable
and controversial roles as Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation
of Christ (1988). Dafoe then portrayed a paralyzed, tormented Vietnam
vet in Born on the Fourth of July (1989), his second collaboration with
Oliver Stone. Homicidal tendencies and a mouthful of rotting teeth followed
when he played an ex-marine in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990), before
he got really weird and allowed Madonna to drip hot wax on his naked body
in Body of Evidence (1992).
Following a turn in Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close in 1993, Dafoe entered
the realm of the blockbuster with his role as a mercenary in Clear and
Present Danger (1994). That same year, he earned acclaim for his portrayal
of T.S. Eliot in Tom and Viv, one of the few roles that didn't paint the
actor as a contemporary head case. His appearance as a mysterious, thumbless
World War II intelligence agent in The English Patient (1996) followed
in a similar vein. In 1998, Dafoe returned to the contemporary milieu,
playing an anthropologist in Paul Auster's Lulu on the Bridge and a member
of a ragingly dysfunctional family in Paul Schrader's powerful, highly
acclaimed Affliction. He then extended his study of dysfunction as a creepy
gas station attendant in David Cronenberg's eXistenZ (1999).
After chasing
a pair of killers claiming to be on a mission from God in The Boondock
Saints, Dafoe astounded audiences as he transformed himself into a mirror
image of one of the screens most terrfiying vampires in Shadow of the
Vampire (2000). A fictional recount of the mystery surrounding F.W. Murnau's
1922 classic Nosferatu, Dafoe's remarkable transformation into the fearsome
bloodsucker had filmgoers blood running cold with it's overwhelming creepiness
and tortured-soul humor. After turning up as a cop on the heels of a potentially
homicidal yuppie in American Psycho that same year, the talented actor
would appear in such low-profile releases as The Reconing and Bullfighter
(both 2001), before once again thrilling audiences in a major release.
As the fearsome Green Goblin in director Sam Raimi's long-anticipated
big-screen adaptation of Spider-Man Dafoe certainly provided thrills in
abundance as he soared trough the sky leaving death and destruction in
his wake. His performace as a desperate millionare turned schizphrenic
supervillian proved a key component in adding a human touch to the procedings
in contrast to the dazzling action, and Dafoe next headed south of the
border to team with flamboyant director Robert Rodriguez in Once Upon
a Time in Mexico.
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HELLO! Profiles ... Willem Dafoe. "I don't think people want to see me as a regular guy," says Willem ... Born William Dafoe Junior on July 22, 1955, Willem was raised, the seventh ... http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/willemdafoe
CHUD.com - Cinematic Happenings Under Development ... Willem Dafoe joins the regular Wes Anderson ensemble in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou ... had several chances now to meet Willem Dafoe, from Shadow of the Vampire to Spider ... http://chud.com/interviews/911
Reel.com Search Results ... Willem Dafoe has appeared in the following movies, ordered with the most recent movie first ... xXx: State of the Union (2005) Starring: Ice Cube, Willem Dafoe. Director: Lee Tamahori ... http://www.reel.com/filmography.asp?SFor=2&NMID=73196
Auto Focus (2002) - Greg Kinnear , Willem Dafoe , Maria Bello , ... Auto Focus, Twenty years in Hollywood chronicling the life and tragic death of actor/comedian Bob Crane, best known for his role as Colonel Robert Hogan of the television series Hogan s Heroes. ... clips from the dark Bob Crane biopic, Auto Focus starring Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Maria Bello, and Michael E ... http://www.countingdown.com/movies/573968
Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man Interview ... Wednesday, April 17, 2002. Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man Interview by Paul Fischer ... a huge amount of fun doing this, I could tell. Willem Dafoe: There are lots to play with ... http://www.dealmemo.com/Interview/Willem_Dafoe_Spider-Man.htm
Filmography for Willem Dafoe on MSN Movies Willem Dafoe: find the latest news, photos, filmography, awards and biography at MSN Movies. ... MSN MOVIES. 4. Willem Dafoe. Willem Dafoe. Born: July 22, 1955 in Appleton, WI ... Also Known As: William Dafoe. News. Photos. Bio. Filmography ... http://entertainment.msn.com/celebs/celeb.aspx?movieperson=351344&c=351344
Willem Dafoe @ Filmbug UK Willem Dafoe. Willem Dafoe. Willem Dafoe is an internationally acclaimed actor on the stage and screen, and continues to bring life to a surprising array of characters. . http://www.filmbug.co.uk/db/20743
Shadow of the Vampire (2001) - Willem Dafoe , John Malkovich , Eddie Izzard Shadow of the Vampire, It's 1922. German director F.W. Munrau takes his film crew on location to Czechoslovakia to complete the rest of his seminal horror film ... [Shadow of the Vampire] Interview with a Vampire Willem Dafoe talks about his deliciously twisted performance in Shadow ... http://www.countingdown.com/movies/1199
Willem Dafoe - Cranky Critic® StarTalk - Movie Star Interviews Cranky Critic® Movie Star interviews: Willem Dafoe ... Willem Dafoe is that rare breed of actor who glides effortlessly from one role to the other, from ... favorite part of the process", Dafoe quietly remarks, referring to the publicity ... http://www.crankycritic.com/qa/pf_articles/williamdafoe.html
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