Photo: Georges Biard / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What I admire most about Willem Dafoe is his complete indifference to Hollywood's usual hierarchy. He treats a blockbuster villain and a micro-budget art film with the same ferocious commitment, and that angular, intense face somehow serves both. Four Oscar nominations without a win feels almost fitting; he has never seemed like an actor who works for trophies. The Volpi Cup and the Honorary Golden Bear in 2018 read to me as Europe acknowledging what cinephiles always knew: he is one of the most fearless character actors alive, and at seventy he still takes bigger risks than actors half his age.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Willem Dafoe
- Name (Japanese)
- ウィレム・デフォー
- Reading
- うぃれむ・でふぉー
- Born
- July 22, 1955 (age 71)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Goat
- Origin
- Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
- Occupation
- film actor / voice actor / screenwriter / model / film producer
2. Background
- High school
- Appleton East High School
- University
- University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Awards & achievements
- Saturn Awards
- 2005 Donostia Award
- 2001 Film Independent Spirit Awards
- Satellite Awards
- 2018 Honorary Golden Bear
- 2018 Volpi Cup for Best Actor
- 2019 Romics d'Oro
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Willem Dafoe born?
Born July 22, 1955 (age 71).
Where is Willem Dafoe from?
Willem Dafoe is from Appleton, Wisconsin, United States.
What does Willem Dafoe do?
Willem Dafoe works as film actor, voice actor, screenwriter, model, film producer.
Film actor — see all → · Voice actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.