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Willem Dafoe

ACTOR · BORN 1955

Willem Dafoe

Born
22 July 1955, Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
Known for
Spider-Man (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The Great Wall (2016)

66 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

Willem Dafoe (born 22 July 1955) is an actor best known for Spider-Man, Finding Nemo and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

66 Interesting Facts About Willem Dafoe

Interesting Facts (15)

  1. #001

    Willem Dafoe was considered for the role of the Joker in Batman (1989), which ultimately went to Jack Nicholson.

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  2. #002

    Dafoe has said he feels he has missed out on more conventional roles because he is perceived as an eccentric actor in small, dark films — a sort of next-door-neighbor type, if you happen to live next to a mausoleum.

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  3. #003

    Dafoe performed most of his own acrobatic stunts on the glider in Spider-Man (2002). So when you see the Green Goblin moving on him and it isn't CG, it is almost always Willem.

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  4. #004

    He was named by The New York Times as one of "The 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century" (November 25, 2020).

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  5. #005

    He provided vocals on Lou Reed's album "The Raven" (2003), performing a rewritten and reworked spoken-word version of Edgar Allan Poe's poem.

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  6. #006

    He divides his time between Rome, New York City and Los Angeles with his Italian wife, Giada Colagrande.

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  7. #007

    Before moving to New York in 1976, he built sets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked with the experimental group Theatre X; there he worked with the Wooster Group at the Performing Garage, touring America and the world.

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  8. #008

    He has probably died on screen more than any other mainstream actor. His death scenes include Platoon (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Wild at Heart (1990), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), eXistenZ (1999), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Spider-Man (2002) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003).

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  9. #009

    He speaks fluent Italian.

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  10. #010

    He follows a fully organic and vegan diet, except on rare occasions when he eats a fried grouper sandwich.

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  11. #011

    His childhood celebrity crush was sex symbol Raquel Welch.

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  12. #012

    Willem Dafoe was offered the role of Senator Ethan Roark in Sin City (2005), which went to Powers Boothe.

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  13. #013

    Willem Dafoe has long been a practitioner of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga.

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  14. #014

    Michael Cimino fired Willem Dafoe from his Western epic Heaven's Gate (1980) for laughing at a crew member's joke during production. Dafoe was present for only the first three months of the eight-month shoot and received no credit for his work on the film.

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  15. #015

    At the age of 12, Willem Dafoe attended the 1967 NFL Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, better known as the Ice Bowl, one of the most famous games in professional football history.

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Behind the Scenes (31)

  1. #016

    While on the set of Platoon (1986), Dafoe contracted yellow fever and was delirious for 24 hours.

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  2. #017

    He was a candidate for the role of the Joker in Batman (1989), which went to Jack Nicholson.

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  3. #018

    He says he feels he has missed out on more traditional roles because he is perceived as an eccentric actor in dark little films; a sort of next-door-neighbor type — if you live next to a mausoleum.

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  4. #019

    After contracting yellow fever on the set of Platoon (1986), he was delirious for 24 hours.

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  5. #020

    In Spider-Man (2002) he performed most of the acrobatic stunts on the glider himself. So when you see the Green Goblin moving on top of him, when it isn't CG, it is almost always Willem.

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  6. #021

    He is the only actor nominated for an Oscar for playing a vampire, for his role as Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000).

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  7. #022

    He is the second youngest of eight siblings. He has five sisters named Diane Fredrickson, Jane Lambie, Nancy Christiansen, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and Sarah Holbrook, and two brothers named Richard and Donald. His brother Donald Dafoe is a successful organ transplant surgeon.

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  8. #023

    He provided vocals on Lou Reed's album "The Raven" (2003). On it he performs a rewritten and reworked spoken-word version of Edgar Allan Poe's poem.

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  9. #024

    He divides his time between Rome, New York City and Los Angeles with his Italian wife Giada Colagrande.

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  10. #025

    Before moving to New York in 1976, he built sets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and worked with the experimental group Theatre X; there he worked with the Wooster Group at the Performing Garage, which toured America and the world.

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  11. #026

    While doing an obstructive pass in Wild at Heart (1990) (for the scene in which Dafoe's character threatens to rape Laura Dern's character), Dafoe delivered his lines jokingly. Director David Lynch loved it and asked Dafoe to say his own lines on set while filming it. However, the idea never actually came to fruition.

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  12. #027

    He probably has the most on-screen deaths of any mainstream actor. His death scenes include Platoon (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Wild at Heart (1990), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), eXistenZ (1999), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Spider-Man (2002) and Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003).

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  13. #028

    He adheres to a fully organic and vegan diet, except on rare occasions when he eats a fried lake perch sandwich.

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  14. #029

    He has worked with seven directors who won the Best Director Oscar: Michael Cimino, Kathryn Bigelow, William Friedkin, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Anthony Minghella and Guillermo del Toro.

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  15. #030

    John Malkovich, Nicolas Cage and Dafoe were offered the role of the Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002). Dafoe and Malkovich had appeared together in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), while Cage produced the film. Dafoe took on the role in Spider-Man.

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  16. #031

    He attended and graduated from Appleton East High School in Appleton, Wisconsin.

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  17. #032

    He was offered the role of Senator Ethan Roark in Sin City (2005), which went to Powers Boothe.

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  18. #033

    He is a longtime practitioner of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga.

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  19. #034

    In 2007 he was a member of the 'Official Competition' jury of the 57th Berlin International Film Festival.

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  20. #035

    In 2000 he visited the Sarajevo International Film Festival together with Steve Buscemi.

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  21. #036

    Michael Cimino fired him from the Western epic Heaven's Gate (1980) for laughing at a crew member's joke during production. However, he was there for only the first three months of the eight-month shoot and received no credit for his work on the film.

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  22. #037

    He is of English, French, German, Irish, Northern Irish, Scottish and Swiss-French descent. Most of his ancestors resided in Canada.

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  23. #038

    He attended Einstein Middle School in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was known as "Billy".

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  24. #039

    He has appeared in two films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Platoon (1986) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

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  25. #040

    At the age of 12, he attended the 1967 NFL Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, better known as the Ice Bowl, one of the most famous games in professional football history.

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  26. #041

    On January 8, 2024, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6284 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Fellow actors Patricia Arquette and Pedro Pascal were guest speakers at the ceremony.

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  27. #042

    In 2014 he was a member of the 'Official Competition' jury of the 67th Cannes International Film Festival.

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  28. #043

    The longest gap he has gone without an Oscar nomination is the 17 years between Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and The Florida Project (2017).

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  29. #044

    He was listed as a potential nominee in the voting for the 2006 Razzie Awards. His performance in XXx: State of the Union (2005) put him forward in the Worst Supporting Actor category. He was not, however, nominated (had he been nominated, he would have placed third in the overall standings). He had previously been nominated for Worst Supporting Actor at the 1998 Razzie Awards for his role in Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), and for Worst Actor at the 1994 Razzie Awards for his performance in Body of Evidence (1993).

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  30. #045

    On May 22, 2022, he was invited back to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), from which he graduated, to serve as commencement speaker at the university's opening ceremony and to receive an honorary degree (Doctor of Arts).

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  31. #046

    He was a founding member of The Wooster Group, the influential experimental theater company based in Soho, New York City, and remained closely associated with the group for more than 25 years.

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Characters & Cast (3)

  1. #047

    He was considered for Dennis Hopper's role (Frank Booth) in Blue Velvet (1986).

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  2. #048

    While filming an obstructing transition in Wild at Heart (1990) — the scene in which Dafoe's character threatens to rape Laura Dern's character — Dafoe delivered his lines jokingly. Director David Lynch loved it and asked Dafoe to say his own lines on set while filming it, but the idea never actually came to pass.

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  3. #049

    John Malkovich, Nicolas Cage and Dafoe were all offered the role of the Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002). Dafoe and Malkovich had appeared together in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), while Cage produced that film. Dafoe took the role in Spider-Man.

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Career & Awards (10)

  1. #050

    Dafoe is the only actor to be nominated for an Oscar for playing a vampire, for his role as Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000).

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  2. #051

    He has appeared in eight films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Platoon (1986), Mississippi Burning (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), The English Patient (1996), The Aviator (2004), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Nightmare Alley (2021) and Poor Things (2023). Platoon and The English Patient won in the category.

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  3. #052

    Willem Dafoe has worked with seven directors who won the Academy Award for Best Director: Michael Cimino, Kathryn Bigelow, William Friedkin, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese, Anthony Minghella and Guillermo del Toro.

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  4. #053

    Willem Dafoe was a member of the Official Competition jury at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival in 2007.

    CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  5. #054

    In 2000, Willem Dafoe visited the Sarajevo International Film Festival together with Steve Buscemi.

    CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  6. #055

    Willem Dafoe has appeared in two films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Platoon (1986) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

    CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  7. #056

    On 8 January 2024, Willem Dafoe was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6284 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Fellow actors Patricia Arquette and Pedro Pascal were guest speakers at the ceremony.

    CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

    ShareReport
  8. #057

    Willem Dafoe was a member of the Official Competition jury at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival in 2014.

    CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

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  9. #058

    The longest gap between Oscar nominations in Willem Dafoe's career is the 17 years between Shadow of the Vampire (2000) and The Florida Project (2017).

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  10. #059

    Willem Dafoe was listed as a potential nominee in the voting for the 2006 Razzie Awards. He was proposed in the Worst Supporting Actor category for his performance in xXx: State of the Union (2005), but was not nominated (had he been, he would have placed third overall). He had previously been nominated for Worst Supporting Actor at the 1998 Razzie Awards for Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) and for Worst Actor at the 1994 Razzie Awards for Body of Evidence (1993).

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Life & Family (7)

  1. #060

    His first name is William, shared with his father. He did not want to be called William Jr. or Billy, and among the various nicknames he had since childhood was Willem, which he liked very much and has kept ever since.

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  2. #061

    He is the second youngest of eight siblings. He has five sisters — Diane Fredrickson, Jane Lambie, Nancy Christiansen, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and Sarah Holbrook — and two brothers, Richard and Donald. His brother Donald Dafoe is a successful organ transplant surgeon.

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  3. #062

    He has a son with Elizabeth LeCompte: Jack Dafoe (born 1982).

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  4. #063

    Willem Dafoe attended and graduated from Appleton East High School in Appleton, Wisconsin.

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  5. #064

    Willem Dafoe is of English, French, German, Irish, Northern Irish, Scottish and Swiss-French descent. Most of his ancestors lived in Canada.

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  6. #065

    Willem Dafoe attended Einstein Middle School in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was known as "Billy".

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  7. #066

    On 22 May 2022, Willem Dafoe was invited back to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), where he graduated, to serve as commencement speaker at the university's opening ceremony and to receive an honorary degree (Doctor of Arts).

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
  • IMDb IMDb name page (biography and trivia)

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