Age: 70
male
William James "Willem" Dafoe (born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. Known for his prolific career portraying diverse roles in both mainstream and arthouse films, he is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, four Golden Globe Awards, four Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has frequently collaborated with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. Dafoe was a founding member of experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He made his film debut with an uncredited role in Heaven's Gate (1980). Dafoe's early career includes credits for The Loveless (1982), Streets of Fire (1984), and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). He earned his first Academy Award nomination for the war drama Platoon (1986), followed by nominations for his roles in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), The Florida Project (2017), and the Vincent van Gogh biopic At Eternity's Gate (2018). He also gained acclaim and wide recognition for his roles as Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) and as the supervillain Norman Osborn in the superhero film Spider-Man (2002), a role he reprised in its sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007), and the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). His other film appearance include roles in Mississippi Burning (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), Light Sleeper (1992), Body of Evidence (1993), Clear and Present Danger (1994), The English Patient (1996), Affliction (1997), New Rose Hotel(1998), Existenz (1999), The Boondock Saints (1999), American Psycho (2000), Auto Focus (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Inside Man (2006), Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007), Antichrist (2009), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Nymphomaniac (2013), The Fault in Our Stars (2014), John Wick (2014), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Aquaman (2018), The Lighthouse (2019), Nightmare Alley (2021), Poor Things (2023), and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024).
Phantom Ronin is a 2027 American science fiction action martial arts film based on the character of the same name from Midnight Shroud. Produced by Legendary Pictures and The Stone Quarry and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the second installment in the Global Ninja Warrior Universe and a prequel to Midnight Shroud. Directed by Colin Trevorrow and written by Chad Stahelski and Zack Snyder, the film stars Rina Sawayama, reprising her role as Akira Takahashi / Phantom Ronin, with Anna Akana returning as Haruna Okamoto / Kurokage, alongside Willem Dafoe, Sydney Sweeney, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Kelsey Grammer, Jeremy Renner, David Harbour, Michael Jai White, and Ken Watanabe. Set in the Afghanistan War during the 2010s, the film explores Akira's origin story and depicts her early, close relationship with her sister Haruna, who, as Kurokage, would endure as the archenemy of Phantom Ronin, and also explores her relationship with Aurelia Kane. The film had its world premiere at the 84th Venice International Film Festival on November 6th, 2027, and opened in theaters on December 10th; the film was met with largely positive reviews, with praise for the tone, the performances of Sawayama and Akana, action sequences, score, direction, and thematic elements, with many deeming the film to be both "emotionally draining" and one of the best origin stories. Phantom Ronin was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, and has been named as one of Sawayama's greatest performances as Phantom Ronin. A follow-up, which will be a sequel to Midnight Shroud, is in development.
