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
LAERTES, OD'S FATHER
for LAERTES, OD'S FATHER in THE LONG WAY HOME
Suggested by mr95
ACT I (35 min) — Opens in the aftermath of the Troy City siege. Od's private security firm has just helped the city government defeat a powerful cartel (Troy Corp, led by "Priam" and his sons). It was a ten-year urban conflict. Od and his crew of twelve should have been home in days. Instead, hubris — Od publicly humiliates Polly Femas and brags about it on social media, naming himself. Posie Drake sees it. The sea closes around Od. ACT II (65 min) — The gauntlet. Each mythological encounter is a distinct urban set piece. The Lotus District, the Cave District (Polly), the Aeaea Shores Resort (Circle), the Harbor (Sirens), the Strait (Skyler/Carrie), and finally the Ogygia Tower (Callie). Two years pass in the Ogygia sequence. Hermy Messenger arrives with orders from the Chairman that Callie must release Od. Meanwhile Telly, guided by Thena Gray, travels across the city to find word of his father. ACT III (50 min) — Od returns home in disguise as a vagrant, tests the loyalty of Eumy and Philly, observes the suitors' degradation of his home, watches his son grown and strong, and is almost recognized by his aged dog (who dies the moment Od is near — the Argos scene, entirely silent). The bow contest, the reckoning, the reunion.
