Willem Dafoe
Acting • Born 1955-07-22
Biography
William James "Willem" Dafoe (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 the Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, four Golden Globe Awards, four Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has frequently collaborated with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. Dafoe was a founding member of experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He made his film debut with an uncredited role in Heaven's Gate (1980). Dafoe's early career includes credits for The Loveless (1982), Streets of Fire (1984), and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). He earned his first Academy Award nomination for the war drama Platoon (1986), followed by nominations for his roles in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), The Florida Project (2017), and the Vincent van Gogh biopic At Eternity's Gate (2018). He also gained acclaim and wide recognition for his roles as Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and as the supervillain Norman Osborn in the superhero film Spider-Man (2002), a role he reprised in its sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). His other film appearance include roles in Mississippi Burning (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), Light Sleeper (1992), Body of Evidence (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), The English Patient (1996), Affliction (1997), New Rose Hotel(1998), Existenz (1999), The Boondock Saints (1999), American Psycho (2000), Auto Focus (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Inside Man (2006), Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), Antichrist (2009), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Nymphomaniac (2013), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), John Wick (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Aquaman (2018), The Lighthouse (2019), Nightmare Alley (2021), Poor Things (2023), and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024).
Filmography
247 credits
Finding Nemo
Movie • 2003
Gill (voice)
Inside Man
Movie • 2006
John Darius
The English Patient
Movie • 1996
David Caravaggio
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Movie • 2004
Klaus Daimler
Wild at Heart
Movie • 1990
Bobby Peru
Basquiat
Movie • 1996
The Electrician
Spider-Man
Movie • 2002
Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Spider-Man 2
Movie • 2004
Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Spider-Man 3
Movie • 2007
Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Mr. Bean's Holiday
Movie • 2007
Carson Clay
American Psycho
Movie • 2000
Donald Kimball
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Movie • 2003
Armando Barillo
SPYMASTER: John le Carré in Hamburg
Movie • 2014
(archive footage)
Body of Evidence
Movie • 1993
Frank Dulaney
Mississippi Burning
Movie • 1988
Agent Alan Ward
Speed 2: Cruise Control
Movie • 1997
Geiger
Pet Shop Days
Movie • 2025
Francis
Paris Je T'aime
Movie • 2006
Le cow-boy (Place des Victoires)
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Movie • 2009
Rat (voice)
eXistenZ
Movie • 1999
Gas
Manderlay
Movie • 2005
Grace's Father
Born on the Fourth of July
Movie • 1989
Charlie
The Clearing
Movie • 2004
Arnold Mack
Faraway, So Close!
Movie • 1993
Emit Flesti
Heaven's Gate
Movie • 1980
Willy (uncredited)
Shadow of the Vampire
Movie • 2000
Max Schreck
The Last Temptation of Christ
Movie • 1988
Jesus
Asteroid City
Movie • 2023
Saltzburg Keitel
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
Movie • 2009
Paul Smecker (uncredited)
New Rose Hotel
Movie • 1999
X
xXx: State of the Union
Movie • 2005
Gen. George Octavius Deckert
Fireflies in the Garden
Movie • 2008
Charles Waechter
The Boondock Saints
Movie • 1999
Paul Smecker
The Hunger
Movie • 1983
2nd Phone Booth Youth
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
Movie • 2009
Gavner Purl
Affliction
Movie • 1998
Rolfe Whitehouse
Cry-Baby
Movie • 1990
Hateful Guard
American Dreamz
Movie • 2006
Chief of Staff
The Reckoning
Movie • 2004
Martin
Clear and Present Danger
Movie • 1994
John Clark
Animal Factory
Movie • 2000
Earl Copen
The Walker
Movie • 2007
Larry Lockner
Control
Movie • 2004
Dr. Michael Copeland
To Live and Die in L.A.
Movie • 1985
Rick Masters
The Legend of Ochi
Movie • 2025
Maxim
Farewell
Movie • 2009
Feeney
Auto Focus
Movie • 2002
John Carpenter
Anamorph
Movie • 2007
Stan Aubray
Light Sleeper
Movie • 1992
John LeTour
The Loveless
Movie • 1984
Vance
Streets of Fire
Movie • 1984
Raven Shaddock
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
Movie • 1987
Elephant Grass (voice)
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
Movie • 2010
Detective Hank Havenhurst
Bullfighter
Movie • 2000
Father Ramirez
Off Limits
Movie • 1988
Buck McGriff
Miral
Movie • 2010
Eddie
Victory
Movie • 1996
Axel Heyst
Ripley Under Ground
Movie • 2005
Neil Murchison
Antichrist
Movie • 2009
He
Tom & Viv
Movie • 1994
Tom Eliot
Edges of the Lord
Movie • 2001
Priest
Adam Resurrected
Movie • 2008
Commandat Klein
John Carter
Movie • 2012
Tars Tarkas
Flight of the Intruder
Movie • 1991
Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole
White Sands
Movie • 1992
Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
Daybreakers
Movie • 2010
Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Movie • 2024
Jackson
Brothers in Arms
Movie • 2018
Self
Before It Had a Name
Movie • 2005
Leslie
The Dust of Time
Movie • 2008
A
Go Go Tales
Movie • 2008
Ray Ruby
Pavilion of Women
Movie • 2001
Father Andre
The Hunter
Movie • 2011
Martin David
Forrest Bess: Key to the Riddle
Movie • 1999
Narrator
4:44 Last Day on Earth
Movie • 2012
Cisco
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Movie • 2014
Jopling
Tomorrow You're Gone
Movie • 2012
The Buddha
Roadhouse 66
Movie • 1984
Johnny Harte
A Woman
Movie • 2010
Max Oliver
Inside
Movie • 2023
Nemo
A Most Wanted Man
Movie • 2014
Tommy Brue
The Night and the Moment
Movie • 1995
Lo scrittore
Out of the Furnace
Movie • 2013
John Petty
The Wild One
Movie • 2023
Narrator (voice)
John Wick: Calling in the Cavalry
Movie • 2015
Self
Don't F*#% With John Wick
Movie • 2015
Self
Why Are We (Not) Creative?
Movie • 2021
Self
Saving Norman
Movie • 2013
Lionel Pembrooke
The Smile Man
Movie • 2013
Willem
Love's Routine
Movie • 2013
Barry
Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal
Movie • 2005
Self
Il coraggio di essere Franco
Movie • 2022
Sé stesso
Spider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home
Movie • 2022
Self
Odd Thomas
Movie • 2013
Wyatt Porter
The Fault in Our Stars
Movie • 2014
Peter van Houten
Rockets Redglare!
Movie • 2003
Self
John Wick
Movie • 2014
Marcus
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
Movie • 2013
L
Finding Satoshi
Movie • 2022
Narrator
Bad Country
Movie • 2014
Bud Carter
The Aviator
Movie • 2004
Roland Sweet
Gonzo Girl
Movie • 2023
Walker Reade
Pasolini
Movie • 2014
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Poor Things
Movie • 2023
Godwin Baxter
Finally Dawn
Movie • 2024
Rufo Priori
Vincent van Gogh Superstar
Movie • 2019
Vincent van Gogh (archive footage)
The Procedure
Movie • 2007
Christopher
White Homeland Commando
Movie • 1993
Karl
Kinds of Kindness
Movie • 2024
Raymond / George / Omi
The Man in My Basement
Movie • 2025
Anniston Bennett
Triumph of the Spirit
Movie • 1989
Salamo Arouch
The Great Wall
Movie • 2016
Ballard
The Misbehavers
Movie • 2004
Self
Franco Battiato - La voce del padrone
Movie • 2022
Robert Wilson: The Beauty of the Mysterious
Movie • 2022
Self
Creation of the Kingdom of Exodus
Movie • 2022
Self / Grand Duc
The Making of A Most Wanted Man
Movie • 2015
Self
Saturday Night
Movie • 2024
David Tebet
My Hindu Friend
Movie • 2016
Diego Fairman
Dog Eat Dog
Movie • 2016
Mad Dog
A Family Man
Movie • 2016
Ed Blackridge
Late Fame
Movie • 2026
Ed Saxberger
Tenzing
Movie
Colonel John Hunt
Into the Deep: America, Whaling & The World
Movie • 2010
Narrator
New York Nights
Movie • 1984
Boyfriend
Mind the Gap
Movie • 2016
Self
Globehunters: An Around the World in 80 Days Adventure
Movie • 2002
Hunter (voice)
Fukushima: A Nuclear Story
Movie • 2015
Narrator
Finding Dory
Movie • 2016
Gill (voice)
Death Note
Movie • 2017
Ryuk (voice)
Tropico
Movie
Raymond
The Florida Project
Movie • 2017
Bobby
What Happened to Monday
Movie • 2017
Terrence Settman
Aquaman
Movie • 2018
Nuidis Vulko
Murder on the Orient Express
Movie • 2017
Gerhard Hardman
The Birthday Party
Movie • 2026
Marcos Timoleon
Interior (The Spectator)
Movie • 2023
Narrator
Lulu on the Bridge
Movie • 1998
Dr. Van Horn
Siberia
Movie • 2020
Clint
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait
Movie • 2017
Self
Mountain
Movie • 2017
Narrator (voice)
Father
Movie • 2016
James Verdun
This Is an Adventure
Movie • 2005
Self
At Eternity's Gate
Movie • 2018
Vincent van Gogh
Opus Zero
Movie • 2018
Paul
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
Movie • 2005
Willem Dafoe (uncredited)
A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
Movie • 2001
Self
Platoon
Movie • 1986
Sergeant Elias Grodin
The Lighthouse
Movie • 2019
Thomas Wake
Motherless Brooklyn
Movie • 2019
Paul Randolph
O Panama
Movie • 1985
Manou the Swift
Movie • 2019
Manou's Father (voice)
The Last Thing He Wanted
Movie • 2020
Richard McMahon
Counterfeit World: Making 'To Live and Die in L.A.'
Movie • 2003
Self
Cannes: All Access
Movie • 2007
Self
Vox Lux
Movie • 2018
Narrator (voice)
Piazza Vittorio
Movie • 2017
Himself
Nelson Algren Live
Movie • 2016
Role1 / Frankie Machine / Role2 / Blackie Cavanaugh
Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty
Movie • 2003
Tommaso
Movie • 2020
Tommaso
The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
Movie • 2021
Albert 'the Abacus'
Voom Portraits
Movie • 2007
Self
Love, Antosha
Movie • 2019
Self
On the Set: 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou'
Movie • 2005
Self / Klaus D.
Brace Up!
Movie • 1993
Colonel Alexander Ignatyevich Vershinin
Ballad of a Righteous Merchant
Movie • 2017
Self
Togo
Movie • 2019
Leonhard Seppala
Under the Rainbow: Making The Florida Project
Movie • 2018
Self
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
Movie • 2020
Self
Nightmare Alley
Movie • 2021
Clem Hoatley
Final Cut: The Making and Unmaking of Heaven's Gate
Movie • 2004
Narrator (voice)
The Making of Daybreakers
Movie • 2010
Self
Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago
Movie • 2020
North on Evers
Movie • 1992
The Card Counter
Movie • 2021
Gordo
Atalanta Strategy
Movie • 1984
Immigration Staff
The Northman
Movie • 2022
Heimir the Fool
Bob Wilson's Life & Death of Marina Abramovic
Movie • 2012
Self
Rhyme 'Em to Death
Movie • 1993
Friedkin Uncut
Movie • 2018
Self
Theatron. Romeo Castellucci
Movie • 2018
Overnight
Movie • 2003
Self
Wim Wenders, Desperado
Movie • 2020
Self
Sportin' Life
Movie • 2020
Self
The Benaki Museum
Movie • 2013
Narrator (voice)
7 Deaths of Maria Callas
Movie • 2022
Film Actor
The Lighthouse: A Dark & Stormy Tale
Movie • 2020
Self
Location Production Footage: The Last Temptation of the Christ
Movie • 1988
Self
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Movie • 2021
Vulko
Behind the Ultimate Spin: The Making of 'Spider-Man'
Movie • 2002
Self
Sanctuary
Movie • 2017
Narrator
Spider-Mania
Movie • 2002
Self
Maresco / Pasolini
Movie • 2021
Self
To Each His Own Cinema
Movie • 2007
(segment "Occupations") (archive footage)
Dead for a Dollar
Movie • 2022
Joe Cribbens
River
Movie • 2021
Narrator
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Movie • 2021
Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
The Spider-Man Story
Movie • 2002
Self
run 002
Movie • 2024
Sculpt
Movie • 2016
Nosferatu
Movie • 2024
Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz
Jesus Goes to Hollywood
Movie • 2024
Self (archive footage)
Nosferatu: An Inside Look
Movie • 2024
Self
The Sleeping Shepherd
Movie
The Souffleur
Movie • 2025
Lucius
Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of Wild at Heart
Movie • 2004
Wrong Guys
Movie • 1997
Jack Straw
Behind the Scenes of 'Spider-Man'
Movie • 2004
Self
Zero
Movie • 2025
(voice)
The Phoenician Scheme
Movie • 2025
Knave
Can Creativity Save the World?
Movie • 2024
Self
Cuddle
Movie
Dante
A Christmas Carol
Movie
Ebenezer Scrooge
Grande Envie
Movie • 2025
Count
Avrio Vrady
Movie • 2025
Dancing man
Werwulf
Movie • 2026
Willem Dafoe
Movie • 2023
Odesseus
Movie
The Simpsons
TV • 1989
The Commandant / Jack Lassen (voice)
Inside the Actors Studio
TV • 1994
Self
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
The Colbert Report
TV • 2005
The Hitchhiker
TV • 1983
Jeffrey Hunt
The Wonderful World of Disney
TV • 1997
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
Wintergasten
TV • 2007
The Simpsons
TV • 1989
Commandant (voice)
The Kingdom
TV • 1994
Grand Duc
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Host
Fishing with John
TV • 1991
Self
The Directors
TV • 1999
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
TV • 2015
Self
Stasera c’è Cattelan su Raidue
TV • 2022
Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
NHK WORLD PRIME
TV • 2017
Self - Narrator (voice)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self
Off Camera with Sam Jones
TV • 2014
Self
Kulturplatz
TV • 2004
Self
Mostra, Venise
TV • 2022
Self
Conan
TV • 2010
Self
Wim Wenders - Von Filmen und Träumen
TV • 2020
Self
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
TV • 2014
Self
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self - Presenter
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self - Guest