Born in
Wisconsin in
1955,
Willem DaFoe is the second of eight
children. He was the only one to follow an artistic path, as his brothers and sisters went on to become doctors, lawyers and the like. He dropped out of the
University of Wisconsin's
drama program, quickly losing
interest. He left for Milwaukee, joining an acting troupe called "
Theatre X," and toured there for several years. His wife,
Elizabeth LeCompte, and he later founded the
Wooster Group, which enjoyed some modest success. (Indeed,
Spalding Gray was a member at the time as well.)
He knows that because of his looks - his facial features are striking, to say the least, and to be polite about it - and because he has a taste for rather "eccentric" and bizarre roles, that he's missed out on some major roles. Even when he gets into more significant roles, Hollywood-style leads, he chooses roles that are somewhat dark, and even controversial, like playing Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation Of Christ, or a strange man who believes his role too much in Shadow Of The Vampire. Oliver Stone has taken quite a liking to his acting as well, placing him in significant roles in Platoon and Born On The Fourth Of July. It does not take long to notice that DaFoe often picks characters who are not the good guys, people who get killed, who are malicious and bitter at heart, or even worse.
DaFoe has not had to work for money in quite some time, and he feels that he can "switch hit", and he has the freedom to "go make a small movie," and then go make a bigger movie.
Willem DaFoe's Filmography
Pavilion of Women, 2001
American Psycho, 2000
Shadow of the Vampire, 2000
Boondock Saints, 2000
Animal Factory, 2000
eXistenZ , 1999
New Rose Hotel, 1999
Night And the Moment, 1998
Affliction, 1998
Speed 2: Cruise Control, 1997
Basquiat, 1996
The English Patient, 1996
Clear And Present Danger, 1994
Tom & Viv, 1994
Faraway, So Close!, 1993
Body of Evidence, 1993
White Sands, 1992
Light Sleeper, 1992
Flight of the Intruder, 1991
Cry-Baby, 1990
Wild at Heart, 1990
Triumph of the Spirit, 1989
Born On the Fourth of July, 1989
Off Limits, 1988
Mississippi Burning, 1988
Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam, 1987
Platoon, 1986
To Live And Die in L.A., 1985
New York Nights, 1984
Roadhouse 66, 1984
Streets of Fire, 1984
The Hunger, 1983
The Loveless, 1982
Sources: http://www.imdb.com, various sites around the internet