Willem Dafoe

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.

Known For

The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Late Night with Seth Meyers

Late Night with Seth Meyers

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Daily Show

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

All Movies (220)

• Werwulf2026
• Late Fame2026 · as Ed Saxberger
• The Birthday Party2026 · as Marcos Timoleon
• The Resurrection of Christ2026
• The Souffleur2026 · as Lucius
• Pet Shop Days2025 · as Francis
• The Man in My Basement2025 · as Anniston Bennett
• Avrio Vrady2025 · as Dancing man
• The Phoenician Scheme2025 · as Knave
• Grande Envie2025 · as Count
• The Legend of Ochi2025 · as Maxim
• Zero2025 · as (voice)
• Nosferatu: An Inside Look2024 · as Self
• Nosferatu2024 · as Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz
• Jesus Goes to Hollywood2024 · as Self (archive footage)
• run 0022024
• Saturday Night2024 · as David Tebet
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice2024 · as Jackson
• Kinds of Kindness2024 · as Raymond / George / Omi
• Can Creativity Save the World?2024 · as Self
• Finally Dawn2024 · as Rufo Priori
• Poor Things2023 · as Godwin Baxter
• Interior (The Spectator)2023 · as Narrator
• Willem Dafoe2023
• Gonzo Girl2023 · as Walker Reade
• Asteroid City2023 · as Saltzburg Keitel
• The Wild One2023 · as Narrator (voice)
• Inside2023 · as Nemo
• Franco Battiato - La voce del padrone2022
• Creation of the Kingdom of Exodus2022 · as Self / Grand Duc
• Dead for a Dollar2022 · as Joe Cribbens
• 7 Deaths of Maria Callas2022 · as Film Actor
• Il coraggio di essere Franco2022 · as Sé stesso
• Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home2022 · as Self
• The Northman2022 · as Heimir the Fool
• Finding Satoshi2022 · as Narrator
• Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious2022 · as Self
• Spider-Man: No Way Home2021 · as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
• Nightmare Alley2021 · as Clem Hoatley
• The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun2021 · as Albert 'the Abacus'
• Why Are We (Not) Creative?2021 · as Self
• The Card Counter2021 · as Gordo
• River2021 · as Narrator
• Maresco / Pasolini2021 · as Self
• Zack Snyder's Justice League2021 · as Vulko
• Babenco: Tell Me When I Die2020 · as Self
• Sportin' Life2020 · as Self
• Wim Wenders, Desperado2020 · as Self
• Siberia2020 · as Clint
• Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago2020
• The Last Thing He Wanted2020 · as Richard McMahon
• The Lighthouse: A Dark & Stormy Tale2020 · as Self
• Tommaso2020 · as Tommaso
• Togo2019 · as Leonhard Seppala
• Vincent van Gogh Superstar2019 · as Vincent van Gogh (archive footage)
• Motherless Brooklyn2019 · as Paul Randolph
• The Lighthouse2019 · as Thomas Wake
• Love, Antosha2019 · as Self
• Manou the Swift2019 · as Manou's Father (voice)
• Opus Zero2018 · as Paul
• Aquaman2018 · as Nuidis Vulko
• At Eternity's Gate2018 · as Vincent van Gogh
• Brothers in Arms2018 · as Self
• Friedkin Uncut2018 · as Self
• Vox Lux2018 · as Narrator (voice)
• Theatron. Romeo Castellucci2018
• Under the Rainbow: Making The Florida Project2018 · as Self
• Mountain2017 · as Narrator (voice)
• Murder on the Orient Express2017 · as Gerhard Hardman
• The Florida Project2017 · as Bobby
• Piazza Vittorio2017 · as Himself
• Death Note2017 · as Ryuk (voice)
• What Happened to Monday2017 · as Terrence Settman
• Ballad of a Righteous Merchant2017 · as Self
• Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait2017 · as Self
• Sanctuary2017 · as Narrator
• The Great Wall2016 · as Ballard
• Dog Eat Dog2016 · as Mad Dog
• Father2016 · as James Verdun
• A Family Man2016 · as Ed Blackridge
• Sculpt2016
• Finding Dory2016 · as Gill (voice)
• Nelson Algren Live2016 · as Role1 / Frankie Machine / Role2 / Blackie Cavanaugh
• My Hindu Friend2016 · as Diego Fairman
• Mind the Gap2016 · as Self
• Fukushima: A Nuclear Story2015 · as Narrator
• The Making of A Most Wanted Man2015 · as Self
• John Wick: Calling in the Cavalry2015 · as Self
• Don't F*#% With John Wick2015 · as Self
• John Wick2014 · as Marcus
• Bad Country2014 · as Bud Carter
• Pasolini2014 · as Pier Paolo Pasolini
• SPYMASTER: John le Carré in Hamburg2014 · as (archive footage)
• A Most Wanted Man2014 · as Tommy Brue
• The Fault in Our Stars2014 · as Peter van Houten
• The Grand Budapest Hotel2014 · as Jopling
• The Benaki Museum2013 · as Narrator (voice)
• Nymphomaniac: Vol. II2013 · as L
• Out of the Furnace2013 · as John Petty
• Love's Routine2013 · as Barry
• The Smile Man2013 · as Willem
• Saving Norman2013 · as Lionel Pembrooke
• Odd Thomas2013 · as Wyatt Porter
• Tomorrow You're Gone2012 · as The Buddha
• Bob Wilson's Life & Death of Marina Abramovic2012 · as Self
• 4:44 Last Day on Earth2012 · as Cisco
• John Carter2012 · as Tars Tarkas
• The Hunter2011 · as Martin David
• Miral2010 · as Eddie
• A Woman2010 · as Max Oliver
• My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done2010 · as Detective Hank Havenhurst
• The Making of Daybreakers2010 · as Self
• Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World2010 · as Narrator
• Daybreakers2010 · as Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac
• The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day2009 · as Paul Smecker (uncredited)
• Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant2009 · as Gavner Purl
• Fantastic Mr. Fox2009 · as Rat (voice)
• Farewell2009 · as Feeney
• Antichrist2009 · as He
• The Dust of Time2008 · as A
• Adam Resurrected2008 · as Commandat Klein
• Fireflies in the Garden2008 · as Charles Waechter
• Go Go Tales2008 · as Ray Ruby
• To Each His Own Cinema2007 · as (segment "Occupations") (archive footage)
• Cannes: All Access2007 · as Self
• Voom Portraits2007 · as Self
• Anamorph2007 · as Stan Aubray
• The Procedure2007 · as Christopher
• Spider-Man 32007 · as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
• Mr. Bean's Holiday2007 · as Carson Clay
• The Walker2007 · as Larry Lockner
• Paris Je T'aime2006 · as Le cow-boy (Place des Victoires)
• Inside Man2006 · as John Darius
• American Dreamz2006 · as Chief of Staff
• Ripley Under Ground2005 · as Neil Murchison
• Before It Had a Name2005 · as Leslie
• Manderlay2005 · as Grace's Father
• This Is an Adventure2005 · as Self
• Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal2005 · as Self
• Jiminy Glick in Lalawood2005 · as Willem Dafoe (uncredited)
• xXx: State of the Union2005 · as Gen. George Octavius Deckert
• On the Set: 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'2005 · as Self / Klaus D.
• The Aviator2004 · as Roland Sweet
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou2004 · as Klaus Daimler
• Control2004 · as Dr. Michael Copeland
• Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart2004
• The Misbehavers2004 · as Self
• Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate2004 · as Narrator (voice)
• The Clearing2004 · as Arnold Mack
• Spider-Man 22004 · as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
• Behind the Scenes of 'Spider-Man'2004 · as Self
• The Reckoning2004 · as Martin
• Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'2003 · as Self
• Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty2003
• Once Upon a Time in Mexico2003 · as Armando Barillo
• Overnight2003 · as Self
• Finding Nemo2003 · as Gill (voice)
• Rockets Redglare!2003 · as Self
• Globehunters: An Around the World in 80 Days Adventure2002 · as Hunter (voice)
• Auto Focus2002 · as John Carpenter
• The Spider-Man Story2002 · as Self
• Spider-Man2002 · as Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
• Spider-Mania2002 · as Self
• Behind the Ultimate Spin: The Making of 'Spider-Man'2002 · as Self
• Edges of the Lord2001 · as Priest
• Pavilion of Women2001 · as Father Andre
• A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'2001 · as Self
• Animal Factory2000 · as Earl Copen
• Bullfighter2000 · as Father Ramirez
• Shadow of the Vampire2000 · as Max Schreck
• American Psycho2000 · as Donald Kimball
• eXistenZ1999 · as Gas
• New Rose Hotel1999 · as X
• The Boondock Saints1999 · as Paul Smecker
• Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle1999 · as Narrator
• Lulu on the Bridge1998 · as Dr. Van Horn
• Affliction1998 · as Rolfe Whitehouse
• Speed 2: Cruise Control1997 · as Geiger
• Wrong Guys1997 · as Jack Straw
• Victory1996 · as Axel Heyst
• The English Patient1996 · as David Caravaggio
• Basquiat1996 · as The Electrician
• The Night and the Moment1995 · as Lo scrittore
• Clear and Present Danger1994 · as John Clark
• Tom & Viv1994 · as Tom Eliot
• Faraway, So Close!1993 · as Emit Flesti
• Brace Up!1993 · as Colonel Alexander Ignatyevich Vershinin
• White Homeland Commando1993 · as Karl
• Body of Evidence1993 · as Frank Dulaney
• Rhyme 'Em to Death1993
• Light Sleeper1992 · as John LeTour
• White Sands1992 · as Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
• North on Evers1992
• Flight of the Intruder1991 · as Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole
• Wild at Heart1990 · as Bobby Peru
• Cry-Baby1990 · as Hateful Guard
• Born on the Fourth of July1989 · as Charlie
• Triumph of the Spirit1989 · as Salamo Arouch
• Mississippi Burning1988 · as Agent Alan Ward
• Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of Christ1988 · as Self
• The Last Temptation of Christ1988 · as Jesus
• Off Limits1988 · as Buck McGriff
• Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam1987 · as Elephant Grass (voice)
• Platoon1986 · as Sergeant Elias Grodin
• To Live and Die in L.A.1985 · as Rick Masters
• O Panama1985
• Roadhouse 661984 · as Johnny Harte
• Streets of Fire1984 · as Raven Shaddock
• New York Nights1984 · as Boyfriend
• The Loveless1984 · as Vance
• Atalanta Strategy1984 · as Immigration Staff
• The Hunger1983 · as 2nd Phone Booth Youth
• Heaven's Gate1980 · as Willy (uncredited)
• Tenzing— · as Colonel John Hunt
• Tropico— · as Raymond
• The Sleeping Shepherd—
• Cuddle— · as Dante
• A Christmas Carol— · as Ebenezer Scrooge
• Time Out—
• White Lies—

All TV Shows (30)

• Stasera c’è Cattelan su Raidue2022 · as Self
• Mostra, Venise2022 · as Self
• Wim Wenders - Von Filmen und Träumen2020 · as Self
• NHK WORLD PRIME2017 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Zylander Quark
• Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter2015 · as Self
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors2014 · as Self
• Late Night with Seth Meyers2014 · as Self
• Late Night with Seth Meyers2014 · as Self - Guest
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon2014 · as Self
• Off Camera with Sam Jones2014 · as Self
• Conan2010 · as Self
• Wintergasten2007
• The Graham Norton Show2007 · as Self
• The Colbert Report2005
• Kulturplatz2004 · as Self
• The Directors1999 · as Self
• The Wonderful World of Disney1997
• The Daily Show1996 · as Self
• The Kingdom1994 · as Grand Duc
• Inside the Actors Studio1994 · as Self
• Fishing with John1991 · as Self
• The Simpsons1989 · as The Commandant / Jack Lassen (voice)
• The Simpsons1989 · as Commandant (voice)
• The Hitchhiker1983 · as Jeffrey Hunt
• Saturday Night Live1975 · as Self - Host
• Saturday Night Live1975 · as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1962 · as Self
• The Oscars1953 · as Self
• The Oscars1953 · as Self - Presenter