It might be near-impossible to steal a movie from Nicolas Cage but Dafoe pulls it off in Paul Schrader’s Dog Eat Dog

Hi Willem. So, a big theme of your interviews seems to be a deep mistrust of the British press.

Because of what I said, or because you’ve seen what bullshit they write (1)? Look, I’m not gonna ... no, the British press is particular, let’s put it that way.

Were you just in Iceland?

Yep. It was a good adventure, because we were filming just east of the western fjords (2). Beautiful, pure landscape. We had to make a little camp with our set trailers and work out of that. It was really nice.

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I just watched Dog Eat Dog (3) [directed by Paul Schrader]. It seems like a difficult task to steal a film from Nicolas Cage, but I think you managed it.

Well, um, I’m never interested in stealing a film from anybody. We just play the scenes. Listen, it’s clear that I have a very showy role there. Whether you like it or not, it certainly makes an impression.

At what stage of the film were you brought in?

Nic was already attached because this was his and Paul’s revenge project after they had a bad time on Dying of the Light (4). Paul just called me up and showed me the script, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it right away. But I like Nic a lot, I had a good time with him when we worked together on Wild at Heart. And I obviously like Paul, because I keep doing things for him when he asks me.

You’re very loyal to a small clutch of directors. After a certain point, are you expected to accept the roles they offer you?

It’s case by case. Generally, I’m quite seduced by strong directors, and directors who make personal films. Plus, it’s nice to be an ongoing element in somebody’s body of work. It’s fun for me, and it’s fun for audiences to see an ensemble go from piece to piece. But if the role doesn’t make sense, or I think someone else could do it better, then I have a little bit of a crisis.

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A lot of the directors you work with have certain reputations. Does that get easier? I mean, there are stories about Schrader (5) …

Well, you know, I’m not marrying the guy. I don’t have to sleep with him. If the work is good, that’s what it’s about. And, you know, I kinda like the crazy ones. I like the ones that are original thinkers. There’s nothing wrong with a polite, kind, stable director, but it’s a little more exciting when you never know what’s going to happen.

As much as you enjoy working on personal films by strong directors, you’re also making Justice League, which is presumably the opposite of that.

Well, Justice League is very particular because it’s an ensemble movie and my character is being introduced here in order to be a principal role in Aquaman. These films are a different experience. They have different responsibilities, different resources and different intentions. It’s nice to go between those worlds if you can. They serve different impulses.

You don’t get to go to Iceland for a lot of Paul Schrader movies.

It’s not so much that. On these big films, there’s a whole set of people who check on the progress of the project. Sometimes that works very well because you get something that’s very detailed and full-blown. But sometimes it’s too many cooks.

You were present at the very start of the superhero renaissance, with Spider-Man. That had a strong director.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dafoe in Spider-Man

And that was interesting because, as big as that film was, Sam Raimi didn’t have a formula. And I think with Justice League I think they’re trying to play around with the formula. Zac Snyder certainly has a heavy stamp on it. But Spider-Man was a very personal film to Sam. He really believed in the story. It was dear to him. It was fun to see a big studio film like that be so personal. I mean, nothing’s perfect, but it’s a good film.

You have a tonne of films coming out soon. Which are you most excited for people to see?

I don’t do that game. Love the one you’re with. I’m excited about them all. I profit nothing to have favourites. I may in my heart of hearts, but I’m certainly not going to tell you.

That’s it. How did I do, compared with all the other British journalists?

Ha ha [Long pause]. (6) You did great.

Footnotes



(1) Many interviewers are overly concerned with the size of his genitals.

(2) Filming Justice League, where he plays Nuidis Vulko.

(3) A black comedy directed by Paul Schrader.

(4) The film was re-edited, scored and mixed without Schrader’s input.

(5) My favourite story: coaxing Lindsay Lohan into filming a sex scene by taking off all his clothes.

(6) I could practically hear his eyes rolling.

• Dog Eat Dog is released in the UK on 18 November.