Willem Dafoe
Actor

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe

Date of birth
Age
71
Place of birth
Appleton, Wisconsin, USA
Citizenship
United States
Occupations
film actor, voice actor, screenwriter, model, film producer, performing artist, stage actor, television presenter, actor
Languages
English

Biography

William James "Willem" Dafoe (/dəˈfoʊ/ də-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 a Volpi Cup Award for Best Actor, with nominations for four Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards. He received an Honorary Golden Bear in 2018.

Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Dafoe made his film debut with an uncredited role in Heaven's Gate (1980). He is known for collaborating with both mainstream and auteur filmmakers, including Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Sam Raimi, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Andrew Stanton, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. He received Academy Award nominations for playing a compassionate army sergeant in the war drama Platoon (1986), Max Schreck in the mystery film Shadow of the Vampire (2000), a kindly motel manager in the coming-of-age film The Florida Project (2017), and Vincent van Gogh in the biopic At Eternity's Gate (2018).

His other films credits include To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), The English Patient (1996), American Psycho (2000), Animal Factory (2000), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Antichrist (2009), The Hunter (2011), John Carter (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), John Wick (2014), The Lighthouse (2019), Togo (2019), Poor Things (2023), and Nosferatu (2024).

Dafoe was a founding member of experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He portrayed Norman Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007) and reprised the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). He has also voiced roles in the animated films Finding Nemo (2003), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), and The Boy and the Heron (2023).

Description above from the Wikipedia article Willem Dafoe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Education

  • University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
  • Appleton East High School

Awards

  • Saturn Awards
  • Donostia Award2005
  • Film Independent Spirit Awards2001
  • Satellite Awards
  • Honorary Golden Bear2018
  • Volpi Cup for Best Actor2018
  • Romics d'Oro2019

Nominations

  • Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor1987 Platoon
  • Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor2001 Shadow of the Vampire
  • Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor2018 The Florida Project
  • Academy Award for Best Actor2019 At Eternity's Gate

Education and awards: Wikidata information may be incomplete. Wikidata · Updated: 2026-10-24

Photos

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Filmography

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