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.
Overview
William James "Willem" Dafoe ( 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.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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 70)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Cancer / Goat
- Origin
- Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film actor / voice actor / screenwriter / model / film producer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- 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
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
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 items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.