WILLEM DAFOE (Gill) gives voice to the mysterious moorish idol who leads the Tank Gang. A hardened veteran of “the box,” Gill dreams of escape and takes Nemo under his fin in the hope that it might advance his daring plan.
A versatile and daring actor, Dafoe made his most recent impression on movie audiences playing two diametrically opposed characters in 2002: The Green Goblin, comic-book villain borne of wealth and hubris in “Spider-Man,” and John Carpenter, color-blind video expert who hangs out with co-dependent “Hogan’s Heroes” star Bob Crane in “Auto-Focus.”
Christened William, Dafoe was in high school when he picked up the nickname Willem, which stuck. While still a teenager in his home state of Wisconsin, Dafoe started acting in the Milwaukee experimental troupe Theatre X. Later, he moved to New York City, and co-founded the avant-garde Wooster Group with director Elizabeth LeCompte.
His feature film debut came in 1980 playing an uncredited extra in Michael Cimino’s “Heaven’s Gate.” His film credits in the 1980s included Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Loveless,” “Streets of Fire,” and his breakout role as Rick Masters in William Friedkin’s “To Live And Die in L.A.” (1985). His first role for director Oliver Stone was Sergeant Elias in “Platoon” (1986), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award®; he rejoined Stone for “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989). In 1988 he starred as Jesus in Martin Scorsese’s controversial, critically-acclaimed “The Last Temptation of Christ,” as well as FBI agent Ward in director Alan Parker’s “Mississippi Burning.”
In the 1990s, Dafoe’s film credits included David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart,” Wim Wenders’ “Faraway, So Close!,” Julian Schnabel’s “Basquiat,” Paul Auster’s “Lulu on the Bridge,” Paul Schrader’s “Light Sleeper” and David Cronenberg’s “eXistenZ.” In 1994 he played freelance field agent John Clark in the movie of Tom Clancy’s “Clear and Present Danger.” In 1996 he played thumbless thief Caravaggio in Anthony Minghella’s “The English Patient,” and the following year was featured in Paul Schrader’s “Affliction.”
The year 2000 saw Dafoe take on four diverse roles: cop Donald Kimball in the darkly comic “American Psycho,” incarcerated “King of the Yard” Earl Copen in “Animal Factory,” Father Andre in “Pavilion of Women,” and a remarkable Max Shreck in “Shadow of the Vampire.” The last role earned him an Independent Spirit Award, Golden Globe Award, and Oscar® nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Dafoe’s upcoming films include Robert Rodriguez’ “Once Upon a Time in Mexico” opposite Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp, playing the drug lord Barillo; Paul McGuigan’s “The Reckoning,” as the leader of a troupe of actors who discover a murder and set about solving it by recreating the crime in a play; and “The Clearing,” opposite Helen Mirren and Robert Redford.
Dafoe lives in New York City, where he performs with the Wooster Group at their theatre in SoHo, The Performing Garage, as well as in their extensive trip abroad.
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