Willem Dafoe biography

Synopsis

Willem Dafoe made his film debut with a small part in Heaven's Gate (1980) and went on to the Oscar-nominated role of Sergeant Elias in Platoon (1986) and the controversial title role in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Later films include Spider-Man (1989), Tom and Viv (1994) and The English Patient (1996). Dafoe also lent his voice to the heroic Gill in 2003’s Finding Nemo.

Profile

Film and stage actor. Born on July 22, 1955 in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA. He joined an avant garde theatre group and toured extensively with them for two years in the USA and Europe, then became a founding member of the Wooster Group.

Willem Dafoe made his film debut with a small part in Heaven's Gate (1980), and went on to the Oscar-nominated role of Sergeant Elias in Platoon (1986) and the controversial title role in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Later films include Spider-Man (1989), Tom and Viv (1994), The English Patient (1996), Speed 2 (1997), Animal Factory (2003) and Manderlay (2005). Dafoe lent his voice for the heroic Gill in 2003??s Finding Nemo and co-starred in 2007??s Mr. Bean??s Holiday.