Willem Dafoe: Classic or Dud? Search/Destroy

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One of the most underappreciated actors working today. Classic/Search for Sgt. Elias in Platoon, Charlie in Born on the Fourth of July, Bobby Peru in Wild at Heart, Jesus in Last Temptation of Christ, Clark in Clear and Present Danger, Ray Dolezal in White Sands (another underrated film) and the great Gas in eXistenZ. Haven't seen Spiderman yet.

― bryan, Monday, 6 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Haven't seen Spiderman yet.

In case you're curious about others' opinions on that, check out Ned's "Spiderman" thread, about halfway down.

― Nichole Graham, Monday, 6 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I am best friends with Willem Dafoe. I agree--he's very underappreciated.

― Mandee, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

How neat. Get him to post on here, I say. ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Willem's also great in Shadow of the Vampire and Boondock Saints.

― Jordan, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

How neat. Get him to post on here, I say. ;-)

Yes, please, Mandee.....use any necessary bribery;> Odds are, he'd quickly feel right at home.

― Nichole Graham, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

He's terrific. A friend of mine thinks he's extremely sexy too, though only when in pain. She loved him as Jesus. This may say more about her than him, I expect.

― Martin Skidmore, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Tell Willem he was ok in a couple of movies there.

― Ally C, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

He was great as Caravaggio in The English Patient too.

― bryan, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I am composing an e-mail to Willem, telling him that you all love him. Ally, I will relay the message--but in the meantime, please stop flirting with me.

― Mandee, Tuesday, 7 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Willem is hanging in Hammersmith for the next few weeks. I'd like to think he persuaded the Wooster Group to perform here so he can re- enact the Elias/adaggio for strings bit from Platoon on the High Street. I'll keep you posted.

― nick.K, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

This is getting like the Heath Ledger board. I would just like to say that Mr Defoe stars in one of my favourite song lyrics of all time:
"Its easy to accept Jesus Christ as your personal saviour when he looks like WIllem Dafoe": Folk Song, Bongwater.

― Pete, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Classick of course. Search the gaps between his teeth.

― nathalie, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

SPEED TWO: CRUISE CONTROL

― ethan, Wednesday, 8 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"Boondock Saints" was amazing and, as many times as I have seen and loved "Wild at Heart", I never knew that he had played Billy Peru. I'm not much of a Liner Notes reader, but now that I look again, it's totally obvious. He is a true master.

― Hank, Thursday, 9 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

CRUISE CONTROL > Tom Cruise Control?

― nathalie, Friday, 10 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

it upsets me that his name is spelled that way. what's wrong with the man?

― William Dafoe, Friday, 10 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Streets of Fire!

― bnw, Friday, 10 May 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

two years pass...

I watched Boondock Saints last night and vaguely remembered this thread. Mandee are you pulling ILX's collective leg, or is this true?

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 29 October 2004 20:46 (twenty-one years ago)

Light Sleeper is the ultimate Dafoe movie, though. Good stuff, really moody Paul Schrader flick (one of his stronger efforts as well), with a hell of a supporting cast (Susan Sarandon, Victor Garber, Sam Rockwell, Jane Adams, David Clennon)

― Riot Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 29 October 2004 21:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Don't forget about Dana Delaney in "Light Sleeper", she was really good in that one.

Why Willem Defoe hasn't been in a movie with Christopher Walken is beyond me. It must be the same reason why that Samuel L. Jackson and Laurence Fishburne have not been in a movie together. You would think someone would cast them together, but it has never happened. Some enterprising filmmaker needs to make one mano-a-mano tough guy movie and cast all four of them.

― Earl Nash (earlnash), Friday, 29 October 2004 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

apparently fishburne and jackson get mistaken for each other all the time. they talk about this all the time, at wife-swap parties.

― darragh.mac (darragh.mac), Saturday, 30 October 2004 00:01 (twenty-one years ago)

one year passes...

boondock saints is a terrible, terrible film, but willem dafoe is good.

― gear (gear), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 06:51 (nineteen years ago)

is sam rockwell really in light sleeper?

― j blount (papa la bas), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 07:45 (nineteen years ago)

yeah! he's some dude that dafoe meets with near the beginning, who warns him there might be trouble ahead with the cops.

― gear (gear), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 14:29 (nineteen years ago)

life aquatic, c'mon....

― Peter Densmore (pbnmyj), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 14:33 (nineteen years ago)

i love willem dafoe

― latebloomer: where dignity goes to die (latebloomer), Wednesday, 1 March 2006 23:35 (nineteen years ago)

Madonna pours wax on his balls and then fucks his brains loose in Body of Evidence.

― shookout (shookout), Thursday, 2 March 2006 13:30 (nineteen years ago)

Man I have a huge crush on this guy.

― Abbott (Abbott), Thursday, 2 March 2006 18:26 (nineteen years ago)

There should be a rapper called Willem Da Foe

― Adam Rice Lacucaracha (nordicskilla), Thursday, 2 March 2006 18:29 (nineteen years ago)

So do I, Abbott, so do I.

― jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 2 March 2006 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

but seriously, fuck boondock saints. who likes that movie?

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 21:56 (nineteen years ago)

apparently its mandatory for female german myspacers to like the boondock saints

-- fe zaffe (fezaff...), May 6th, 2005.

― Yawn (Wintermute), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 22:00 (nineteen years ago)

i blame young indy!

― Yawn (Wintermute), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 22:00 (nineteen years ago)

that movie in incompetent and insulting on so many levels. the sort of people who love this movie are the sorts who have 'big lebowski' parties and dress up as keyzer soze for halloween

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 22:03 (nineteen years ago)

TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA

― Houdini Gordonii (ex machina), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 22:05 (nineteen years ago)

that movie is awesome

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 22:07 (nineteen years ago)

His 30 seconds in "The Hunger" are the beginnings of his brilliance.

"Hey lady-- How 'bout it?!"

― Sparkle Motion's Rising Force, Tuesday, 28 March 2006 22:13 (nineteen years ago)

that movie in incompetent and insulting on so many levels. the sort of people who love this movie are the sorts who have 'big lebowski' parties and dress up as keyzer soze for halloween

-- gear (speed.to.roa...), March 28th, 2006.

otm!

― latebloomer: band to the planet mars (latebloomer), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 17:49 (nineteen years ago)

I think my mom has a crush on him. A few years ago, when I saw him on Houston Street, she got all pouty when I told her.

― tokyo nursery school: afternoon session (rosemary), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 17:59 (nineteen years ago)

I hate the Boondock Saints this much:
{--------------------------------------------------}
But all those Deutscher girls probably feel that Mr. Dafoe is very hot in it, and that's why they like it. They probably just fast-forward through everything he's not in, and then watch his parts with the sound down.

― Abbott (Abbott), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:38 (nineteen years ago)

why is boondock saints incompetent and insulting?

― AaronK (AaronK), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:39 (nineteen years ago)

what did ppl think about "the clearing"?

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

it's dumb, it's poorly acted, it has a curious ethnic hierarchy (russians are gibbering goons, italians are mostly useless but there are some good italians, the irish are, well, saints), and the character of dafoe is seemingly made gay only so he can be the safe, neutral mouthpiece for the director's homophobia. it attempts to channel religious symbolism/irish culture for bullshit pretentious points that impress the dumber students in film schools, the titular characters are dull ciphers, the dialogue is instantly forgettable, and it has a cameo by ron jeremy.

not to mention the horribly awkward scene in which ron jeremy and the italian mob boss make the saints' italian buddy tell them a joke and force him to say "nigger" instead of "black guy" (though the italian buddy has no qualms about saying "spic"). not only is that scene supposed to be funny, but i don't think there's a single black or hispanic character in the film. that scene is where they're represented. and the two most important female characters, insofar as i can remember, are italian buddy's girlfriend and her friend (who get treated like you'd expect in a film such as this).

― gear (gear), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 18:58 (nineteen years ago)

haha reason enough/ thanks.

― AaronK (AaronK), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:01 (nineteen years ago)

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