AKA William Dafoe Jr.

Born: 22-Jul-1955
Birthplace: Appleton, WI

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Last Temptation of Christ

William Dafoe grew up in Appleton, Wisconsin, about 100 miles north of Milwaukee, and was nicknamed "Willem" in high school. He was expelled from Appleton East High School for making a video that school administrators deemed pornographic. To get his diploma, Dafoe finished his studies at nearby Lawrence University. He studied drama at the University of Milwaukee, but soon dropped out, deciding he could learn more as an actor. Dafoe joined that city's experimental Theater X, and toured with them for two years before moving to New York in 1977. He was a founding member of the Wooster Group, an off-Broadway venture that survives to this day.

Before his breakthrough in To Live and Die in L.A., Dafoe's film roles were mostly tiny, and usually had him playing oddballs and bad guys. It was off-casting to have him play the embodiment of Good in Oliver Stone's allegorical Platoon, opposite handsome Tom Berenger as Evil. The gamble paid off, with Berenger, Dafoe, and the film all nominated for Oscars.

When movies aren't enough to occupy his time or mind, Dafoe still appears occasionally in the Wooster Group's stage productions, such as LSD and The Hairy Ape.

Father: William Dafoe (doctor)
Mother: (nurse)
Girlfriend: Elizabeth LeCompte (theater company director, b. 1945, together since 1977)
Son: Jack Dafoe (b. 1982)

    High School: Appleton East High School, Appleton, WI
    University: Drama, University of Wisconsin (dropped out)

    Endorsement of Fortune Brands Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey (2011)
    Risk Factors: Yoga

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Miral (3-Sep-2010)
    Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (22-Oct-2009) · Gavner Purl
    Fantastic Mr. Fox (14-Oct-2009) · Rat [VOICE]
    Daybreakers (11-Sep-2009) · Lionel "Elvis" Cormac
    My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (6-Sep-2009)
    Farewell (4-Sep-2009)
    Antichrist (18-May-2009) · He
    Adam Resurrected (30-Aug-2008)
    Fireflies in the Garden (10-Feb-2008)
    Anamorph (21-Sep-2007)
    Spider-Man 3 (16-Apr-2007)
    Mr. Bean's Holiday (22-Mar-2007)
    The Walker (13-Feb-2007) · Larry Lockner
    Paris, je t'aime (18-May-2006)
    Inside Man (16-May-2006)
    American Dreamz (4-Mar-2006)
    Ripley Under Ground (6-Nov-2005)
    Before It Had a Name (Sep-2005)
    Manderlay (16-May-2005) · Grace's Father
    xXx: State of the Union (27-Apr-2005)
    The Aviator (17-Dec-2004)
    Control (7-Dec-2004)
    The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (20-Nov-2004)
    Spider-Man 2 (30-Jun-2004)
    The Clearing (Jan-2004)
    Once Upon a Time in Mexico (27-Aug-2003)
    The Reckoning (6-Aug-2003)
    Overnight (12-Jun-2003) · Himself
    Finding Nemo (18-May-2003) [VOICE]
    Auto Focus (8-Sep-2002) · John Carpenter
    Spider-Man (3-May-2002)
    Edges of the Lord (12-Oct-2001)
    Pavilion of Women (16-Mar-2001)
    Bullfighter (Oct-2000)
    Shadow of the Vampire (15-May-2000)
    Animal Factory (24-Jan-2000)
    American Psycho (21-Jan-2000)
    The Boondock Saints (4-Aug-1999) · Paul Smecker
    eXistenZ (16-Feb-1999) · Gas
    New Rose Hotel (14-Oct-1998)
    Lulu on the Bridge (14-Aug-1998) · Dr. Van Horn
    Affliction (28-Aug-1997)
    Speed 2: Cruise Control (13-Jun-1997) · Geiger
    The English Patient (6-Nov-1996)
    Basquiat (9-Aug-1996) · The Electrician
    The Night and the Moment (5-Jul-1995) · The Writer
    Victory (1995) · Heyst
    Tom & Viv (11-Nov-1994) · Tom Eliot
    Clear and Present Danger (3-Aug-1994)
    Faraway, So Close! (18-May-1993)
    Body of Evidence (15-Jan-1993) · Frank Dulaney
    Light Sleeper (21-Aug-1992)
    White Sands (24-Apr-1992)
    Flight of the Intruder (18-Jan-1991)
    Wild at Heart (17-Aug-1990)
    Cry-Baby (6-Apr-1990)
    Born on the Fourth of July (20-Dec-1989) · Charlie
    Triumph of the Spirit (8-Dec-1989)
    Mississippi Burning (9-Dec-1988)
    The Last Temptation of Christ (12-Aug-1988) · Jesus
    Off Limits (11-Mar-1988)
    Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (Oct-1987) [VOICE]
    Platoon (19-Dec-1986) · Sgt. Elias
    To Live and Die in L.A. (1-Nov-1985) · Eric Masters
    Streets of Fire (1-Jun-1984) · Raven
    New York Nights (Mar-1984)
    Roadhouse 66 (1984)
    The Hunger (29-Apr-1983)
    The Loveless (13-Sep-1982)

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