Willem Dafoe, Mild at Heart

The Green Goblin. Bobby Peru. Nosferatu (sort of). Jesus Christ. Willem Dafoe has played his share of icons -- and after nearly three decades in the movie business he himself has become emblematic of the actor as committed chameleon, versatile, dedicated and always convincing. If Dafoe is best known for portraying scenery-chewing villains, that’s because his intense, impish persona makes his heavies so memorable -- not because he hasn’t played his share of nice guys. (His breakout role was the kind-hearted Sgt. Elias in Oliver Stone’s Platoon, for which he received the first of two Oscar nominations. And then there was that martyr guy.) Whether playing the bad, the good or the crazy, Dafoe’s characters have little more in common than searing intensity and an endearing gap between their two front teeth.

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“When I was younger, I was much more careful about choosing my roles. I was nervous. Hollywood in the ’80s was a horrible place. Now that I feel less stressed, I can take more risks,” he says while sipping a Pilsner in Manhattan’s West Village. This winter, the 54-year-old yoga-trim thespian will display his range, voicing the debonair, gleefully wicked rat in Wes Anderson’s animated The Fantastic Mr. Fox; playing creatures of the night in the vampire thriller Daybreaker and the comedic coming-of-age tale The Vampire’s Assistant; and, most notably, starring alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg in the divisive Antichrist, directed by Danish firestarter Lars von Trier.

Antichrist is Dafoe’s second film with von Trier. The Fantastic Mr. Fox is his second with Anderson (Dafoe appeared, clad in baby-blue swim trunks, in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou). One could safely say that Dafoe, who has also worked with directors Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and the late Anthony Minghella, among others, has a thing for auteurs. “I find myself being attracted to directors for two reasons that are kind of contradictory,” he says. “I like movies that are personal and made by someone with a very particular vision. But on the other hand, I think actors are creative artists in their own right. So if someone is an auteur and likes to collaborate with an actor, that’s my sweet spot.”