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