Willem Dafoe in a 1975 Theatre X production

In this video dug up from UWM archives, Willem Dafoe appears in a Theatre X production from 1975 called “Civil Commitment Hearings.”
In the production, Dafoe appears with several young actors, many of whom studied at UWM and helped found Theatre X. The cast includes Flora Coker, Ron Gural, Arleen Kalenich, John Kishline (incorrectly credited as Kischline), Eric Schneider, John Schneider and Leslie Sharpe.
Some of the cast went on to long careers in theater. Kishline, for example, has acted in almost 200 plays across the country and overseas. John Schneider has been an actor, director, playwright and musician.
Gural has been a director and actor, directing more than 50 productions over the years. He taught at UWM, where Dafoe was one of his students. He’s now a professor emeritus of theater at Tulane University.
Coker spent three decades with Theater X and has also appeared in productions by Next Act, First Stage Children’s Theater and the Milwaukee Rep.
Learn more about Dafoe's time as a UWM theater student: uwm.edu/news/acclaimed-actor-w...
Learn more about UWM: go.uwm.edu/2ELmSfo
Get more UWM:
Facebook: / uwmilwaukee
Instagram: / uwmilwaukee
Snapchat: / uwmilwaukee
Twitter: / uwm
KZbin: / uwmnews

[@333br]

Willem Dafoe has always been oddly handsome, such a wicked underrated actor.

[@axx012]

He isnt underrated at all. His time in the spotlight just is up. It happens to the best of them.

[@joshualegaspi2066]

@@iiiiajaxiiii I'm something of a scientist myself

[@bbmcrae]

Do you not understand the meaning of "underrated"?

[@333br]

@@bbmcrae Yes I do.

[@jasongkomozias9456]

@@333br underrated lol he literally one of the most famous actors of his generation

[@qu1v3r]

“William DAYfoe.” I’m dying here.

[@thearya88]

All of this time I've been saying it wrong 😂😂😂😂 that was definitely a hard DAY lol

[@portraita2679]

No, it's: "Dave O."

[@Dizzydawne]

@@thearya88 he actually commented on this himself on a talk show I think and he actually said half his family pronounced Defoe differently, it’s either one

[@pushkaltripathi5980]

Before he was something of a scientist himself

[@ghedebaronsamedi]

The question is, is able to take care of himself?

[@oliviaoliver3924]

❤️💙

[@lillyfahey1921]

Lmaooo 😂🤣😂

[@mitchelltodd6363]

William day foe

[@chefebben]

young dafoe lookin lika a 70s rock star!

[@georgeanderson7499]

He had rockin' hair then.

[@lavanyaarawat]

Well he's from that Era so, 😬

[@G3000]

Acting is his life. Give his Oscar already

[@wimgrundyearth5753]

Dafoe as Van Gogh

[@i_violetexpress_i]

the oscar’s don’t deserve him

[@perlitalaguna6622]

@@i_violetexpress_i Facts!

[@cybersquire]

He changed the way he pronounced his name when he became an actor. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH HE SACRIFICED?!?!?!!

[@MissDafne92]

Not me having a crush on 70s Willem Dafoe 😍💕

[@GourmetGhouless]

The hair. The face. The voice. The act!!! He is perfect since ever.

[@jackierosas9593]

I don’t know if it’s just because he’s Willem Dafoe and I don’t recognize any of the other actors but he really stands out. He has that star quality that the others don’t seem to have. It’s lovely to see how far he’s progressed from here.

[@alexa.4273]

You can see it in his eyes

[@arfansthename]

no but legit everyone else is stereotypically 1970s, all except dafoe

[@joetaylor3563]

At the :07 sec mark, where Willem kept the eye contact with the audience for one second longer, that's the moment where he stood out from the rest.

[@tinkerbelle7650]

Willem Dafoe looks somewhat like Reese Witherspoon here.. lol..

[@Dev-In-Denver123]

Or does she look like the female version of willem dayfoe 😁

[@canaisyoung3601]

Oh, come on. Reese Witherspoon's face doesn't look that messed up.

[@Greenballoffire]

LOL I SEE THAT

[@marvinlassegue951]

He has great hair, everyone wants that kind of hair.

[@anitaroth364]

Willem Dafoe is awesome, & I love his hair here! A great actor.

[@damunaik4]

Good lord, that's handsome 😍 The look of those eyes, that gorgeous blonde hair, the voice. Wish he was in films at that age..

[@ellaments1995]

My grandma met Willem Dafoe in the 70s they were both in there 20s and they went to the same acting school in NY this was before he was famous but she saw him eating a sandwich while crying and she was trying to cheer him up asking him what’s wrong he said he’s a failure and he’s not good at acting and he was thinking about quitting acting and my grandma was like no you have to keep going you’ll get this carrier but look at him now he has a big carrier he’s famous he has a child he has so many fans and movies good thing my grandma convinced him to keep going

[@og_jellyman958]

Yeah and my grandpa told cassius clay to not give up on his boxing dream and now look at him, changed his name to Muhammad Ali and became one of the best boxers to ever live, it’s a good thing my grandpa convinced casssius to keep fighting

[@DolphinMayhem69]

@@og_jellyman958 LMAO

[@ramonanoam1798]

I’ll take things that never happened for 200

[@sinful0-066]

I am very passionate about this actor Willem Dafoe and too see him young in the theater it is amazing to see how far he has come. As well as this being Dafoe has inspired me to get into the theater and further explore my talents, Thank you.

[@dylanwiley4184]

yeah but have you thought about how he kills more chickens than tyson foods but to be fair he stomps them before they hatch while tyson foods waits for them to be born and then they step on the little chickens heads until there is nothing but a sticky red stain on the ground

[@sinful0-066]

why are you like this

[@Misty8097]

@@dylanwiley4184 why

[@ellaments1995]

My grandma met Willem Dafoe in the 70s they were both in there 20s and they went to the same acting school in NY this was before he was famous but she saw him eating a sandwich while crying and she was trying to cheer him up asking him what’s wrong he said he’s a failure and he’s not good at acting and he was thinking about quitting acting and my grandma was like no you have to keep going you’ll get this carrier but look at him now he has a big carrier he’s famous he has a child he has so many fans and movies good thing my grandma convinced him to keep going

[@santv9284]

Why is everyone talking about Dafoe when this is such an interesting piece and it’s message is very interesting to when viewing how things may or may have not changed today

[@bellanita]

14:15 The expression on his face...omw

[@pushkaltripathi5980]

How long he has been reading that? Five weeks? Two days? Help him recollect

[@ellsdale3535]

young daddy goblin lookin fine

[@marcelparker6755]

You know, he's something of a thespian himself.

[@karenmonroe4778]

I loved these guys! They came to Burlington High School were I taught to do workshops. I attended many of their shows. They were wonderful!

[@rockharddock1711]

Well one of em is a millionaire now so

[@Joe-ut3sz]

That long haired kid can cook a great lobster dish.

[@danflashes7125]

I’m not fond of his lobster.

[@yacobz]

Very interesting concept for Live theater.

[@joetaylor3563]

A decade later, Willem's churning out one of a kind performances with so many great directors, Platoon, To Live and Die in La, Wild at Heart, on and on.

[@rayl9335]

He's a standout in this. When interacting directly with other actors his eye contact, subtle expressions and body language just prior to talking looks very natural.

[@speedracer8724]

He sounds so different

[@anitaroth364]

This is interesting, & I enjoyed every actors performance. I think the mental hospitals being shut down for the most part should show how effective they were. We had one in Bartonville Illinois, & at first they supplied excellent help for mental patients, with gardening, dinners, grounds keeping, many different jobs patients had to keep busy & have accomplishments. I think less federal/state funding, changes in management, & lack of good & proper employees lead to abuse, negligence, etc resulting in the downfall of facilities. At the same time putting these patients that were not able to care for or defend themselves physically & mentally in jeopardy. Many were there just because the family didn't know what to do with them, some could have had Alzheimer's. Now most just receive medicine to get help, which is not enough. Many are even homeless.

[@oliviaoliver3924]

So sad

[@kurokoro]

Kinda looks a bit like a young Brad Pitt at times.

[@thetrickisirarelyrespond5945]

I feel like I heard that intermittent music on episodes of Columbo or similar? Tried to Shazam it, got nothing.

[@missyshrimp222]

I wonder if they still do this type of filming for college theater and study.

[@ramelep]

💚💚 Star ⭐️ quality!!

[@emmanuelmuniz8094]

He doesn’t even sound like the same person wow crazy how time goes

[@dylanwiley4184]

i saw willem dafoe light a child on fire

[@bigmicro]

dylan wiley same. Was pretty cool

[@333br]

What?

[@brandonguerron]

0:05 *"Look at ye, handsome lad with eyes as bright as a lady"*

[@naamidei]

Thats the Johnny Depp Gilbert Grape hair!!

[@aravindravi6845]

Exactly!

[@SpiderandMosquito]

And it's the perfect blackmail material

[@redrooms7416]

@@SpiderandMosquito this aint it fam

[@user-pn3ei2qc5i]

I've never known about Hurbert Shaw's plays in rendered forms.

[@gabekob]

Here after watching No Way Home. This guy just needs an oscar ASAP. Our green goblin's acting is as marvelous as Heath's Joker!

[@AnaVerona_]

Woooooo!!! Man!!!

[@js-pb2kf]

I came for Dafoe and stayed for the gripping horror in the drama. Holy hell. Have conditions for involuntary commitment changed since then? This is bone-chilling.

[@julianjaffe8739]

tbh not really

[@js-pb2kf]

@@julianjaffe8739 Fuck sake. :(

[@melissamayaa]

william dayfoe i love ur work

[@123DOWNUNDER890]

He looked good

[@ramelep]

💚💚 Star ⭐️ quality

[@snaubdca7yebf]

We've been mispronouncing his name his whole life!

[@marcelomarin8004]

14:44 She breaks out 😂😂

[@dkelly26666]

I'll bet Dafoe himself would get a kick out of looking back on this... :)

[@setolucifer9480]

All these year I’ve been saying duh-foe... I feel dumb

[@razeezar]

I know, right? Next, we'll find out it's actually pronounced 'Daniel Duh-Lewis'.

[@WindGodMoves]

What’s the message back ground intention of Williams script “ he talks of reincarnation “

[@vegetaultraego9801]

Maan he's young

[@maxcardun]

How can YOU tell?

[@laurencefishburnt8866]

Here's another clip of a young Willem Dafoe kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3bVhH6eeJV2kNU

[@TheJaminator128]

@@laurencefishburnt8866 I didn't see him in the video.

[@VSaccount]

he looked like heath ledger

[@marvinlassegue951]

He looked like a rock star then. He’s no James Franco character dad here.

[@ladys4684]

If I could time travel I'd go back to this and show him a picture of how he looks in 2022 just to see his reaction 😂

[@mutiaraaqilachandra2871]

Ohm...this is why I love him -handsome -a good boy -his hair -the best actor.. I......love u so much Willem Dafoe😘😘😘can I kiss u??

[@oliviaoliver3924]

😭😭😭😭😭

[@vyx900]

Bro this was 1975

[@marthamattix7683]

All this time I thought it was DAH-foe

[@ravisingh-jk1yp]

His hair's stills great

[@user-df2do6yq9x]

Hermoso el duende verde

[@999titu]

He looks like twin brother of Alice Eve "she is out of my league fame"

[@stephanietorres2279]

No sabía que los duendes actuaban bien ahí Dafoe 👍

[@DrNo-dz2hd]

You mean to tell me he wasn't always 65?

[@crashpal]

Is This "Speech And Debate"?

[@gifthippy8670]

Something that might not occur to modern viewings of this is in 1975 the idea of female lawyer or judge was something very pie in the sky hoped for, one day. I wonder why Willem Dafoe was not listed in the credits at the end.

[@TimothyJonSarris]

The British actor , Mark Rylance, states in an interview that when he was growing up in the US , this theatrical company was part of his early influences. I wonder if as a teenager, he ever went to see any of these productions. More so, I wonder he and Willem Defoe ever ran into each other at a Hollywood gathering and had a conversation about this early period of their theatrical lives.

[@kythemervenfrancisco3636]

WHERE IS THE DRIP?

[@oldiewandkelobi1909]

Anakin

[@viantzpradz4771]

Shadow of vampire he is mr dafoe!

[@rogerwhittaker4189]

Hey look it's Young whilem Dafoe aka Norman Osborn , before he played green goblin from 🕷️ Spiderman he has come along way since then until now.

[@cls6855]

Duende Verde Joven

[@MCO18]

He was like the Marlon Brando of this class

[@rretsiembob]

Looks like TOOL's guitar player. Hahahaha

[@jadenn.hernandez7784]

WiLLiAM DAYfOe LMFAO IM CRYING

[@dickrichard5579]

I’ve been saying his name wrong my whole life

[@lailaplaysdbd4004]

He looks good here!

[@alexfernandohuenten1374]

body good movie

[@teewest7287]

Moves like Jagger

[@alex3544]

Bro was born old

[@mothercain]

if i speak….

[@subzero3765]

0:15

[@bellanita]

God he was pretty 🥵

[@Alex-om2jt]

Willem Kurt Cobain Dafoe

[@kovlovka]

otherwise known as jerma985

[@bmtentertainment279]

This guy has looked like he is 45 his whole life

[@razeezar]

I wish I could see it, but he actually does look and sound like a guy who is in his early to mid twenties here. This was well before his stint as a marine electrician, when he got ill from chronic copper poisoning. The poor guy was never quite the same since then.

[@khalilbarca213]

Waw i'ts my grand mother ;!!!!

[@edde7611]

AGC ANDY????

[@charliepostell5296]

Day-foe

[@user-gc9qc6sy7x]

Harry Osborn.

[@ninjasolarteam]

Norman. actually

[@betoayala.youtube]

shiet i will stop smoking

[@notsigne3850]

Is this one flew over the co coos nest theme again? A critice of sociaty and asking who is really mentally ill. I dont get it. Maybe because we only se part of the play.

[@octaviamaejournals]

I thought he was English this whole time…

[@cagatayokman8693]

Cokguzel

[@willyperez2475]

Pause At 13:57 Willem looks Like James Franco

[@ninjasolarteam]

That's because him and his on-screen son were in the spiderman movie.

[@ninjasolarteam]

And no in real life they are not related it's just for their character portrayal

[@ninjasolarteam]

This is what norman Osborn looks like when he was young before harry osborn was born

[@poohdankens]

@@ninjasolarteam are you okay man

[@dylanwiley4184]

investigate 3/11

[@squidwardtortellini4491]

Before he was Spider-Man's biggest opp

[@lisabutter6181]

This film should be watched. It teaches a part of mental illness not understood. That if your mentally ill you are worth nothing, that you have no voice. Languishing living a tortured life. Wondering how your life got lost trying to get back to that

[@dark_sider]

I hate him as a villain in the Spiderman movie. then I watched him acting in the movie called hunter wow it changed my mind

[@lailaplaysdbd4004]

14:18

[@skydiver_anonymous7760]

Who else is here after watching spiderman nwh?

[@dylanwiley4184]

someone help me willem dafoe trapped me in his basement i was able to escape please someone send the police to my location im at 5500 herpes driveway

[@tomimpala]

CAN THE SPIDERMAN COME OUT TO PLAY?

[@chimeraarts2372]

Future green goblin everybody. A true sight to behold

[@TheDragonOfDojima04]

Young dafoe looks like Hayden Christensen