"Platoon"
1986
Dafoe's first truly major role: in Oliver Stone's famous film about the Vietnam War, he played the part of the humane Sergeant Elias, who is responsible for the bright side of the ideological confrontation with the hero of Tom Berenger. War and humanism are almost incompatible things, and therefore the hero did not have to stay alive for long. In a film about how war affects people, the actor’s charisma was fully demonstrated - really, and he knows how to play tragic roles. For his role in Platoon, Dafoe received his first Oscar nomination, and the film itself was recognized as the best film of the year.
Actor career
The actor's real popularity came from his role in Oliver Stone's Platoon, for which he was first nominated for an Oscar. The scene of the death of his hero, Sergeant Gordon Elias, has become iconic and one of the most tragic in modern cinema.
Willem Dafoe as the Joker
In 1988, Martin Scorsese invited Dafoe to play Jesus in the film The Last Temptation of Christ, which caused controversy in religious circles. Willem Dafoe. The Villain of American Cinema Over the next ten years, the actor’s professional collection was replenished with a whole string of vivid images. Willem's unusual appearance allowed him to convincingly transform into outright scoundrels, scoundrels and murderers. He worked with the best Hollywood directors (David Cronenberg, Steve Buscemi, Troy Duffy, Paul Schrader, etc.) and repeatedly won prestigious film awards.
Willem Dafoe in the movie "Spider-Man"
In 2002, the blockbuster Spider-Man was released, which immediately became an event in world cinema. Dafoe so wanted to play the Green Goblin, the main enemy of the main character, that, without waiting for an invitation, he recorded his screen test himself and sent it to the director. Sam Raimi appreciated the actor's talent and cast him in all three parts of the cult film. Willem Dafoe in the short film "Cracks"
"Spider-Man"
2002–2007
The Green Goblin is Defoe's most famous character to the mass audience. With his role in Sam Raimi's trilogy, the actor finally proved the fallacy of the thesis that there is nothing to play in comics - in his best moments, Norman Osborn appears as a figure of no less than Shakespearean magnitude. Portraying a brilliant scientist who went over to the dark side, Defoe was able to bring human touches to the obviously one-sided image from the comic book, and we are unlikely to ever forget his devilish squint.
Biography of Daniel Defoe
The exact date of birth of Daniel Defoe is unknown. He is believed to have been born in 1660 in the Cripplegate area of London.
The writer's real name is Daniel Fo. The boy grew up in the devout family of meat merchant James Forne.
Childhood and youth
Daniel Defoe's childhood passed in a religious atmosphere, as his parents were Presbyterians who professed the teachings of John Calvin.
In this regard, when Defoe was 14 years old, he was sent to study at the Theological Academy. The parents dreamed that their son would become a pastor in the future. After graduating from the academy, Daniel continued his studies at the Protestant Academy in Stoke Newington.
The young man was quite inquisitive and had an interest in many sciences. He managed to master Greek and Latin, as well as read a lot of classical literature.
Contrary to his parents' expectations, after finishing his studies, Defoe did not aspire to become a pastor. Instead, he became interested in commercial activities.
The first job in the biography of the future writer was a hosiery factory, where he worked as a clerk and was also responsible for the finances of the enterprise.
Feeling confident in his abilities, he wanted to open his own factory.
As a result, in the mid-1680s, Daniel Defoe launched the production of hosiery products and successfully managed the entire process.
Having become a fairly wealthy man, he began trading wine, tobacco and building materials.
During this period of his biography, he managed to visit different European countries and see with his own eyes how different people live.
After this, he began to thoroughly engage in political and religious issues that had worried him since his youth.
"Grand Budapest Hotel"
2014
In his second collaboration with Wes Anderson (the first was the puppet cartoon “Fantastic Mr. Fox”), Dafoe again appeared on screen as a villain: during the short screen time allotted to him, he manages to kill several characters, punch Ralph Fiennes’s hero in the nose, and not very successfully jump off the cliff. The actor’s villain turned out to be eccentric in Anderson’s style – with a bowl hairstyle and brass knuckles in the form of rings, but absolutely serious and frightening: for the first time in the director’s films a negative character appears, and it is unlikely that anyone could have coped with the role better than him.
Willem Dafoe now
In 2020, three films with the participation of Defoe should be released at once. The first of these was the adaptation of the anime Death Note, released by the streaming service Netflix. In this film, Willem played the role of the god of death named Ryuk.
The actor's next appearance should take place in the film adaptation of Agatha Christie's detective novel Murder on the Orient Express, directed by Kenneth Branagh (Kenneth himself will play the role of Hercule Poirot).
Willem Dafoe as Ryuk
The third film in which Dafoe will be involved is “Justice League”. This time the actor will play the DC comic character Nuidis Valko (the Green Goblin was the brainchild of Marvel). By the way, his Spider-Man colleague Jonathan Kimble Simmons will also star in this film. There are already photos from the filming of this film on the Internet.
"The Florida Project"
2017
The role of motel manager Bobby stands apart in Dafoe's entire filmography. The reason, it would seem, could not be simpler - this is almost the first positive character played by the actor. Bobby doesn't lecture, much less punish, the residents, who, to be honest, are nothing but problems. On the contrary, every time he helps them, receiving only screams and accusations in response, but Bobby is unlikely to expect gratitude - he is not here for them. For his role in The Florida Project, the actor received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. And even though the statuette went to Sam Rockwell, this does not detract from Dafoe’s merits.
Photo: stills from films
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Movies
Willem first took part in filming in 1980. His debut was supposed to be Michael Cimino’s film “The Gates of Heaven,” but due to a quarrel with the director, all episodes with Dafoe’s participation were cut out. Willem later admitted that he does not regret it, because Cimino’s film became a major Hollywood box office failure.
The real debut on the wide screen took place only 2 years later. Dafoe played the role of the leader of a gang of bikers from the Outlaw group in the film Without Love. Two years later, he starred in a similar role in Walter Wesley Hill’s film “Streets on Fire.”
"Streets on Fire"
A year earlier, Dafoe appeared in the cult vampire film “The Hunger” by Tony Scott, in which David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve played the main roles. In 1984, Willem played a leading role for the first time, starring in the crime comedy Route 66 Diner. In 1985, he played in the film To Live and Die in Los Angeles, directed by William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection, The Sorcerer).
"To Live and Die in Los Angeles"
The actor's real fame came in 1986, when the first film of Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy "Platoon" was released. Dafoe played the supporting role of Sergeant Elias Grodin (for which he was nominated for an Oscar for the first time), and Charlie Sheen was entrusted with the main role.
"Platoon"
In 1988, he played the role of Jesus Christ in Martin Scorsese's film The Last Temptation of Christ, which is an adaptation of the work of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. Director Sergio Leone expressed his dissatisfaction with the appointment of Dafoe to this role, saying that a man who had previously played bikers, bandits and soldiers could not play the role of the messiah. A similar situation happened at one time with the Russian actor Sergei Bezrukov, when he played the role of Christ (Yeshua Ha-Nozri) in the film adaptation of The Master and Margarita.
"The Last Temptation of Christ"
Also, 1988 was marked for Dafoe with his participation in the film “Mississippi Burning”, directed by Alan Parker (“Midnight Express”, “Angel Heart”, “The Life of David Gale”). The film was about the real-life murders of civil rights activists that took place in Mississippi in June 1964. In addition to Dafoe, the film stars Gene Hackman and Frances McDormand.
"Mississippi on Fire"
In 1989, Willem again collaborated with Oliver Stone. The result of this collaboration is the second film from the Vietnamese series - “Born on the Fourth of July”. The main roles were played by Tom Cruise and Kyra Sedgwick. From the previous film, in addition to Dafoe, Tom Berenger was also involved.
"Born on the Fourth of July"
At the same time, Tim Burton's Batman was released. Initially, the role of the main villain, nicknamed the Joker, was supposed to be played by Willem - in fact, screenwriter Sam Hamm wrote this role for Dafoe, but something did not work out and Jack Nicholson played the Joker. In 1990, he starred in the film “Cry Baby,” in which the then young Johnny Depp played the main role.
"Crybaby"
The same year he took part in the filming of David Lynch's film Wild at Heart. His partners on the set were Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern. A year later, John Milius's (Conan the Barbarian, Red Dawn) film Flight of the Intruder was released. In this film, Dafoe played the role of Lieutenant Virgil "Tiger" Cole. Willem's company included Danny Glover and Rosanna Arquette.
Two years later, the film “The English Patient” was released, directed by Anthony Minchella (“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “Cold Mountain”) based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ondaatje. The film received 9 Oscars, 6 BAFTA awards, 4 Screen Actors Guild awards, 2 Golden Globes and 1 Grammy award. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.
"The English Patient"
1998 and 1999 are the years of cyberpunk in Defoe’s work. In 1998, a film adaptation of William Gibson's story “Hotel New Rose” was released, directed by Abel Ferrara. In 2011, Dafoe will star in his film “4:44. Last Day on Earth”, and in 2014 – in “Pasolini”.
"Pasolini"
In addition to Willem, Christopher Walken and Asia Argento played in the film. In 1999, David Cronenberg's film Existenza (The Fly, Videodrome, Scanners, The Dead Zone) starring Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh was released.
"Existence"
Also in 1999, another cult film with the participation of Dafoe was released - “The Boondock Saints” by Troy Duffy. In addition to Willem, who plays FBI agent Paul Slicker, the film stars Sean Patrick Flannery and The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus. Dafoe starred with them in the sequel.
"The Boondock Saints"
In 2000, “American Psycho” by Mary Harron and “Shadow of the Vampire” by Edmund Elias Merridge were released, in which Dafoe played not the last roles (the vampire Max Schreck aka Nosferatuiz Willema turned out to be truly menacing, even despite his height of 178 centimeters).
In 2002, “Spider-Man” was released on world screens, giving a new start to films about superheroes. This project began to be developed back in 1986. At various times, directors James Cameron, M. Night Shyamalan, Roland Emmerich, Jan de Bont, Chris Columbus and David Fincher were involved in the film adaptation of the comic book. The final candidate was Sam Raimi, who directed the Evil Dead trilogy and the superhero film Darkman starring Liam Neeson.
The main villain in Spider-Man's life in the film was supposed to be the Green Goblin. This role was offered to many actors, including John Malkovich and Nicolas Cage, with whom Dafoe had previously acted. Willem himself was not considered, but the role captivated the actor so much that he filmed his audition for the role and passed it on to Raimi, who appreciated the actor’s skill. As a result, Dafoe starred in all three parts of the Spider-Man film.
After working with Sam Raimi, Dafoe starred in The Aviator (2004) by Martin Scorsze, If Caught, No Thief (2006) by Spike Lee, Antichrist (2009) by Lars von Trier, Warriors of Light (2010) by the Spirig brothers, John Carter (2012) by Andrew Stanton, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) by Wes Anderson, John Wick (2014) by Chad Stahelski and David Letsch, and in many other films.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the short film “The Smile Man”, shot by Russian newcomer director Anton Lanshakov, a participant in Kevin Spacey’s “Jameson first shot” competition. In total, the actor has almost 200 films to his credit. Willem also did not stop working as an actor in the theater.
Famous writer
Always interested in politics In 1683, Defoe published his first literary article - a political pamphlet. He continued to write political works while working as a journalist until the early 1700s. Many of Defoe's works during this period were aimed at supporting King William III, also known as "William Henry of Orange". Some of his most popular works include The True Englishman, which shed light on racial prejudice in England after William was attacked for being a foreigner; and The Review, a periodical that was published from 1704 to 1713 during the reign of Queen Anne, heir to King William II. Defoe's political opponents repeatedly imprisoned him for what he wrote in 1713.
Defoe took a new literary path in 1719, around age 59, when he published Robinson Crusoe, a fantasy novel based on several short essays he had written over the years. Several novels followed soon after, often with rogues and criminals as protagonists, including Moll Flanders, Colonel Jack, Captain Singleton, The Journal of Plague, and his last major fantasy play, Roxana (1724).
In the mid-1720s, Defoe returned to editorial writing, focusing on topics such as morality, politics, and the breakdown of social order in England. Some of his later works include The Whole Business is No One's Business (1725) ; an essay on non-fiction, "Marital Obscenity: or the Marital Whore" (1727); and a continuation of the article to the essay "Matrimonial Liberty," entitled "A Treatise on the Use and Abuse of the Marriage Bed."
