
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).

Willem Dafoe

Gustav Borg
for Gustav Borg in Sentimental Value (American Cast)
Suggested by nathanbates

After the death of their mother Sissel, the estranged sisters Nora and Agnes Borg are forced to confront their distant father Gustav, a once-famous but now almost forgotten film director who abandoned the family when the girls were still young; Nora, now a driven stage actress, has prioritized her career above all else, while Agnes chose a stable life with a husband, child, and secure job—creating a stark contrast that further strains their relationship. Gustav, convinced that an autobiographical screenplay he's written will be his ticket back to fame, wants to tell the story of his mother, who took her own life in the family home in Norway—a place still partially owned by him and haunted by the trauma she endured from Nazi torture during the war. He offers the lead role to Nora, but she firmly refuses, prompting him to cast Hollywood actress Rachel Kemp instead, whom he met during a retrospective of his films in France. As filming begins, Gustav seizes the opportunity not only to revive his artistic legacy but also to mend the deeply fractured relationships with his daughters.
