Willem Dafoe has a face made for film. When the sixty-something actor appears on screen, his prominent cheekbones, wide eyes, and toothy grin are difficult to take your gaze off. Combined with his slender frame and his raspy, gravely, deep voice, the actor’s portrayal of Jesus Christ allegedly prompted Sergio Leone to opine “This is not the face of our Lord, this is the face of Satan!”
Dafoe hasn’t played Satan at all over the course of his career, but he’s certainly played his share of villains, bringing his signature menace to dozens of cinematic crooks and psychopaths. After his first lead role, in Kathryn Bigelow’s 1982 biker drama “The Loveless,” his early parts were largely antagonists to the lead heroes, such as the alluring but frightening criminals in “Streets of Fire” and “To Live and Die in L.A.” The part that arguably brought him the most widespread, household recognition was Green Goblin in 2002’s “Spider-Man,” in which he gleefully embodies a comic book lunatic supervillain come to life. He reprised the role in both Sam Raimi sequels and, more memorably, in 2020’s “No Way Home,” which cemented his image among general audiences as a cinematic bad guy. Many of his other acclaimed roles, even if he’s not necessarily playing a villain like in “The Lighthouse” or “Antichrist,” trade on the danger and sense of unease his face can inspire.
Of course, while Dafoe is wonderful as a villain, what makes him a great actor is his versatility, and his face can be warm and inviting in addition to cold and frightening. Leone might have taken umbrage with Dafoe’s breakout portrayal of Christ in Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ,” but Dafoe is unquestionably wonderful in the role, playing the part with a heartbreaking and intense nobility. As Dafoe has aged up, he’s often been called upon to play sweeter, more paternalistic figures, including in his Oscar-nominated exemplary performance in “The Florida Project.” His most recent role — as Dr. Godwin Baxter in Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things” — plays a bit with audience expectations of what Dafoe offers onscreen. On paper, Dafoe as a heavily disfigured mad scientist seems like a plum villain part, but in practice, Baxter is among the most lovable characters in the actor’s entire career.
Lanthimos is the latest in a long line of auteurs and independent filmmakers that Dafoe has collaborated with — a stable that includes the likes of Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, Wes Anderson, and Robert Eggers. He’ll reteam with Lanthimos and much of the “Poor Things” cast in the upcoming anthology “Kind of Kindness.” There’s no release date yet, but the constantly working actor will have plenty of films coming out before then, including vampire horror “Nosferatu,” fantasy adventure “The Legend of Ochi,” and “Beetlejuice 2.”
With “Poor Things” out in theaters, IndieWire decided to comb through Dafoe’s vast filmography to determine which performances stand out in his list of nearly 150 credits. The movies listed here are ranked based on the strength of Dafoe’s performances, rather than their quality overall. And because Dafoe has been so good for so long, a lot of brutal cuts needed to be made. Some honorable mentions include: “American Psycho,” “At Eternity’s Gate,” “The English Patient,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “John Wick,” “The Loveless,” “Mississippi Burning,” “Nightmare Alley,” “Wild at Heart,” and, of course, “Poor Things.” With all that said, here are Willem Dafoe’s 10 Best Film Performances, ranked.
With editorial contributions from Kate Erbland.
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10. “Spider-Man” (2002)
Image Credit: ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: Norman Osborne, the father of Peter Parker’s best friend Harry in Sam Raimi’s seminal adaptation of the iconic comic book character. Initially a relatively kind but distant man, Norman goes insane in a freak lab accident and develops an alternate personality as the Green Goblin, terrorizing New York and becoming archenemies with Peter as Spider-Man.
Why he’s great: It seems silly to put a comic book role on a list of Dafoe’s performances, when the actor is so famous for his brilliant work in independent and arthouse cinema. But when you watch “Spider-Man,” you’ll remember how good he is in the role. No actor on film has ever embodied the manic, over-the-top hammy energy of a great comic villain like Dafoe, who is a crackling, fiendish delight both in and out of the Power Ranger suit he’s saddled in. It’s not Dafoe’s greatest role, but it’s difficult to think of a role the actor more clearly had fun with than this megalomaniac.
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9. “To Live and Die in L.A.” (1985)
Image Credit: ©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: Eric Masters, an artist who lives a double life as the head of a money counterfeit ring. William Friedkin’s neo-noir pits Masters against two Secret Service Agents who go to increasingly criminal and horrific lengths to bust his business.
Why he’s great: Masters was one of Dafoe’s first villain roles, and the actor is a total menace as the slinking, smug, predatory criminal. He’s both frightening in his cool-as-cucumber cruelty and oddly likable in his smooth demeanor, with a sexual, alluring edge that proves downright intoxicating. In the story of “To Live and Die in L.A.,” where the police prove just as evil as the criminals they chase, Dafoe’s charm makes him the perfect “bad guy” to make the morality of the conflict all the hazier.
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8. “Streets of Fire” (1984)
Image Credit: Everett Collection (53610) Who Dafoe plays: Walter Hill’s “rock & roll fable” has already been the subject of much adulation on this here website, so it’s only appropriate we rank Dafoe’s singular turn in the singular rock musical on any and all rankings of his best work. Hill’s film is kitted out with a wide cast of memorable characters and performances – young Diane Lane as a rising rocker, Michael Pare in maybe the one role that every really suited him, pre-“Ghostbusters” Rick Moranis as a sneering jerk – but it’s impossible to overlook the raw firepower of a very young Dafoe as baby-faced gang leader Raven. He’s the one who incites the dastardly deed that starts all the action (literally kidnapping Lane’s Ellen Aim in the middle of a hometown rock show), but he manages to keep up that wild, unpredictable momentum throughout the film.
Why he’s great: Many of the choices around Raven – like his predominately leather wardrobe, his bizarre hairstyle, even the idea to send him into the film’s final fight wielding a pickaxe – would overwhelm a lesser actor. Not so with Dafoe, who somehow makes all of this feel lived-in and correct, part of a piece, intentional, and both entertaining and terrifying. You don’t know if you want to run from him or hug him, but you can’t stop thinking about him for even a hot second. —KE
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7. “Light Sleeper” (1992)
Image Credit: ©Fine Line Features/Courtesy Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: John LeTour, a drug dealer who primarily services wealthy men in the finance and banking sector. When Paul Schrader’s crime drama begins, John is dealing with a mid-life crisis and attempts to reconnect with his old flame Marianne (Dana Delany), even as he ends up the prime suspect in a series of drug-connected murders.
Why he’s great: LeTour is one of the quintessential Schrader protagonists, a brooding, morose man struggling with his sins and looking for something greater. It’s a part that needs a great actor to work, and Dafoe provides one of the best of any Schrader film in “Light Sleeper.” He carries the guilt LeTour holds like a physical weight on his shoulders, adeptly finding all of the contradictions and complexities his life of crime has created. It’s one of the best performances in any of Schrader’s works.
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6. “Platoon” (1986)
Image Credit: ©Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: Elias, an honorable, kind sergeant for a U.S. army platoon in the Vietnam War. The character serves as the angel on the shoulder of volunteer soldier Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) as he ponders his morality against the horrors of war, with the significantly more cynical Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger).
Why he’s great: After an early career defined by bad boys and bad guys, “Platoon” casts Dafoe decidedly against type as the film’s moral conscience. It’s the first role from the actor that really showcases his onscreen charm, bringing a deep charisma and kindness to a part that could be a one-note beacon of morality. It’s Dafoe’s work that makes Elias
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5. “The Lighthouse” (2019)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: Thomas Wake, an alcoholic lighthouse keeper who takes on the younger Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson) as an apprentice. Robert Eggers’ psychological horror comedy follows themen as there grudging partnership devolves into mutual hatred, and eventually causes both to descend into insanity.
Why he’s great: A two-hander like “The Lighthouse” lives and dies by its actors’ performances. And “The Lighthouse” delivers in spades, with both Dafoe and Pattinson at the top of their game. As Wake, Dafoe is the embodiment of a terrible roommate, an unpleasant drunken jerk whose delightful hamminess barely masks how miserable he makes everyone around him. And he has excellent, somewhat queer, chemistry with Pattinson, turning the movie into a memorable tête-à-tête between two men who both repulse and attract each other.
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4. “Antichrist” (2009)
Image Credit: ©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: An unnamed therapist who experiences tragedy when his son dies while he’s having sex with his wife (Charlotte Gainsbourg). After his wife falls in a catatonic state over the death, he takes her on a trip to a cabin in the woods in an attempt to help her recover by facing her fear of nature. Lars Von Trier’s film only gets more twisted from there, as the wife descends further into insanity while Dafoe’s husband begins developing strange visions
Why he’s great: Divisive as “Antichrist” may be, the one thing everybody who watches it can’t deny is that Gainsbourg and Dafoe are seriously great in their roles. Dafoe, contrary to his tendency to go hammy, plays his part mostly straight, making his unnamed man a slightly self-satisfied figure who nonetheless becomes sympathetic when he endures horrific acts of violence. It’s a necessary balance that gives the film its confounding, symbolic story weight.
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3. “Shadow of the Vampire” (2000)
Image Credit: ©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: Years before he starred in Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” remake, Dafoe played the German actor Max Schreck in “Shadow of the Vampire,” E. Elias Merhige’s film about the making of the original 1922 impressionistic horror classic. Schreck played Count Orlok, the villainous vampire count, in the original film; “Shadow of the Vampire” imagines a world where Schreck was not an ordinary actor, but a real-life vampire hired by director F. W. Murnau (John Malkovich) to bring legitimacy to the role.
Why he’s great: None of what “Shadow of the Vampire,” a silly lark of a film, attempts to set out to do would work at all if the actor playing Schreck isn’t extraordinary. Luckily, Dafoe is truly extraordinary as Schreck, finding layers to the vampire that make the horror comedy work wonders. He imitates the real-life Schreck’s performance cannily, nailing his physicality in the original film enough that he’s a dead ringer when actual scenes from the silent movie get sliced in side-by-side. But his performance isn’t just an imitation; Dafoe goes over-the-top as Schreck off-camera, making for both his most purely funny performance and his scariest.
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2. “The Florida Project” (2017)
Image Credit: Everett Collection / Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: Bobby, a manager of Magic Castle, a budget motel just a few minutes away from Disney World, where poor residents live. Sean Baker’s 2017 film focuses on this unique world from the perspective of 6-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince), who, along with her friends, view Bobby as alternatively a nuisance, a prank target, and a caretaker.
Why he’s great: Pretty much every other role on this list sees Dafoe play someone extraordinary: criminals, actors, psychopaths, literal vampires. “The Florida Project” asks for something completely different of the beloved actor, casting him as a worn-out everyman just trying to make it through each day. And Dafoe is totally believable and heartbreaking in the role, finding the right shades between Bobby’s no-nonsense demeanor, his protective, caring nature towards his young tenants, and his regrets when his attempts to help lead to disaster. It’s the warmest and most sympathetic the phenomenal actor has ever been on screen.
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1. “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988)
Image Credit: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection Who Dafoe plays: Jesus Christ himself! Martin Scorsese’s controversial adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’s 1955 book follows Dafoe as the world’s most famous carpenter, as he struggles to pursue a path of righteousness and religion while battling multiple temptations, including fear, doubt, and lust.
Why he’s great: At the time of “The Last Temptation of Christ’s” release, Dafoe was seen as an odd choice for the role of Jesus Christ. But despite Sergio Leone’s infamous comments that Dafoe was more suited for the role of Satan, Dafoe’s edge and unconventional charisma are perfectly fit for a story in which Jesus is not a natural leader but a human plagued with doubt and vices. And Dafoe bares his soul in the role, giving a performance filled with so much quiet intensity and stirring feeling it makes the biblical feel real.
Plenty of actors have played Jesus Christ as a symbol; Dafoe plays Jesus Christ as a flesh-and-blood man, and the result is the best work of his career.
