Willem Dafoe's Secret to a Complex Character

It's not hard to see the characteristics that make a 'bad guy' villainous. Willem Dafoe challenges us to look past the bad and into the human.
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[@nanu421]

Willem Dafoe is one of my favorite actors to hear talking about acting. His appreciation of art is just wholesome

[@mridulnair4754]

William Dafoe as the villain in Spider Man 1 was brilliant. Absolutely loved when he switched from being a normal guy to a absolut Maniac. He was just perfect. Go back and watch it please!

[@1newbert]

Thanks for letting your subjects talk. That is a skill many interviewers lack.

[@tomgarzillo7629]

"finding the shadow side... finding the other side"... there are wild lines in this fr - amazing

[@arunima2007]

Invigorating to hear from Willem Dafoe every time. The man is class apart!

[@ivanpotic3865]

He is one of the greatest actors alive... Unappreciated.

[@darrellgarrett72]

Great Actor!!

[@NKillmore]

I love different perspectives. Well said.

[@HeathParker]

He Truly is Willem Da-friend.

[@Synchronicitizen]

You are nice.

[@TTony-tu6dm]

Fantastic actor. Should have won the Oscar for Last Temptation

[@ninogaggi]

My favourite actor of all time and an all round good guy seemingly 👍😍

[@zovalentine7305]

Change, after all, is The One CONSTANT in life💃

[@zovalentine7305]

Willem Dafoe 🌷💖

[@amaragarrigus9031]

One of my favorite actors! ❤

[@charlie9ine]

Funny story. I was in lower Manhattan one winter and Willem walked by. We made eye contact. He gave me an acknowledgement that I only understood a couple of years later. As an artist I reached an international level of success and critical acclaim. Though it’s just an idea, I always remember that moment on the lower East Side.

[@JivanNavij]

What was rhe acknowledgement?

[@daniel-zh9nj6yn6y]

The alternative would be to do what Raul Julia did for Street Fighter.

[@sij809]

Raul Julia is truly remarkable actor. I think with SF he didnt have the right material. But yeah😂 I definitely see your point

[@penoyer79]

once I got into ASOIAF/Game of Thrones it really clicked for me how characters should be written. and that the best characters are the ones you don't know how to feel about or as Willem says - change your mind about. those character who operate in the gray (Jaime Lannister comes to mind) are the ones that are the best. i also really enjoy characters with contradictions IE a character who despises liars and has no tolerance for being lied to - has a secret mistress his wife doesn't know about.

[@birdlover7776]

Love him 🌸!!!

[@redfordreddington8834]

Movies can’t just be escapism if you want them to be more than that. Agreed.

[@damaniqphillip2756]

Awesome

[@ChrisGrande]

Excellent thoughts

[@nenozak714]

thank you willem this was very helpful

[@King-ci8sk]

Wanna know why he's one of the greats? Because when he speaks about the art, he speaks with passion

[@al3xl0lz]

This man whould make a great JOKER 🃏

[@michaeldonovan4793]

such a great character actor...never do i see the actor in his performances...

[@cobymarcum1442]

Very interesting. 👍

[@meltz87]

He's a national treasure

[@Flara555]

* Universal treasure

[@meltz87]

@@Flara555 I stand corrected

[@Flara555]

@@meltz87 :)

[@michaeldavidnvitales]

“I’m a bit of an actor myself.” -Norman Osbourne

[@alienautopsy9326]

Dafoe is a master. I’m proud to share the same birthday with him.

[@wolfgangamadeusmozart1293]

He played Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ and The Green Goblin in Spider-Man. Awesome actor.

[@almondridgebrewery3737]

Can we have him as a bond villain

[@brittinimitchell5699]

What a grounded explanation!

[@sahastranshumalviya2627]

He did a film in a film Mr. Bean’s Holiday the film in the film was playback

[@x97s]

He is cool person

[@worldstar4810]

THE GREEN GOBLIN INTERVIEW

[@loscriticssupreme931]

I can honestly say that WD could have possibly been a better Joker than JN if he was at this age then.

[@steveconn]

Sometimes good, like the vampire movie. Some of his performances like in Light Sleeper were amateurish.

[@jamesheath7601]

Norman Osborn

[@rnjesus9950]

If he never gets a Joker role the world will be a worst place for it.

[@vegeta4693214]

He's a side character in aquaman. So unless his joker role is in a standalone movie like Joker, or in a franchise reboot; it won't ever happen.

[@kennhiser]

Sorry but actors aren’t really artists. They are crafts people. They don’t get to create the characters but just interpret the work of the writer. Unless it’s pure improv.

[@justinbgr]

I think you are making a distinction without a difference. A "crafts" person who is exceptionally skilled at crafting something is by definition an artist. I like blades. A well-crafted blade stirs contemplation of the artist's hand in similar way to the brushstrokes in a painting. Filmmaking is collaborative art, and each performance both behind and in front of the camera is a part of the creative enterprise. Great films fire on all cylinders and each performance elevates the collaborative result to standing alone as an artistic statement. Some films have a fantastic performance or two, but aren't considered art on the whole. This doesn't mean that the great performances in the film weren't art. Take the movie John Q. Manipulative overly sentimental premise, terrible dialogue, generic direction. Denzel knocks it out of the park though. His performance makes the audience feel something rooted in truth despite all of the trite surrounding it. That's art.

[@reptongeek]

Curtis Hanson when he won his Oscar for L.A. Confidential had this to say; 'A Screenplay is just words on paper, we had an extraordinary ensemble of actors, who took our lines, gave them emotion, life. We thank them for making Brian and I look so good'

[@texastoast5202]

Men do age better than women. Just saying. Willem looks better now than in Platoon

[@blacktoothlongwalker1037]

Yeah, but he'd look better in a dress and make up. Now, where's my copy of Boondock Saints?

[@donlitos]

never seen this side of the green goblin