Willem Dafoe: Difference between revisions
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1955|7|22}} |
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1955|7|22}} |
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| birth_place = [[Appleton, Wisconsin]], U.S. |
| birth_place = [[Appleton, Wisconsin]], U.S. |
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| occupation = Actor, voice actor |
| occupation = Actor, voice actor, Butt Sex,ASS |
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| years_active = 1980–present |
| years_active = 1980–present |
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| spouse = [[Giada Colagrande]] ( |
| spouse = [[Giada Colagrande]] (2004–present) |
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Revision as of 22:20, 15 August 2011
Willem Dafoe | |
|---|---|
 Dafoe at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | William J. Dafoe July 22, 1955 Appleton, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, voice actor, Butt Sex,ASS |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Spouse | Giada Colagrande (2004–present) |
Willem Dafoe (born July 22, 1955) is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He has had roles in a wide range of films, including Streets of Fire, To Live and Die in L.A., Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, The English Patient, The Last Temptation of Christ, Mississippi Burning, Wild at Heart, The Boondock Saints, Inside Man, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Spider-Man, Shadow of the Vampire, The Aviator, American Psycho, Antichrist, and voice roles in Fantastic Mr. Fox and Finding Nemo.
Dafoe has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice. The first was for his role in Platoon in 1986 and the second time for his performance in Shadow of the Vampire in 2000.
Early life
Dafoe was born William J. Dafoe[1] in Appleton, Wisconsin. He is the sixth of eight children of Muriel Isabel (née Sprissler), a nurse and Boston native, and Dr. William Alfred Dafoe, a surgeon.[2] His ancestry includes Irish, Scottish, German, and Canadian.[3]
Dafoe studied drama at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, but left before graduation in order to join the newly formed avant-garde group Theatre X.
Career
After touring with Theatre X for four years in the United States and Europe, he moved to New York City and joined the Performance Group. Dafoe's film career began in 1981, when he was cast in Heaven's Gate, but his role was removed from the film during editing. In the mid 80's he was cast by William Friedkin to star in To Live And Die In LA, in which Dafoe portrays counterfeiter Rick Masters. A year later he starred as the leader of a motorcycle gang in The Loveless (and later played a similar role in Streets of Fire), but his first breakthrough film role was as the compassionate Sergeant Elias in Platoon (1986). Dafoe enjoyed the opportunity to play a 'good guy' and said that Platoon gave him a chance to display his versatility. "I think all characters live in you. You just frame them, give them circumstances, and that character will happen."[4]
In 1988, Dafoe starred in another film set during the Vietnam War, this time as CID Agent Buck McGriff in Off Limits. He has since become a popular character actor. He is often cast as unstable or villainous characters, such as the Green Goblin in the Spider-Man and Barillo in Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Before that, he was briefly considered for the role of The Joker by Tim Burton and Sam Hamm for 1989's Batman. Hamm recalls "We thought, 'Well, Willem Dafoe looks just like The Joker.'" The role ended up going to Jack Nicholson.[5] However, Dafoe also faced challenges of being typecasted to playing villanous roles. When he played Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), he remarked "To this day, I can't believe I was so brazen to think I could pull off the Jesus role",[6] though Dafoe received acclaim despite the controversy surrounding the film.
He starred in the erotic drama Body of Evidence with Madonna. In 1991, Willem Dafoe portrayed a Manhattan drug dealer in the film Light Sleeper. Dafoe played an eccentric FBI agent in The Boondock Saints (1999) and a private investigator in American Psycho (2000). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1986 for Platoon and 2000 for Shadow of the Vampire. He played a rare heroic film role when he provided the voice of Gill in the animated film Finding Nemo. Dafoe also played as a leading man and hero in "Triumph of the Spirit", playing a Greek Jew, Salamo Arouch, who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau through his prowess as a boxer, based upon a true story.
He worked briefly as a model in a 1990 Prada campaign. In 2004, Dafoe lent his likeness and voice for the James Bond video game Everything or Nothing as the villain Nikolai Diavolo. In 2006, he played NYPD detective Stan Aubray on the hunt for a serial killer, the lead in New York-set thriller Anamorph, opposite Scott Speedman and Peter Stormare. He stars alongside Rowan Atkinson in the sequel to 1997's Bean, Mr. Bean's Holiday which was released worldwide March 30, 2007.
In 2011, Dafoe began narrating a series of television commercials for the Greek yogurt company Fage.[7][8] Additionally, the actor is featured in Jim Beam's "Bold Decisions" television ad campaign, which began airing April 2011.
Dafoe starred alongside Marina Abramović in 'The Life and Death of Marina Abramović' a theatrical masterpiece which premiered at the Manchester International Festival in 2011.
Personal life
Dafoe met director Elizabeth LeCompte at the Performance Group. LeCompte and Dafoe were part of the restructuring of The Performance Group and became professional collaborators and founding members of The Wooster Group, and began a relationship. Their son, Jack, was born in 1982. The pair eventually split in 2004.[9] Dafoe married Italian director and actress Giada Colagrande on March 25, 2005. The couple spends most of the year in Colagrande's native Italy.[10]
Dafoe has said he is no longer a vegetarian, despite internet rumors to the contrary.[11]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Hitchhiker | Jeffrey Hunt | "Ghostwriter" |
| 1991 | Fishing With John | Himself | Segment: Ice Fishing In Northern Maine |
| 1997 | The Simpsons | The Commandant | voice "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson" |
| 2007 | Family Guy | Himself | Lois Kills Stewie |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Spider-Man | Green Goblin / Norman Osborn | |
| 2004 | James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing | Nikolai Diavolo | Both Voice And Likeness |
Awards and nominations
- 1986: Nominated, "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" – Platoon
- 2000: Nominated, "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" – Shadow of the Vampire
- 2001: Won, "Best Supporting Actor" – Shadow of the Vampire
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
- 2005: Nominated, "Best Acting Ensemble" – The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (shared w/co-stars)
- 2002: Won, "Special Award:For immense contribution to the art of film."
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
- 2001: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" – Shadow of the Vampire
- 2003: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" – Auto Focus
- 2002: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" – Shadow of the Vampire
- 2001: Won, "Best Actor" – Shadow of the Vampire
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
- 2000: Won, "Outstanding Creative Performance" – Shadow of the Vampire
- 2001: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture" – Shadow of the Vampire
- 1987: Nominated, "Best Male Lead" – Platoon
- 1991: Nominated, "Best Supporting Male" – Wild at Heart
- 2001: Won, "Best Supporting Male" – Shadow of the Vampire
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
- 2000: Won, "Best Supporting Actor" – Shadow of the Vampire
- 2003: Nominated, "Best Villain" – Spider-Man
MTV Awards, Mexico
- 2004: Nominated, "Most Divine Miracle in a Movie" – The Last Temptation of Christ
Online Film Critics Society Awards
- 2001: Nominated, "Best Supporting Actor" – Shadow of the Vampire
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards
- 2001: Won, "Best Actor in a Supporting Role" – Shadow of the Vampire
- 1994: Nominated, "Worst Actor" – Body of Evidence
- 1998: Nominated, "Worst Supporting Actor" – Speed 2: Cruise Control
Sant Jordi Awards
- 1995: Won, "Best Foreign Actor" – Light Sleeper
- 2001: Won, "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical" – Shadow of the Vampire
- 1997: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Cast" – The English Patient (shared w/co-stars)
- 2001: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role" – Shadow of the Vampire
Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival
- 2000: Won, "Best Actor" – Shadow of the Vampire
San Sebastian International Film Festival
- 2005: Won, Donostia Award
References
- ^ http://movies.nytimes.com/person/16547/Willem-Dafoe/biography
- ^ Willem Dafoe biography
- ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/celeb/dafoe.htm
- ^ http://bombsite.com/issues/19/articles/907
- ^ Batman Movie Online
- ^ Biography for Willem Dafoe at IMDb
- ^ Murg, Stephanie (2011-03-10) Mullen Makes Mouths Water, Eyes Widen with Mesmerizing Yogurt Commercial, Mediabistro.com
- ^ Chapman, Mike (2011-03-04) Fage, "Plain Extraordinary", Adweek
- ^ Entertainment News and Celebrity News @ TVGuide.com
- ^ Willem Dafoe interview
- ^ "Willem Dafoe Is No Longer A Vegetarian", Starpulse.com, April 16, 2008
External links
