- Sean Penn, Holly Hunter, and Willem Dafoe have joined the opposition to a recent ban on sending special DVDs and videos to Academy Award voters. (October 15, 2003)
- South-of-the-border adventure ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO, starring Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Salma Hayek, staged its world premier at the 60th Venice Film Festival on Thursday. (August 29, 2003)
- A little flattery landed Dafoe in cold water in FINDING NEMO -- Dafoe said it felt good when Director Andrew Stanton brought him in and said he was the only one who could speak for Gil, the leader of the fish in the fish tank. (June 5, 2003)
- Before Dafoe received the role of the Green Goblin in SPIDER-MAN (2002), both Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich were offered the role. Malkovich and Dafoe starred together in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2000), which was produced by Nicolas Cage.
- He could not see for three days because he got too many eye drops to dilate the pupils of his eyes in bright sunlight to achieve a superhuman effect in THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988).
- His character in IN WEITER FERNE, SO NAH! (1993) is named Emit Flesti, which is Time Itself spelled backwards.
- In one scene of LIGHT SLEEPER (1991), John LeTour (Willem Dafoe) is shown sitting on his bed watching old photographs and listening to some CDs. One of the CDs is the soundtrack from Walter Hill's STREETS OF FIRE (1984), which was his first starring role.
- When Elias (Willem Dafoe) leaves after a dispute among the officers in PLATOON (1986), one of them makes the comment, Been in the bush three years and he thinks he's Jesus F***in Christ. Two years later, Willem Dafoe played Jesus in Martin Scorcese's THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST.
- Was nominated Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1987 for PLATOON.
- Joined Milwaukee's experimental Theater X troupe as a teen, then moved to New York in 1977, where he joined the avant-garde theater company, Wooster Group.
- 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.
- Known as Billy in his Junior High School
- He did practically all of his own stunts on the glider in SPIDER-MAN (2002). 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.
- Co-owns a restaurant with fellow PLATOON (1986) star, John C. McGinley.
- Is a vegetarian.
- Nominated for Best Villain at MTV Movie Awards for SPIDER-MAN (2002)
- Nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role at Academy Awards for SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2001)
- Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture at Golden Globe Awards for SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2001)
- Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role at Screen Actors Guild Awards for SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2001)
- Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast at Screen Actors Guild Awards for THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1997)
Quotes- On his role in THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (1988): "To this day, I can't believe I was so brazen to think I could pull off the Jesus role."
- "Casting people feel that they have to get someone who looks a certain way, and I think that jury is still out whether people find me attractive or not."
- "...I refuse to say that Clear and Present Danger is any less artful than Last Temptation...I only do work that for some reason I'm excited or curious about. I've been around long enough that I don't do anything for the money or for the nice trailer or for the perk of being in a big movie...Everything has its price."
Awards- Camerimage: Special Award - for immense contribution to the art of film (2002)
- Golden Satellite Awards: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2001)
- Independent Spirit Awards: Best Supporting Male, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2001)
- International Fantasy Film Award: Best Actor, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2001)
- Saturn Award: Best Supporting Actor, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2001)
- Catalonian International Film Festival, Sitges, Spain: Best Actor, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2000)
- Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival: Outstanding Creative Performance, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2000)
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards: Best Supporting Actor, SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2000)
- Sant Jordi Awards: Best Foreign Actor, LIGHT SLEEPER (1995)
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