
Willem Dafoe
William James "Willem" Dafoe 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).
Known For
Credits
- 2026 · Werwulf as
- 2025 · The Phoenician Scheme as Knave
- 2025 · The Legend of Ochi as Maxim
- 2024 · Nosferatu as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz
- 2024 · Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as Jackson
- 2024 · Kinds of Kindness as Raymond / George / Omi
- 2024 · Finally Dawn as Rufo Priori
- 2023 · Poor Things as Godwin Baxter
- 2023 · Asteroid City as Saltzburg Keitel
- 2023 · Inside as Nemo
- 2022 · Dead for a Dollar as Joe Cribbens
- 2022 · The Northman as Heimir the Fool
- 2021 · Spider-Man: No Way Home as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
- 2021 · Nightmare Alley as Clem Hoatley
- 2021 · The French Dispatch as Albert 'the Abacus'
- 2021 · The Card Counter as Gordo
- 2021 · Zack Snyder's Justice League as Vulko
- 2020 · Siberia as Clint
- 2020 · The Lighthouse: A Dark & Stormy Tale as Self
- 2019 · Togo as Leonhard Seppala
- 2019 · The Lighthouse as Thomas Wake
- 2018 · Opus Zero as Paul
- 2018 · Aquaman as Nuidis Vulko
- 2018 · At Eternity's Gate as Vincent van Gogh
- 2018 · Vox Lux as Narrator (voice)
- 2017 · Murder on the Orient Express as Gerhard Hardman
- 2017 · The Florida Project as Bobby
- 2017 · Death Note as Ryuk (voice)
- 2017 · What Happened to Monday as Terrence Settman
- 2016 · The Great Wall as Ballard
- 2016 · Dog Eat Dog as Mad Dog
- 2016 · A Family Man as Ed Blackridge
- 2016 · Finding Dory as Gill (voice)
- 2016 · Mind the Gap as Self
- 2015 · Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self
- 2014 · Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- 2014 · John Wick as Marcus
- 2014 · Bad Country as Bud Carter
- 2014 · Pasolini as Pier Paolo Pasolini
- 2014 · A Most Wanted Man as Tommy Brue
- 2014 · The Fault in Our Stars as Peter van Houten
- 2014 · The Grand Budapest Hotel as Jopling
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- 2014 · Off Camera with Sam Jones as Self
- 2013 · Nymphomaniac: Vol. II as L
- 2013 · Out of the Furnace as John Petty
- 2013 · Odd Thomas as Wyatt Porter
- 2012 · Tomorrow You're Gone as The Buddha
- 2012 · Bob Wilson's Life & Death of Marina Abramovic as Self
- 2012 · 4:44 Last Day on Earth as Cisco
- 2012 · John Carter as Tars Tarkas
- 2011 · The Hunter as Martin David
- 2010 · Conan as Self
- 2010 · Daybreakers as Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac
- 2009 · The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day as Paul Smecker
- 2009 · Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant as Gavner Purl
- 2009 · Fantastic Mr. Fox as Rat (voice)
- 2009 · Farewell as Feeney
- 2009 · Antichrist as He
- 2008 · The Dust of Time as A
- 2008 · Adam Resurrected as Commandat Klein
- 2008 · Fireflies in the Garden as Charles Waechter
- 2007 · Cannes: All Access as Self
- 2007 · Anamorph as Stan Aubray
- 2007 · Go Go Tales as Ray Ruby
- 2007 · Spider-Man 3 as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
- 2007 · Mr. Bean's Holiday as Carson Clay
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2006 · Paris Je T'aime as Le cow-boy (Place des Victoires)
- 2006 · Inside Man as John Darius
- 2006 · American Dreamz as Chief of Staff
- 2005 · The Colbert Report as
- 2005 · Before It Had a Name as Leslie
- 2005 · Manderlay as Grace's Father
- 2005 · Jiminy Glick in Lalawood as Willem Dafoe (uncredited)
- 2005 · xXx: State of the Union as Gen. George Octavius Deckert
- 2004 · The Aviator as Roland Sweet
- 2004 · The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as Klaus Daimler
- 2004 · Control as Dr. Michael Copeland
- 2004 · Kulturplatz as Self
- 2004 · Spider-Man 2 as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
- 2003 · Once Upon a Time in Mexico as Armando Barillo
- 2003 · Finding Nemo as Gill (voice)
- 2002 · Auto Focus as John Carpenter
- 2002 · Spider-Man as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
- 2002 · Behind the Ultimate Spin: The Making of 'Spider-Man' as Self
- 2000 · Animal Factory as Earl Copen
- 2000 · Shadow of the Vampire as Max Schreck
- 2000 · American Psycho as Donald Kimball
- 1999 · eXistenZ as Gas
- 1999 · The Boondock Saints as Paul Smecker
- 1999 · The Directors as Self
- 1997 · The Wonderful World of Disney as
- 1997 · Speed 2: Cruise Control as Geiger
- 1996 · Victory as Axel Heyst
- 1996 · The English Patient as David Caravaggio
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1994 · The Kingdom as Grand Duc
- 1994 · Clear and Present Danger as John Clark
- 1994 · Tom & Viv as Tom Eliot
- 1993 · Body of Evidence as Frank Dulaney
- 1992 · Light Sleeper as John LeTour
- 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 · The Simpsons as The Commandant / Jack Lassen (voice)
- 1989 · The Simpsons as Commandant (voice)
- 1988 · Mississippi Burning as Agent Alan Ward
- 1988 · Off Limits as Buck McGriff
- 1986 · Platoon as Sergeant Elias Grodin
- 1985 · To Live and Die in L.A. as Rick Masters
- 1984 · Streets of Fire as Raven Shaddock
- 1984 · New York Nights as Boyfriend
- 1983 · The Hitchhiker as Jeffrey Hunt
- 1983 · The Hunger as 2nd Phone Booth Youth
- 1980 · Heaven's Gate as Willy (uncredited)
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- 1962 · The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self - Presenter
- Future · Tropico as Raymond
- 2025 · The Man in My Basement as Anniston Bennett
- 2025 · Late Fame as Ed Saxberger
- 2025 · The Birthday Party as Marcos Timoleon
- 2025 · Zero as (voice)
- 2024 · Nosferatu: An Inside Look as Self
- 2024 · run 002 as
- 2024 · Saturday Night as David Tebet
- 2024 · Can Creativity Save the World? as Self
- 2023 · Interior (The Spectator) as Narrator
- 2023 · The Wild One as Narrator (voice)
- 2022 · Creation of the Kingdom of Exodus as Self / Grand Duc
- 2022 · Stasera c’è Cattelan su Raidue as Self
- 2022 · Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home as Self
- 2021 · River as Narrator
- 2021 · Maresco / Pasolini as Self
- 2020 · Babenco: Tell Me When I Die as Self
- 2020 · Sportin' Life as Self
- 2020 · Wim Wenders, Desperado as Self
- 2020 · The Last Thing He Wanted as Richard McMahon
- 2020 · Tommaso as Tommaso
- 2019 · Vincent van Gogh Superstar as Vincent van Gogh (archive footage)
- 2019 · Motherless Brooklyn as Paul Randolph
- 2019 · Manou the Swift as Manou's Father (voice)
- 2017 · Mountain as Narrator (voice)
- 2017 · NHK WORLD PRIME as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2017 · Piazza Vittorio as Himself
- 2017 · Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait as Self
- 2016 · Father as James Verdun
- 2015 · The Making of A Most Wanted Man as Self
- 2015 · Don't F*#% With John Wick as Self
- 2014 · SPYMASTER: John le Carré in Hamburg as (archive footage)
- 2013 · Saving Norman as Lionel Pembrooke
- 2010 · Miral as Eddie
- 2010 · A Woman as Max Oliver
- 2010 · My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done as Detective Hank Havenhurst
- 2010 · The Making of Daybreakers as Self
- 2010 · Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World as Narrator
- 2007 · Wintergasten as
- 2007 · To Each His Own Cinema as (segment "Occupations") (archive footage)
- 2007 · The Procedure as Christopher
- 2007 · The Walker as Larry Lockner
- 2005 · Ripley Under Ground as Neil Murchison
- 2004 · Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate as Narrator (voice)
- 2004 · The Clearing as Arnold Mack
- 2004 · The Reckoning as Martin
- 2002 · Globehunters: An Around the World in 80 Days Adventure as Hunter (voice)
- 2001 · Edges of the Lord as Priest
- 2001 · Pavilion of Women as Father Andre
- 2001 · A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon' as Self
- 2000 · Bullfighter as Father Ramirez
- 1999 · New Rose Hotel as X
- 1998 · Lulu on the Bridge as Dr. Van Horn
- 1997 · Affliction as Rolfe Whitehouse
- 1996 · Basquiat as The Electrician
- 1993 · White Homeland Commando as Karl
- 1992 · White Sands as Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
- 1992 · North on Evers as
- 1989 · Triumph of the Spirit as Salamo Arouch
- 1988 · The Last Temptation of Christ as Jesus
- Future · Tenzing as Colonel John Hunt
- 2025 · The Souffleur as Lucius
- 2025 · Avrio Vrady as Dancing man
- 2025 · Grande Envie as Count
- 2024 · Jesus Goes to Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
- 2024 · Da Suisa - Tributo as Himself
- 2023 · Willem Dafoe as
- 2023 · Gonzo Girl as Walker Reade
- 2023 · Pet Shop Days as Francis
- 2022 · Franco Battiato - La voce del padrone as
- 2022 · Mostra, Venise as Self - "Tapis Rouge" Guest
- 2022 · 7 Deaths of Maria Callas as Film Actor
- 2022 · Il coraggio di essere Franco as Sé stesso
- 2022 · Finding Satoshi as Narrator
- 2022 · Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious as Self
- 2021 · Why Are We (Not) Creative? as Self
- 2020 · Wim Wenders - Von Filmen und Träumen as Self
- 2020 · Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago as
- 2019 · Love, Antosha as Self
- 2018 · Brothers in Arms as Self
- 2018 · Friedkin Uncut as Self
- 2018 · Theatron. Romeo Castellucci as
- 2018 · Under the Rainbow: Making The Florida Project as Self
- 2017 · Ballad of a Righteous Merchant as Self
- 2017 · Sanctuary as Narrator
- 2016 · Sculpt as
- 2016 · Nelson Algren Live as Role1 / Frankie Machine / Role2 / Blackie Cavanaugh
- 2016 · My Hindu Friend as Diego Fairman
- 2015 · Fukushima: A Nuclear Story as Narrator
- 2015 · John Wick: Calling in the Cavalry as Self
- 2013 · The Benaki Museum as Narrator (voice)
- 2013 · Love's Routine as Barry
- 2013 · The Smile Man as Willem
- 2007 · Voom Portraits as Self
- 2005 · This Is an Adventure as Self
- 2005 · Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal as Self
- 2005 · On the Set: 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' as Self / Klaus D.
- 2004 · Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart as
- 2004 · The Misbehavers as Self
- 2004 · Behind the Scenes of 'Spider-Man' as Self
- 2003 · Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.' as Self
- 2003 · Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty as
- 2003 · Overnight as Self
- 2003 · Rockets Redglare! as Self
- 2002 · The Spider-Man Story as Self
- 2002 · Spider-Mania as Self
- 1999 · Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle as Narrator
- 1997 · Wrong Guys as Jack Straw
- 1995 · The Night and the Moment as Lo scrittore
- 1994 · Inside the Actors Studio as Self
- 1993 · Faraway, So Close! as Emit Flesti
- 1993 · Brace Up! as Colonel Alexander Ignatyevich Vershinin
- 1993 · Rhyme 'Em to Death as
- 1991 · Fishing with John as Self
- 1988 · Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of the Christ as Self
- 1987 · Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam as Elephant Grass (voice)
- 1985 · O Panama as
- 1984 · Roadhouse 66 as Johnny Harte
- 1984 · The Loveless as Vance
- Future · A Christmas Carol as Ebenezer Scrooge
- 1984 · Atalanta Strategy as Immigration Staff
- Future · American Nails as
- Future · The Sleeping Shepherd as
- Future · Cuddle as Dante