Willem Dafoe is an actor like no other. With a movie career spanning over 40 years, he’s played almost every type of character ever and excelled in the sinister, weird villains category, even in video games. Regardless of the quality of the projects, Dafoe will always be the star of the movie in terms of acting. Throughout his career, Dafoe has shined in supporting roles in movies like Platoon and The Florida Project, where he often stole the spotlight from the main characters.
In fact, his supporting performances have gained so much widespread acclaim that he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three different times at completely different stages of his career. In a business where it’s hard to stay on top throughout the decades, this continuous recognition proves how talented Dafoe’s talent is just getting better and better as he ages. These are Willem Dafoe’s best and most memorable supporting performances, from ruthless criminals to honorable men who always try to do what is right.
10 Eric Masters
‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ (1985)
To Live and Die in L.A. follows Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William Petersen), who teams up with agent John Vukovich (John Pankow) to capture counterfeiter Eric Masters (Dafoe). Chance’s pursuit of Masters is fueled by an obsession after Masters and his bodyguard murder Chance’s original partner during a raid on Masters’ print house. Chance uses his corrupt and reckless ways to capture Masters and will stop at nothing but his arrest.
Dafoe shines in the underrated To Live and Die in L.A. Eric Masters is a cunning, calculated criminal who is ready to murder whoever stands in his way, and Dafoe embodies this ruthlessness in every glance and action on the screen. Masters is so unsettling that his calmness brings an intense sense of dread to the viewers. The actor shines in the subdued yet no less menacing role, making him a standout of this otherwise forgotten crime drama.
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9 Donald Kimball
‘American Psycho’ (2000)
American Psycho revolves around Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), a man whose identity as a wealthy New York City investment banker hides his sinister nature as a brutal serial killer. As his violent impulses grow, Bateman starts targeting everybody he meets. The more bloody carnage he causes, the more Bateman’s mental state deteriorates, leading him to question his reality. Dafoe plays the role of Donald Kimball, a private investigator looking into the disappearance of one of Bateman’s colleagues.
When discussing the performances of American Psycho, Bale is always recognized. It makes sense, considering he is the main character and delivers a stunning performance. However, Dafoe’s performance is underrated despite how small his role is. Kimball stands toe to toe with Bateman in their shared scenes, and he makes him question himself repeatedly. Alongside Bateman, the audience guesses if Kimball really discovered Bateman’s reality, which could never be done without Dafoe’s masterful performance.
8 Agent Paul Smecker
‘The Boondock Saints’ (1999)
The Boondock Saints follows Irish American Catholic fraternal twins Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy MacManus (Norman Reedus), who turn into vigilantes after a bar fight enlights them to recognize their divine mission to get rid of all criminals in Boston. The twins start a violent bloodshed as they go after every wrongdoer in Boston, attracting the attention of FBI agent Paul Smecker (Dafoe).
The Boondock Saints is among the many ’90s cult classics that have aged poorly due to its over-reliance on tropes. However, Dafoe delivers an amazing performance as the bold and eccentric Smecker, bringing a flamboyant and unpredictable sense to him. The four-time Oscar nominee masterfully portrays Smecker’s transformation from an agent haunting the twins to somebody who believes in their mission and even supports them.
7 Marcus
‘John Wick’ (2014)
John Wick follows retired assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves), who is grieving his dead wife. Wick is sucked back into the criminal underground after a group of Russian mobsters, led by Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), steal his beloved car and kill his puppy, which was a final gift from his wife. Moreover, Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist) puts a $2 million bounty on John and enlists John’s former mentor, Marcus (Dafoe), to kill him.
Marcus is a high-level assassin and a father figure to Wick; although hired by Viggo, his loyalty to the titular character is not impacted, and he double-crosses Viggo. Marcus creates a support system for the titular assassin to rely on while adding layers and complexity to Wick’s stoic characterization. Marcus’ moral ambiguity and wicked charm make him a standout character in John Wick despite his limited screen time.
6 J.G. Jopling
‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (2014)
The Grand Budapest Hotel centers around the adventures of and relationship between Monsieur Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes), a hotel concierge, and Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), a lobby boy. After the secret owner of the hotel, Madame D. (Tilda Swinton), dies and bequeaths a famous painting to Gustave, her son, Dimitri (Adrien Brody), objects, and Gustave is framed for her murder. Dafoe plays another hitman, J.G. Jopling, hired by Dimitri to do all his dirty work.
Jopling says very few words throughout the movie, yet the audience can still feel his threatening and dangerous personality. Ever the consummate comedian, Dafoe brings the right amount of absurdism to his performance, creating an antagonist that feels right at home in Anderson’s stylish and quirky world. From his clothes to Dafoe’s menacing and darkly comedic portrayal, Jopling is one of the most memorable characters in The Grand Budapest Hotel.
5 Klaus Daimler
‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’ (2004)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou follows oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) on his journey to find and document a “jaguar shark” who ate his best friend. Joined by his crew aboard the aging research vessel Belafonte, including a possible son, Ned (Owen Wilson), journalist Jane (Cate Blanchett), and estranged wife Eleanor (Anjelica Huston), Zissou embarks on an adventure filled with personal struggles as he must confront his declining career and strained personal relationships.
Like any Anderson movie, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is a very colorful movie with eccentric characters. Among them is Klaus Daimler (Dafoe), Zissou’s loyal first mate and surrogate son. Dafoe’s performance is complex yet comedic, acting as comic relief in some of the most emotional scenes. Dafoe cleverly balances between the comedic and more emotional side of Daimler, embracing the film’s eccentricities without abandoning the story’s emotional punch.
4 Norman Osborn/Green Goblin
‘Spider-Man’ (2002)
Spider-Man follows Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), a high school student who gains superhuman abilities after being bitten by a genetically modified spider and takes on the personality of Spider-Man to protect New York City. Meanwhile, his best friend’s father, Norman Osborn (Dafoe), transforms into the villainous Green Goblin after a failed experiment.
Norman Osborn, or the Green Goblin, is probably Dafoe’s most mainstream and recognized role, and he is arguably the best character in Spider-Man. The Green Goblin is layered and complex with multiple facades, including the more meek Osoborn. Dafoe shifts between the two personalities so easily that he makes it seem effortless. More importantly, the actor embraces the inherent campiness of the comic book genre, delivering one of the most purely entertaining and scene-stealing turns in the history of the superhero genre.
3 Bobby Hicks
‘The Florida Project’ (2017)
The Florida Project centers on six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Kimberly Prince) and her mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite), who live in poverty in a rundown budget motel near Disney World. Moonee spends her summer days exploring the area with her friends, creating mischief and adventures, while her mother struggles to make ends meet after she loses her job as a stripper. Moonee and her friends often bother Bobby Hicks (Dafoe), the manager of the motel, who keeps a protective eye on the children while their parents are out.
Dafoe’s role as Bobby Hicks was his latest Oscar nomination in the Best Supporting Actor category. The Florida Project stands out in Dafoe’s filmography as, for once, he gets to show his warmer and more endearing side. Bobby is not a one-dimensional character, and his relationship with the children who live in the motel is very complex and heartwarming, making him a deeply human and relatable figure and possibly Dafoe’s most relatable role.
2 Max Schreck
‘Shadow of the Vampire’ (2000)
Shadow of the Vampire is a fictionalized account of the making of the 1922 silent horror classic Nosferatu. In the movie, director F.W. Murnau (John Malkovich) hires an obscure Russian theater performer, Max Schreck (Dafoe), to play Count Orlok, insisting he stay in character at all times. However, Schreck is revealed to be a real vampire whose hunger and strange behavior disrupt the production.
As Schreck, Dafoe blends dark humor with an eerie, otherworldly nature and constant paranoia about being caught by the crew, who suspect something sinister is going on. Schreck’s horrific appearance, combined with Dafoe’s expressions and physicality, makes him a terrifying figure, earning Dafoe his second Oscar nomination. Interestingly, Dafoe will star in another Nosferatu this year, directed by Robert Eggers, playing Professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz.
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1 Sgt. Elias Grodin
‘Platoon’ (1986)
Platoon takes place during the Vietnam War and follows U.S. Army volunteer Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) starting from his arrival in South Vietnam. As the war progresses, Taylor and the platoon are caught in a moral struggle between two sergeants, the compassionate, idealistic Elias Grodin (Dafoe) and the brutal, cynical Robert Barnes (Tom Berenger). When a number of men in the platoon illegally kill a Vietnamese village during a village raid under Barnes’ leadership, inner conflicts start to tear the platoon apart.
Elias Grodin was Dafoe’s mainstream breakthrough role in cinema, taking him from a stage actor to a movie actor. Dafoe portrays the honorable and righteous Elias, who tries to save as much of his men’s humanity as possible, leading them to do the best they can in their precarious situation. Dafoe’s performance was praised by critics and audiences alike, and ended up earning him his very first Oscar nomination.