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
Norman Osborn
for Norman Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 3
Suggested by miguelrodriguez
The film opens with a storm-soaked prologue at Oscorp. Maxwell Dillon, an overworked Oscorp electrician, repairs the electrical tower atop the building during a violent thunderstorm. A lightning strike engulfs him in blinding energy, and Dillon vanishes into thin air just as Norman Osborn steps outside to check on him. After the opening credits, the story shifts to the final day of Peter Parker and his friends’ senior year. Harry and Mary Jane are now an official couple. Graduation follows, with Gwen Stacy, Peter’s girlfriend, delivering the valedictorian speech. With Norman having won the mayoral election, he hands control of Oscorp to Harry. The group discusses their futures—Flash leaves for college, while Peter plans to attend Empire State University and search for new work. Celebration turns to chaos when massive destruction erupts in Queens. Peter slips away and becomes Spider-Man, arriving to face a glowing, electrified figure: Electro—Maxwell Dillon reborn. Their clash is brief but devastating. Electro overwhelms Spider-Man, marking one of Peter’s first true defeats, before disappearing into the city. Trying to reclaim normalcy, Peter interviews at the Daily Bugle, where J. Jonah Jameson hires him. There he meets Eddie Brock and Felicia Hardy, the latter secretly operating as Black Cat. Spider-Man encounters Felicia multiple times during a string of robberies, forming a tense, flirtatious rivalry. The film’s midpoint centers on a major event at the F.E.A.S.T. Center, where Norman delivers a public speech. Aunt May attends, but Martin Li is noticeably absent. Peter, Gwen, Harry, MJ, Ned, and Betty are present, along with Jefferson Davis, head of security, and his brother Aaron Davis, watching from the shadows with Jefferson’s young son, Miles Morales. The event is violently interrupted. Electro returns, joining forces with Mister Negative (Martin Li) and his Demons. Electro seeks unlimited power, while Li wants revenge on Norman for the Devil’s Breath experiment that killed his parents and transformed him. Norman survives the assassination attempt, but Jefferson Davis is killed when debris collapses during the attack. Li and the Demons vanish, leaving the city scarred. In the aftermath, Spider-Man encounters The Prowler—Aaron Davis—during another attempted Black Cat robbery. The fight turns emotional when Aaron blames Spider-Man for failing to stop the F.E.A.S.T. attack and save Jefferson. Peter apologizes, visibly shaken, and allows Prowler to escape. Preparing for what he knows is coming, Peter develops cure serums intended to restore Electro and the increasingly unstable Green Goblin to their former selves. Before he can finish, Gwen calls him in distress, asking him to meet at the Merchandise Building on Fifth Avenue. Peter senses danger and rushes there with the serums. Inside, Peter finds Electro—and a maskless Green Goblin. The truth shatters him: the Goblin is Norman Osborn. Norman takes Gwen to the top of the clock tower while Spider-Man battles Electro below. In a perfectly timed moment, Peter injects Dillon with the serum, curing him. Above, Norman taunts Peter and drops Gwen. Spider-Man saves her with a web line, but his fight with Norman damages the clock’s mechanism. As the gears fail, the web snaps. The clock freezes at 1:21. Peter dives and webs Gwen again—but the sudden stop breaks her neck. Gwen dies in his arms. Overcome with grief and rage, Peter beats Norman to death atop the tower, abandoning the cure he created. Horrified by what he’s done, Peter delivers Norman’s body to the Osborn estate, where Harry witnesses Spider-Man leaving his dead father behind—igniting a future love-hate bond. The film ends at Norman’s funeral. Harry thanks Peter, calling him his only true friend, unaware of the truth. Peter walks away alone. Post-credit scene: Harry secretly works on a new Goblin serum. In the shadows behind him, something stirs in containment—the Symbiote.
