Willem Dafoe is one of the founding members of The Wooster Group, the New York-based experimental theater collective. He has created and performed in the group's work since 1977, both in the US and internationally. In 1979. after being seen in the theater, he was given a small role in Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, from which he was fired. His first feature role came shortly after in Kathryn Bigelow's The Loveless. From there, while continuing his work with the Wooster Group, he went on to perform in over 50 films - in Hollywood (Spider-Man, The English Patient, Clear and Present Danger, White Sands, Mississippi Burning, Streets of Fire) and in independent cinema in the US (The Clearing, Animal Factory, Basquiat, The Boondock Saints, American Psycho) and abroad (Lars von Trier's Manderlay, Ho Yim's Pavilion of Women, Yurek Bogayevicz's Edges of the Lord, Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close! and Brian Gilbert's Tom & Viv). He has chosen projects for diversity of roles and opportunities to work with strong directors. He has worked in the films of Wes Anderson (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou), Martin Scorsese (The Aviator, The Last Temptation of Christ), Paul Schrader )Auto Focus, Affliction, Light Sleeper), David Cronenberg (eXistenZ), Abel Ferrara (New Rose Hotel), David Lynch (David Lynch's Wild at Heart), William Friedkin (To Live and Die in L.A.) and Oliver Stone (Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon). He was nominated twice for the Academy Award ("Platoon" and Shadow of the Vampire) and once for the Golden Globe. Among other nominations and awards, he received an LA Film Critics Award and an Independent Spirit Award. His upcoming projects include Spike Lee's Inside Man, Paul Weitz's American Dreamz, the Nobuhiro Suwa segment of Paris, je t'aime and Giada Colagrande's Before It Had a Name. Written with Colagrande, this is his first screenplay.
He has a son, Jack, born in 1982, with Elizabeth LeCompte. His high school nickname, Willem, stuck with him. Says he feels like he's missed out on more conventional roles because he's perceived as an eccentric actor in dark little films, kind of the boy-next-door type - if you lived next door to a mausoleum. He attended Einstein Junior High School in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was known as "Billy." He did practically all of his own stunts on the glider in Spider-Man. So when you see the Green Goblin moving around on it, when it's not CG, then it's Willem pretty much the whole time. . Is a vegetarian. He was delirious for 24 hours after coming down with yellow fever on the set of Platoon. Attended Appleton East High School in Appleton, Wisconsin. Quite possibly has the most on-screen deaths of any mainstream actor. His death scenes include Platoon, The Last Temptation of Christ, Speed 2: Cruise Control, eXistenZ, Shadow of the Vampire, Spider-Man, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, among others. The only actor to ever be nominated for an Oscar for playing a vampire, for his role as Max Schrek in Shadow of the Vampire. Often portrays soldiers or eccentric characters. John Malkovich, Nicolas Cage, and Dafoe were all approached to play the Green Goblin in Spider-Man. Dafoe and Malkovich starred in Shadow of the Vampire together, while Cage produced the film. Dafoe ended up getting the Spider-Man role. Practices Yoga regularly. Was under consideration for Dennis Hopper's role (Frank Booth) in Blue Velvet. While doing a blocking run-through on David Lynch's Wild at Heart (for the scene in which Dafoe's character threatens to rape Laura Dern's character), Dafoe playfully sang his lines. Director David Lynch loved this, and wanted Dafoe to actually sing his lines in the scene, when they shot it. The idea did not actually go through, however. Brother, Donald Dafoe, is an accomplished transplant surgeon. Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Supporting Actor category for his performance in the film xXx 2: The Next Level However, he failed to receive a nomination. (Had he gotten the nomination, it would have been his third overall. He was previously nominated for Worst Supporting Actor at the 1998 Razzie Awards for his role in Speed 2: Cruise Control, and for Worst Actor at the 1994 Razzie Awards for his performance in Body of Evidence.) Was offered the role of Senator Roark in Sin City. Visited Sarajevo Film Festival (in post-war Bosnia) together with Steve Buscemi in year 2000. Sticks to an all-organic diet. Was a candidate for the role of the Joker in Batman.