photo:
http://nymag.com/images/2/daily/entertainment/07/09/25_dafoe_lgl.jpg
Biography
Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, the seventh of eight children, he acquired the nickname "Willem" in childhood. After graduating from Appleton East High School, he studied drama at the University of Wisconsin, but left before graduation in order to join the newly formed avant-garde group Theatre X. After touring with Theatre X for four years in the United States and Europe, he moved to New York City and joined the Performance Group, where he met director Elizabeth LeCompte. LeCompte and Dafoe left the Performance Group together and became personal and professional collaborators. Their son, Jack, was born in 1982. Dafoe married Italian actress Giada Colagrande on March 25, 2005.
Career
Willem's film career began in 1981, when he was cast in Heaven's Gate, but his role was removed from the film during editing. A year later he starred as the leader of a motorcycle gang in The Loveless, but his first breakthrough film role was as the compassionate Sergeant Elias in Platoon (1986). He has since become a popular character actor; due to his harsh facial features, he is often typecast as unstable or villainous characters, most recently the Green Goblin in the Spider-Man movies. He also played Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), which moved Sergio Leone to exclaim, "This is the face of a murderer, not of Our Lord!" He once remarked "To this day, I can't believe I was so brazen to think I could pull off the Jesus role", though Dafoe recieved acclaim despite the controversy surrounding the film.
Twice he has played peculiar detectives, once in The Boondock Saints (1999), and again in American Psycho (2000). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1986 for the Platoon and 2000 for the Shadow of the Vampire. After Spider-Man, Willem had a rare opportunity to play a heroic film role when he provided the voice of Gill in the animated movie Finding Nemo.
Willem also worked briefly as a model in a 1990 Prada campaign.
In 2004 Dafoe lent his likeness and voice for the highly successful James Bond video game Everything or Nothing as the character Nikolai Diavolo.
Filmography
The Inside Man (2006) .... Captain Darius
Manderlay (2005) .... Grace's father
XXX: State of the Union (2005) .... George Deckert
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) .... Klaus Daimler
Mr. Ripley's Return (2004) .... Murchison
The Aviator (2004) .... Tabloid editor
Spider-Man 2 (2004) .... Norman Osborn
The Clearing (2004) .... Arnold Mack
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) .... Barillo
Finding Nemo (2003) ... Gill (voice)
Auto Focus (2002) .... John Carpenter
Spider-Man (2002) .... Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin
Bullfighter .... Father Ramirez
The Reckoning .... Martin
Edges of the Lord .... Priest
Pavilion of Women .... Father Andre
Shadow of the Vampire (2000) .... Max Schreck
Animal Factory .... Earl Copen
American Psycho (2000) ... Donald Kimball
The Boondock Saints (1999) ...FBI Agent Paul Smecker
eXistenZ (1999) .... Gas
New Rose Hotel (1998) ... X
Lulu on the Bridge .... Dr. Van Horn
Affliction (1997) .... Rolfe Whitehouse
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) .... John Geiger
The English Patient (film) (1996).... Caravaggio
Basquiat (1996) .... The Electrician
Victory .... Axel Heyst
The Night and the Moment (1995) .... The Writer
Tom & Viv (1994) .... Thomas Stearns Eliot
Clear and Present Danger (1994) .... John Clark
In weiter Ferne, so nah! .... Emit Flesti
Cop & 1/2
Light Sleeper .... John LeTour
Body of Evidence (1993) .... Frank Dulaney
White Sands (1992) .... Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
Flight of the Intruder .... Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole
Wild at Heart (1990) .... Bobby Peru
Cry Baby (1990) ... Hateful Guard at Maryland Training School for Boys
Born on the Fourth of July (1989) .... Charlie - Villa Dulce
Triumph of the Spirit .... Salamo Arouch
Mississippi Burning (1988) ... Agent Ward
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) .... Jesus
Arrive Alive (unfinished) (1988)
Off Limits .... Sfc. Buck McGriff, CID
Platoon (1986) .... Sgt. Elias Grodin
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) .... Eric 'Rick' Masters
Roadhouse 66 .... Johnny Harte
Streets of Fire (1984) .... Raven Shaddock, Bombers Leader
New York Nights .... Boyfriend
The Hunger (1983) .... 2nd Phone Booth Youth
The Loveless .... Vance
Heaven's Gate (1980) .... Extra
King Rat (1965) ... Bit parts
Trivia
His birth name is William Dafoe. He changed it to "Willem" so people wouldn't call him "Billy."
He is often confused with Denis Leary.
