A collection of Willem Dafoe’s favourite movies
So, you’re after an acting chameleon to come into your film and transform its tone and style. You might look towards someone like Gary Oldman, Cate Blanchett or Christian Bale, but if you’re truly after the crème de la crème of such talents, few can compare to Willem Dafoe, a staggering performer capable of villainous mainstream performances and transporting award-winning arthouse characters.
Known for his role as the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, as well as his provocative collaborations with Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, Dafoe has gathered a strong legion of fans who champion him for the sheer diversity of his roles. First taking to the industry in the 1980s, Dafoe quickly began collaborating with some of the industry’s greatest talents, appearing in supporting roles for the likes of Michael Cimino, Tony Scott and William Friedkin.
Seemingly every director’s favourite actor, Dafoe has built this shroud of mystery around himself as a performer, a feat largely helped by the fact that the filmmakers he works with are enigmatic figures themselves. From von Trier, one of cinema’s great arthouse jesters, to Robert Eggers, who is trying to reinvent independent American cinema with a distinct folkloric style, Dafoe certainly knows who to associate himself with.
Thanks to such celebrated collaborations, Dafoe has built quite the following, and to treat such dogged fans, the actor has provided a glimpse into his personal artistic inspirations on several occasions.
Recently taking to the iconic Criterion Closet, Dafoe revealed a selection of favourite movies, including classics from the likes of Federico Fellini, Andrei Tarkovsky and Ingmar Bergman. Eclectic in his tastes, Dafoe picked out a range of movies, from fantasy horror flicks to deeply introspective works that have long championed the world of arthouse cinema.
One such movie he brings to the viewers’ attention is the 2004 film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou by American director Wes Anderson. “I love this movie,” he told the publication of Anderson’s dreamy drama starring Bill Murray, “I like Life Aquatic because it floats for a long time, and there’s lots going on where you think, ‘What the hell?’ But at the end, it lands emotionally in a way that is incredible. This movie should be seen more”.
Elsewhere, in a recent interview on the red carpet for Yorgos Lanthimos’ Oscar-nominee Poor Things, Dafoe revealed three other prominent favourites. Of the three, perhaps the most well-known was the iconic Stanley Kubrick movie Barry Lyndon, which many credit as being his very best work, despite never having the publicity of such films as The Shining or A Clockwork Orange.
Take a look at a collection of all of Willem Dafoe’s favourite movies below.
Willem Dafoe’s favourite movies:
- 8 ½ (Federico Fellini, 1963)
- Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 1958)
- Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
- The Devil’s Backbone (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)
- Gate of Flesh (Seijun Suzuki, 1964)
- The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963)
- The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
- The Magician (Ingmar Bergman, 1958)
- Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975)
- Onibaba (Kaneto Shindo, 1964)
- The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, 2001)
- Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
- Stromboli (Roberto Rossellini, 1950)
