Willem Dafoe Movies and Career Information

Willem Dafoe (born July 22, 1955) is an American film and stage actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He has had roles in such films as To Live and Die in L.A., Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, The Last Temptation of Christ, Mississippi Burning, Wild at Heart, The Boondock Saints, Inside Man, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Spider-Man, American Psycho, Antichrist, and voice roles in Fantastic Mr. Fox and Finding Nemo. William Dafoe was born in Appleton, Wisconsin, the sixth of eight children of Dr. William Alfred Dafoe, a surgeon, and Muriel Isabel (née Sprissler), a nurse and Boston native. His birth name was William Dafoe, but he changed it legally to Willem Dafoe, reportedly so people would not call him "Billy". He studied drama at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, but left before graduation in order to join the newly formed avant-garde group Theatre X. After touring with Theatre X for four years in the United States and Europe, he moved to New York City and joined the Performance Group. Dafoe's film career began in 1981, when he was cast in Heaven's Gate, but his role was removed from the film during editing. In the mid