People
Willem Dafoe
Acting · follow into films and chains
Biography
William James "Willem" Dafoe (/dəˈfoʊ/ də-FOH; 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 a Volpi Cup Award for Best Actor, with nominations for four Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards. He received an Honorary Golden Bear in 2018. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Dafoe made his film debut with an uncredited role in Heaven's Gate (1980). He is known for collaborating with both mainstream and auteur filmmakers, including Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Sam Raimi, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Andrew Stanton, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. He received Academy Award nominations for playing a compassionate army sergeant in the war drama Platoon (1986), Max Schreck in the mystery film Shadow of the Vampire (2000), a kindly motel manager in the coming-of-age film The Florida Project (2017), and Vincent van Gogh in the biopic At Eternity's Gate (2018). His other films credits include To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Wild at Heart (1990), The English Patient (1996), American Psycho (2000), Animal Factory (2000), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Antichrist (2009), The Hunter (2011), John Carter (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), John Wick (2014), The Lighthouse (2019), Togo (2019), Poor Things (2023), and Nosferatu (2024). Dafoe was a founding member of experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He portrayed Norman Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film trilogy (2002–2007) and reprised the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). He has also voiced roles in the animated films Finding Nemo (2003), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), and The Boy and the Heron (2023). Description above from the Wikipedia article Willem Dafoe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
As Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
Spider-Man
As Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Finding Nemo
As Gill (voice)
Spider-Man 3
As Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
The Florida Project
Appears in a KinoChain journey
To Live and Die in L.A.
Appears in a KinoChain journey
The Lighthouse
Appears in a KinoChain journey
eXistenZ
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
Storming the Deck
From the Bounty to the Caine, mutiny films have always been about more than shipboard insurrection. This chain charts how cinematic rebellions at sea reflect th...
7 films
The Wicker Shadows of Folk Horror
From a wartime farce to sunlit cults and lighthouse madness, a journey through rural dread and the rituals that bind us.
8 films
Game On: Cinematic Journeys Through Digital Worlds
From arcade nostalgia to virtual reality epics, these films explore the thrill and terror of living inside the game.
8 films
Neon Fog and the Long Way Home
From Thief's rain-slicked streets to Drive's neon avenues, a journey through neo-noir night drives where every turn tests the driver's moral compass.
8 films
Growing Up Is No Picnic
From the Yorkshire coalfields to the banlieues of Paris, these films capture adolescence as it truly is: messy, unglamorous, and achingly real.
8 films
The Cracks in the Picket Fence: Suburban Critique Across Generations
From the manicured lawns of 1999 to the glowing screens of today, this chain traces how cinema has dissected the suburban dream, revealing the isolation, confor...
8 films
The Last Picture Shows
In an age of digital gloss, a new generation of filmmakers has returned to celluloid for its warmth, grain, and honesty. This chain follows the medium's resurge...
8 films
Moana and the Sea as Mirror and Crucible
Taking the core premise of Moana (the ocean as a living force that tests, transforms, and reveals who you are) and steering it into far darker territory, this c...
8 films
Topics
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Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
The Man in My Basement
2025 · Anniston Bennett
Nosferatu
2024 · Prof. Albin Eberhart von Franz
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
2024 · Jackson
Kinds of Kindness
2024 · Raymond / George / Omi
Poor Things
2023 · Godwin Baxter
Asteroid City
2023 · Saltzburg Keitel
The Northman
2022 · Heimir the Fool
Spider-Man: No Way Home
2021 · Norman Osborn / Green Goblin
Zack Snyder's Justice League
2021 · Vulko
The Lighthouse
2019 · Thomas Wake
Manou the Swift
2019 · Manou's Father (voice)
Aquaman
2018 · Nuidis Vulko
Friedkin Uncut
2018 · Self
Murder on the Orient Express
2017 · Gerhard Hardman
The Florida Project
2017 · Bobby
What Happened to Monday
2017 · Terrence Settman
Ballad of a Righteous Merchant
2017 · Self
Dog Eat Dog
2016 · Mad Dog
A Family Man
2016 · Ed Blackridge
Finding Dory
2016 · Gill (voice)
John Wick
2014 · Marcus
A Most Wanted Man
2014 · Tommy Brue
The Fault in Our Stars
2014 · Peter van Houten
The Grand Budapest Hotel
2014 · Jopling
Nymphomaniac: Vol. II
2013 · L
Odd Thomas
2013 · Wyatt Porter
Daybreakers
2010 · Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant
2009 · Gavner Purl
Fantastic Mr. Fox
2009 · Rat (voice)
Spider-Man 3
2007 · Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Inside Man
2006 · John Darius
xXx: State of the Union
2005 · Gen. George Octavius Deckert
The Aviator
2004 · Roland Sweet
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004 · Klaus Daimler
Spider-Man 2
2004 · Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
2003 · Armando Barillo
Finding Nemo
2003 · Gill (voice)
Spider-Man
2002 · Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
American Psycho
2000 · Donald Kimball
eXistenZ
1999 · Gas
New Rose Hotel
1999 · X
The Boondock Saints
1999 · Paul Smecker
Lulu on the Bridge
1998 · Dr. Van Horn
Affliction
1998 · Rolfe Whitehouse
Speed 2: Cruise Control
1997 · Geiger
The English Patient
1996 · David Caravaggio
Clear and Present Danger
1994 · John Clark
Wild at Heart
1990 · Bobby Peru
Cry-Baby
1990 · Hateful Guard
The Last Temptation of Christ
1988 · Jesus
Platoon
1986 · Sergeant Elias Grodin
To Live and Die in L.A.
1985 · Rick Masters
The Hunger
1983 · 2nd Phone Booth Youth