
This biography of Viet Nam veteran Ron Kovic, turned activist was a showcase for Tom Cruise, but in the middle of it, Dafoe is extraordinary as a fellow vet, living like many vets in Mexico where Kovic goes to find peace. One of his first major roles, he was intense, unique, a badass, sinewy and the camera loved him. We discover very quickly he is a very bad guy, dangerous, unpredictable, willing to do whatever it takes to survive. We watch as Rick Masters, portrayed with slimy, reptilian charm by Dafoe, makes money.
#Willem dafoe young how to
The opening scenes in the film are a text book study in how to counterfeit cash. This is a guy who looks like he is rotting from the inside out. It is a small part, but electrifying, and we do not soon forget Peru. As always Dafoe was fearless in the role, not afraid to look repellant, not afraid to be a monster. None is more horrific than Bobby Peru, the greasy rotted teeth villain, who bullies and manipulates all those around him. Two lonely outsiders connect, and everywhere they go they encounter horrific people. Oddly, with hideous make up, turning him into a monster, he is the most human of all the characters. Shadow of the Vampire (2000)Īn interesting film about the making of the classic German horror film Nosferatu (1920) that poses the question, what if Max Schreck, the actor portraying the vampire was himself a vampire? Dafoe is wonderful in the film but frightening and funny, earning his second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. One of Scorsese’s greatest films, and among the most controversial films of the decade, along with being a profoundly moving experience. The scenes on the cross are extraordinary, with Dafoe going where no actor had ever gone before as Jesus. Yet he finds his voice and slowly builds a following, a loyal one, who gather to listen to him speak. Afraid of the voices he hears, terrified of what they tell him, he makes crosses for the Romans to crucify the Jews. The most human portrayal of Jesus Christ we had ever seen, Dafoe was superb in this daring film. One of the great death scenes in movies, the film ended the comic book mentality about Viet Nam that had conquered American cinema. Elias sees the danger in Barnes, more than anyone, but never imagines what will happen to him. Understanding that the Americans are invading a country they have no business being in, and that they are going to lose the war. He is at odds with Barnes, a warrior who kills anyone and everyone in his path. Portraying the decent soldier, Elias, who inherently understands America will lose Viet Nam, and why, believing in his cause, yet disillusioned with what he sees everyday.

His major breakthrough earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Dafoe is brilliant in the film, do the finest work of his career, displaying a huge heart, a kindness in a place where one would not believe it exists. Though he is tough on the kids, he is a fierce protector of them. Often he is fixing something seven year old Moonee and Her friends have damaged. Run down, many people live there paying by the week, Bobby tends to them and the hotel daily. Here is the list of top 9 movies of Williem Dafoe.īobby is a gruff manager of a run-down hotel, one of those loud garish ones you see on the way to Disney World, but that is the closest anyone who stays there will ever come. He continues to do that to this day, comfortable in studio fare such as Spider-Man (2002) and more so in indies that challenge him as an actor. Through the nineties, the actor gave us an array of heroes and villains, fearless to make himself look horrible for any role. Audiences had not ever seen a Christ like this one, so human, so real, and critics heaped praise on him for his work in the demanding and difficult movie. As the messiah like warrior, critics sang his praises, the Academy awarded him a nomination for supporting actor and, taking notice, Martin Scorsese cast him as Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) one of his finest and most important performances. It was, however, as Elias, the decent American soldier in Platoon (1986) that he first earned great acclaim and his first Academy Award nomination.
