Willem Dafoe

AKA William Dafoe Jr.

Born: 22-Jul-1955

Birthplace: Appleton, WI



Gender: Male

Race or Ethnicity: White

Sexual orientation: Straight

Occupation: Actor

Nationality: United States

Executive summary: Last Temptation of Christ

William Dafoe grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, about 100 miles north of Milwaukee, and was nicknamed "Willem" in high school. He was expelled from Appleton East High School for making a video that school administrators deemed pornographic. To get his diploma, Dafoe finished his studies at nearby Lawrence University. He studied drama at the University of Milwaukee, but soon dropped out, deciding he could learn more as an actor. Dafoe joined that city's experimental Theater X, and toured with them for two years before moving to New York in 1977. He was a founding member of the Wooster Group, an off-Broadway venture that survives to this day.

Before his breakthrough in To Live and Die in L.A., Dafoe's film roles were mostly tiny, and usually had him playing oddballs and bad guys. It was off-casting to have him play the embodiment of Good in Oliver Stone's allegorical Platoon, opposite handsome Tom Berenger as Evil. The gamble paid off, with Berenger, Dafoe, and the film all nominated for Oscars.

When movies aren't enough to occupy his time or mind, Dafoe still appears occasionally in the Wooster Group's stage productions, such as LSD and The Hairy Ape.

Father: William Dafoe (doctor)

Mother: (nurse)

Girlfriend: Elizabeth LeCompte (theater company director, b. 1945, together since 1977)

Son: Jack Dafoe (b. 1982)



High School: Appleton East High School, Appleton, WI

University: Drama, University of Wisconsin (dropped out)



Expelled from School

Endorsement of Fortune Brands Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey (2011)

Risk Factors: Yoga



FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR

Aquaman (26-Nov-2018)

Vox Lux (4-Sep-2018) · Narrator [VOICE]

At Eternity's Gate (3-Sep-2018)

Murder on the Orient Express (3-Nov-2017)

Death Note (24-Aug-2017) [VOICE]

What Happened to Monday (6-Aug-2017)

The Florida Project (22-May-2017)

The Great Wall (6-Dec-2016)

Finding Dory (8-Jun-2016) [VOICE]

John Wick (13-Oct-2014)

Pasolini (4-Sep-2014)

The Fault in Our Stars (16-May-2014)

Bad Country (10-Mar-2014)

The Grand Budapest Hotel (6-Feb-2014)

A Most Wanted Man (19-Jan-2014)

Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (25-Dec-2013)

Out of the Furnace (9-Nov-2013)

Odd Thomas (6-Apr-2013)

John Carter (7-Mar-2012) · Tars Tarkas

The Hunter (9-Sep-2011) · Martin

4:44 Last Day on Earth (7-Sep-2011) · Cisco

Miral (3-Sep-2010)

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (22-Oct-2009) · Gavner Purl

Fantastic Mr. Fox (14-Oct-2009) · Rat [VOICE]

Daybreakers (11-Sep-2009) · Lionel "Elvis" Cormac

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (6-Sep-2009) · Det. Havenhurst

Farewell (4-Sep-2009)

Antichrist (18-May-2009) · He

The Dust of Time (22-Nov-2008)

Adam Resurrected (30-Aug-2008)

Fireflies in the Garden (10-Feb-2008) · Charles

Anamorph (21-Sep-2007) · Stan Aubray

Go Go Tales (23-May-2007)

Spider-Man 3 (16-Apr-2007)

Mr. Bean's Holiday (22-Mar-2007) · Carson Clay

The Walker (13-Feb-2007) · Larry Lockner

Paris, je t'aime (18-May-2006)

Inside Man (16-May-2006)

American Dreamz (4-Mar-2006) · Chief of Staff

Ripley Under Ground (6-Nov-2005)

Before It Had a Name (Sep-2005)

Manderlay (16-May-2005) · Grace's Father

xXx: State of the Union (27-Apr-2005) · Gen. George Octavius Deckert

The Aviator (17-Dec-2004)

Control (7-Dec-2004)

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (20-Nov-2004)

Spider-Man 2 (30-Jun-2004)

The Clearing (Jan-2004) · Arnold Mack

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (27-Aug-2003) · Barillo

The Reckoning (6-Aug-2003) · Martin

Overnight (12-Jun-2003) · Himself

Finding Nemo (18-May-2003) · Gill [VOICE]

Auto Focus (8-Sep-2002) · John Carpenter

Spider-Man (3-May-2002)

Edges of the Lord (12-Oct-2001)

Pavilion of Women (16-Mar-2001)

Bullfighter (Oct-2000)

Shadow of the Vampire (15-May-2000) · Schreck

Animal Factory (24-Jan-2000)

American Psycho (21-Jan-2000) · Donald Kimball

The Boondock Saints (4-Aug-1999) · Paul Smecker

eXistenZ (16-Feb-1999) · Gas

New Rose Hotel (14-Oct-1998) · X

Lulu on the Bridge (14-Aug-1998) · Dr. Van Horn

Affliction (28-Aug-1997) · Rolfe Whitehouse

Speed 2: Cruise Control (13-Jun-1997) · Geiger

The English Patient (6-Nov-1996) · Caravaggio

Basquiat (9-Aug-1996) · The Electrician

The Night and the Moment (5-Jul-1995) · The Writer

Victory (1995) · Heyst

Tom & Viv (11-Nov-1994) · Tom Eliot

Clear and Present Danger (3-Aug-1994)

Faraway, So Close! (18-May-1993)

Body of Evidence (15-Jan-1993) · Frank Dulaney

Light Sleeper (21-Aug-1992) · John LeTour

White Sands (24-Apr-1992)

Flight of the Intruder (18-Jan-1991)

Wild at Heart (17-Aug-1990) · Bobby Peru

Cry-Baby (6-Apr-1990) · Hateful Guard

Born on the Fourth of July (20-Dec-1989) · Charlie

Triumph of the Spirit (8-Dec-1989)

Mississippi Burning (9-Dec-1988) · Ward

The Last Temptation of Christ (12-Aug-1988) · Jesus

Off Limits (11-Mar-1988)

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (Oct-1987) [VOICE]

Platoon (19-Dec-1986) · Sgt. Elias

To Live and Die in L.A. (1-Nov-1985) · Eric Masters

Streets of Fire (1-Jun-1984) · Raven

New York Nights (Mar-1984)

Roadhouse 66 (1984)

The Hunger (29-Apr-1983)

The Loveless (13-Sep-1982)









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