Willem Dafoe is an American actor internationally recognized for his intense screen presence and distinctive performances. He is best known to mainstream audiences for his role as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin in the Spider-Man film series and for his critically acclaimed performance in Platoon. Over decades, Dafoe has built a reputation as one of American cinema’s most daring, unpredictable, and artistically driven actors.

Willem Dafoe was born on July 22, 1955, in Appleton, Wisconsin, as one of seven children of Muriel Isabel Dafoe and William Alfred Dafoe. His mother worked as a nurse, while his father was a surgeon. One of his brothers, Donald Dafoe, also became a surgeon, and he has five sisters. Dafoe graduated from Appleton East High School.

At the age of seventeen, he began studying at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Dissatisfied with the university’s theater department, which he felt prioritized character over raw talent, he joined the experimental Milwaukee-based Theatre X group. Touring extensively across the United States and Europe, Dafoe later settled in New York in 1977, where he became a core member of the avant-garde Wooster Group.

Dafoe made his film debut in 1980 with a small role in Heaven’s Gate. His breakthrough came in 1985 when he portrayed Rick Masters in To Live and Die in L.A., directed by William Friedkin. He gained major critical acclaim in 1986 with Platoon, written and directed by Oliver Stone, starring alongside Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, and Forest Whitaker. His portrayal of Sergeant Elias earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Choosing roles based on artistic merit rather than box-office potential, Dafoe continued to surprise audiences with bold performances. In 1988, he starred in Mississippi Burning as an idealistic FBI agent. That same year, he portrayed Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ, directed by Martin Scorsese and co-starring Harvey Keitel.

In the 1990s, Dafoe delivered memorable performances in Wild at Heart, directed by David Lynch, Flight of the Intruder, White Sands, and Body of Evidence, where he appeared opposite Madonna. He also collaborated with Wim Wenders in Faraway, So Close!.

The year 2000 marked another creative peak, as Dafoe starred alongside John Malkovich in Shadow of the Vampire, earning widespread acclaim. That same year, he appeared in American Psycho, Animal Factory, and Pavilion of Women.

In 2002, Dafoe achieved global blockbuster fame by portraying Norman Osborn / Green Goblin in Spider-Man, starring with Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco. He reprised the role in Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).

He continued working with major directors, appearing in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (directed by Robert Rodriguez) alongside Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, and Eva Mendes. In later years, Dafoe appeared in high-profile films such as John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves, and delivered a widely praised performance in The Florida Project.

Dafoe practices yoga regularly and attended the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2000 alongside Steve Buscemi.

He married theater director and actress Elizabeth LeCompte in 1977, with whom he has a son, Jack Dafoe (born 1982). On March 25, 2005, Dafoe married Italian writer and director Giada Colagrande.

Filmography and Television Work
Screenplay:
2005 – Before It Had a Name (Feature Film)

Actor:
2018 – Aquaman (Nuidis Vulko) (Feature Film)
2017 – Seven Sisters (Feature Film)
2017 – The Florida Project (Bobby Hicks) (Feature Film)
2017 – Murder on the Orient Express (Gerhard Hardman) (Feature Film)
2017 – Death Note (Ryuk) (Feature Film)
2017 – Justice League (Nuidis Vulko) (Feature Film)
2016 – The Great Wall (Ballard) (Feature Film)
2016 – The Headhunter’s Calling (Feature Film)
2016 – Dog Eat Dog (Mad Dog) (Feature Film)
2014 – Pasolini (Pier Paolo Pasolini) (Feature Film)
2014 – John Wick (Marcus) (Feature Film)
2014 – The Grand Budapest Hotel (Jopling) (Feature Film)
2014 – The Fault in Our Stars (Peter Van Houten) (Feature Film)
2013 – Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (Feature Film)
2013 – Odd Thomas (Chief Wyatt Porter) (Feature Film)
2013 – Nymphomaniac: Volume II (Feature Film)
2013 – Out of the Furnace (John Petty) (Feature Film)
2013 – Bad Country (Bud Carter) (Feature Film)
2012 – Tomorrow You’re Gone (The Buddha) (Feature Film)
2012 – Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present (Feature Film)
2012 – John Carter (Tars Tarkas) (Feature Film)
2011 – The Hunter (Martin) (Feature Film)
2011 – 4:44 Last Day on Earth (Cisco) (Feature Film)
2010 – Daybreakers (Lionel “Elvis” Cormac) (Feature Film)
2010 – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Gavner Purl) (Feature Film)
2010 – My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (Detective Hank Havenhurst) (Feature Film)
2010 – Miral (Eddie) (Feature Film)
2009 – The Dust of Time (A) (Feature Film)
2009 – Goodbye Solo (Feeney) (Feature Film)
2009 – Antichrist (Adam) (Feature Film)
2008 – Fireflies in the Garden (Charles Waechter) (Feature Film)
2008 – Adam Resurrected (Commandant Klein) (Feature Film)
2007 – Spider-Man 3 (Norman Osborn) (Feature Film)
2007 – The Walker (Larry Lockner) (Feature Film)
2007 – Striptease Tales (Ray Ruby) (Feature Film)
2007 – Mr. Bean’s Holiday (Carson Clay) (Feature Film)
2007 – Anamorph (Stan) (Feature Film)
2006 – Inside Man (Captain John Darius) (Feature Film)
2006 – American Dreamz (Chief Greff) (Feature Film)
2005 – xXx: State of the Union (General George Deckert) (Feature Film)
2005 – Manderlay (Grace’s Father) (Feature Film)
2005 – Before It Had a Name (Leslie) (Feature Film)
2004 – Spider-Man 2 (Norman Osborn) (Feature Film)
2004 – Threat (Arnold Mack) (Feature Film)
2004 – The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Klaus Daimler) (Feature Film)
2004 – Control (Dr. Michael Copeland) (Feature Film)
2003 – The Reckoning (Martin) (Feature Film)
2003 – Finding Nemo (Gill – Voice) (Feature Film)
2003 – Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Barillo) (Feature Film)
2002 – Spider-Man (Norman Osborn) (Feature Film)
2002 – Auto Focus (John Carpenter) (Feature Film)
2001 – Passionada (Feature Film)
2000 – Shadow of the Vampire (Max Schreck) (Feature Film)
2000 – Animal Factory (Earl Copen) (Feature Film)
2000 – American Psycho (Detective Donald Kimball) (Feature Film)
1999 – The Boondock Saints (Paul Smecker) (Feature Film)
1999 – eXistenZ (Gas) (Feature Film)
1998 – New Rose Hotel (X) (Feature Film)
1997 – Speed 2: Cruise Control (John Geiger) (Feature Film)
1997 – Affliction (Rolfe Whitehouse) (Feature Film)
1996 – Basquiat (Feature Film)
1996 – The English Patient (David Caravaggio) (Feature Film)
1994 – Tom & Viv (T.S. Eliot) (Feature Film)
1994 – Clear and Present Danger (John Clark) (Feature Film)
1993 – Body of Evidence (Frank Dulaney) (Feature Film)
1992 – Light Sleeper (John LeTour) (Feature Film)
1992 – White Sands (Sheriff Ray Dolezal) (Feature Film)
1991 – Flight of the Intruder (Virgil Cole) (Feature Film)
1990 – Wild at Heart (Bobby Peru) (Feature Film)
1990 – Cry-Baby (Hatchet-Face’s Husband) (Feature Film)
1989 – Triumph of the Spirit (Salamo Arouch) (Feature Film)
1988 – Off Limits (Buck McGriff) (Feature Film)
1988 – Mississippi Burning (Ward) (Feature Film)
1988 – The Last Temptation of Christ (Jesus) (Feature Film)
1986 – Platoon (Sgt. Elias Grodin) (Feature Film)
1985 – To Live and Die in L.A. (Rick Masters) (Feature Film)
1984 – Streets of Fire (Raven Shaddock) (Feature Film)
1984 – New York Nights (Boyfriend) (Feature Film)
1984 – Roadhouse 66 (Johnny Harte) (Feature Film)
1983 – The Hunger (Feature Film)
1982 – The Loveless (Vance) (Feature Film)
1980 – Heaven’s Gate (Extra) (Feature Film)

Source: Biyografiler.com