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By Geoff Carter
He is a paragon of extremes, portraying characters that range the spectrum from Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ and the heroically righteous Eli in Platoon to devilish arch-villain Green Goblin in the original Spiderman and the deliciously demented Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire. These extremes of good and evil and purity and corruption are written in the planes and contours of Mr. Willem Dafoe’s features.
His large deep-set eyes can glare searingly or sympathize understandingly. His craggy face can be as cold and forbidding as Mt. Rushmore, or, as when he breaks into that wide-toothed smile—like Eli in Platoon—he seems as if he might be your long-lost brother. His voice, a gravelly rasp lying somewhere in the vocal territory between Tom Waits and Al Pacino, can convey the bewilderment of a messiah facing betrayal or the demonic thirst of a psychopath actually believing he is a vampire. Somehow, mysteriously, this wondrous range of human possibility is encased in the planes and angles of Willem Defoe’s face. Couple that with his outstanding talent and craftsmanship—as well as his dominating screen presence—and you have one of the film industry’s most versatile (and busiest) actors.
Dafoe has stated in interviews that he consciously tries to “mix it up” when choosing his film roles. He has appeared in blockbusters like Spiderman and Speed 2 and other small independent productions like The Florida Project or The Lighthouse. He is mainly known as a character actor yet has been cast as the leading man in such productions as The Last Temptation of Christ or Eternity’s Gate. But, no matter who small the role, like the fleeting tabloid editor in The Aviator or the prison guard in Cry Baby, it’s impossible not to notice Willem Dafoe. Some roles, like the slimy Bobby Peru in Wild at Heart, push the envelope of just plain nastiness to the edge, while others, like Bobby, the quiet understated voice of decency in The Florida Project, are at completely different ends of the spectrum. Except for that distinctive face, it would be hard to believe the same actor played both roles.
The Ten Best Films of Willem Dafoe
The Last Temptation of Christ: In this controversial work by Martin Scorsese, the life of Christ (Willem Dafoe) is shown through a decidedly more human lens than more traditional interpretations of the Bible. Here, Jesus is conflicted the very human emotions of desire, fear, and regret, and Judas (Harvey Keitel) is shown in a much more sympathetic light. The film stirred quite a controversy upon its initial release but Dafoe’s complex and multi-faceted performance as a messiah trapped in an ordinary man’s body is extraordinary. With a tightening of the mouth or a slight frown, Dafoe’s face registers the complete emotional spectrum from frustration and desire to compassion and acceptance.
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Harry Dean Stanton, David Bowie, and John Lurie. Screenplay by Paul Schrader. Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Platoon: In Oliver Stone’s epic allegory of good and evil set during the Vietnam War, Dafoe plays Eli, a compassionate and righteous sergeant who does his best to maintain sanity and decency during the insanity of wartime. He is pitted against his evil counterpart Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger) in the struggle for the soul of soldier Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen). Dafoe is at his most affable and charming here as Eli. He also reveals a real compassion and regard for the welfare of his men as well as the Vietnamese people. His easy smile and inviting demeanor make for one of Dafoe’s most likeable and relatable characters.
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Russel Edson, Johnny Depp, Keith David, Forrest Whittaker, and Kevin Dillon. Written and directed by Oliver Stone.
The Florida Project: In this coming-of-age film, Halley (Bria Vinaite), a young single mother is living in The Magic Castle with her daughter Moonee (Brooklyn Prince) in Kissimmee, Florida, close to Disney World. Moonee and the other children living in the motel run around unsupervised—except for the motel’s kindly manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe)—who does his best to keep an eye on them. After losing her job as an exotic dancer, Halley resorts to prostitution so she and Moonee can survive. Eventually, after she gets into more serious trouble, the Florida DCF arrives to take Moonee from Halley and put her into foster care. As Bobby, Dafoe delivers a compassionate performance as a decent man trying his best to protect the unsupervised children in his facility. Beneath his stern exterior, he evinces a vigilant protectiveness toward the children, at one point chasing a pedophile off the property. A brilliantly understated performance.
Starring: Brie Vinaite, Brooklyn Prince, Willem Dafoe, Mela Murder, Christopher Rivera, and Josie Olivio. Written by Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch. Directed by Sean Baker.
Shadow of the Vampire: This film is a fictionalized account of the filming of F.W. Murnau’s (Jon Malkovich) silent horror classic Nosferatu. At the beginning of the shoot, Murnau tells his crew that he has hired Max Schreck (Dafoe), an obscure theater actor to play Count Orlock, the vampire, and that Schreck, as a strict method actor, insists on shooting only at night. After a series of perverse and grisly incidents, Murnau confesses to the crew that Schreck is an actual vampire. Obsessed with the film, Murnau cannot stop shooting even as his crew is attacked by Schreck. To play Orlock, Dafoe dons all the mannerisms and tropes of a movie vampire, and in the hands of a lesser actor, the portrayal could easily have become a parody of itself. Dafoe’s performance, however, conflates the artistic integrity of an actor with the genuine evil of the vampire. It’s almost impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins.
Starring: John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Cary Elwes, John Aden Gillet, Eddie Izzard, and Udo Kier. Written by Steven Katz. Directed by E. Elias Merhige.
Mississippi Burning: This historical drama is based on the real-life 1964 murders of three civil rights workers. In the film, Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman), a veteran FBI agent, is paired with straightlaced agent Alan Ward (Willem Defoe) to investigate the disappearance of these three freedom workers. While Ward, a Northerner, wants to go by the book, Anderson, who knows the South, tries to convince him that his approach will get them nowhere. The two finally agree to a strategy and eventually—using unorthodox police methods—are able to infiltrate the local KKK chapter and find the murderers. As Ward, Dafoe conveys a stern and almost arrogant righteousness in his quest for justice. His frustration with Anderson’s easygoing Southern style is tempered as he realizes its effectiveness. Dafoe’s performance plumbing the depths of his ethics is wrenching and believable.
Starring: Gene Hackman, Willem Defoe, Frances McDormand, Brad Dourif, R. Lee Ermey, and Michael Rooker. Written by Chris Georimo. Directed by Alan Parker.
The Lighthouse: In this psychological thriller/horror film, Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) takes on a job as a “wickie”, a lighthouse keeper assigned to work under lighthouse supervisor Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe). Wake is a demanding boss, forcing Winslow to empty chamberpots and perform the dangerous task of painting the lighthouse. Winslow begins to notice Wake behaving strangely, including disrobing nightly before the lantern. In their enforced isolation, Winslow begins to hallucinate, imagining he is seeing mermaids and other creatures. After violating Wake’s edict not to kill the one-eyed gull, the two are beset by a storm which isolates them and spoils all their rations. The two men then descend into a drunken maelstrom of madness, paranoia, and mayhem. In a virtuoso performance, Dafoe’s Wake is a volatile combination of sadistic manipulations, intense self-loathing, and repressed desire. He is a force of nature in this film, unquenchable and unrelenting.
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson, Valeriia Karaman, and Logan Hawkes. Written by Max and Robert Eggers. Directed by Robert Eggers.
Triumph of the Spirit: A biographical drama depicting the harrowing experiences of Salamo Arouch (Willem Dafoe), a Greek stevedore who is imprisoned with his family and fiancee Allegra in Auschwitz during the Second World War. When the Nazis discover that Arouch is a gifted boxer, they force him into matches against his fellow prisoners for entertainment. Arouch is told that if he refuses to fight, his family will suffer or die, and that, if he loses, he will go to the gas chamber. As he fights to keep his family alive, having to beat fellow prisoners to death in order to do so, Arouch is still steadfast in his desire to keep his love alive. As Arouch, Dafoe portrays a man clinging to his last shred of hope and using all his strength and skill in order to simply stay alive. His eyes betray the despair and pain he refuses to show on the outside.
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Edward James Olmos, Robert Loggia, Wendy Gazelle, Kelly Wolf, and Kario Salem. Written by Andrzej Krakowski and Laurence Heath. Directed by Robert Young.
Autofocus: This film is a disturbing biopic of actor Bob Crane and his downward spiral from the famous television star of Hogan’s Heroes to a sex addict caught up in an odd symbiotic relationship with John Henry Carpenter (Dafoe), an electronics guru who introduces Crane to home video systems. Together, the two of them work their perverse teamwork. Crane brings women into their motel room and Carpenter films them having sex. When word of Crane’s secret life leaks out, his career is jeopardized, and he attempts to distance himself from Carpenter. As the video guru, Dafoe conveys a complicated mixture of obeisance, desire, and idolization. He loves Crane—almost as much as he loves his celebrity—and subsumes himself to doing homemade pornography in order to do it.
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Willem Dafoe, Rita Wilson, Maria Bello, Michael E. Rodgers, Kurt Fuller, and Ed Begley, Jr. Screenplay by Michael Gerbosi. Directed by Paul Schrader.
To Live and Die in L.A.: In this classic crime thriller, Dafoe plays Eric “Rick” Masters, a criminal mastermind whom Secret Service Agent Richard Chance (William Peterson) is obsessed with apprehending because Masters killed his partner. With the assistance of his new partner Vukovich (John Pankow), Chance tries everything from theft to extortion to catch his nemesis, but Masters is always one step ahead, even planting his own moles within the Secret Service. Dafoe’s Eric Masters is consummately evil and disarmingly diabolical. Even though he is playing a man without an ounce of socially redeeming value, Dafoe makes him oddly compelling. His good looks and charm sometimes cause us to overlook the evil we know lurks within.
Starring: William Peterson, Willem Dafoe, John Pankow, Dean Stockwell, John Turturro, and Robert Downey, Sr. Written by Gerald Pietevich and William Friedkin. Directed by William Friedkin.
The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou: As part of the large and talented troupe of actors appearing in a number of Wes Anderson films, Dafoe has the run the gamut from sadistic hit men like J.G. Jopling in The Grand Budapest Hotel or nefarious Rat in The Fantastic Mr. Fox to the imprisoned mob accountant Albert the Abacus in The French Dispatch In the The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou, Dafoe plays Klaus Daimler, Zissou’s oafish first mate who reveres his boss as a father figure and longs for his friendship. Daimler, is, in turns, childlike, menacing, and klutzy. Dafoe somehow manages to infuse the character with equal doses of sympathy, humor, and antipathy.
Starring: Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum, Willem Dafoe, Michael Gambon, and Angelica Huston. Written and directed by Wes Anderson.