{"id":82539,"date":"2023-10-26T12:35:17","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T12:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=82539"},"modified":"2023-10-26T15:37:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T15:37:22","slug":"willem-dafoe-actor-career","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/willem-dafoe-actor-career\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m Believable Because I’m Real"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Willem
BERLIN, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 24: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) Willem Dafoe is seen at the “Siberia” press conference during the 70th Berlinale International Film Festival Berlin at Grand Hyatt Hotel on February 24, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Nareyek\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Words by Claudia Catalli<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

That deep voice, the green eyes, the craggy\u00a0face of a rockstar. Before us is Willem Dafoe,\u00a0Hollywood\u2019s king of transformation, who is just\u00a0as comfortable in blockbusters such as Spider-\u00a0Man: No Way Home<\/em> and Aquaman<\/em> as he is in\u00a0more complex auteur films.<\/p>\n

His resume speaks volumes: no one else\u00a0has played such a range of tormented and\u00a0unforgettable characters. He has been the\u00a0painter Vincent van Gogh, the writer Pier Paolo\u00a0Pasolini, and even Jesus Christ. His portrayal\u00a0of the scientist Godwin Baxter, who brings\u00a0Emma Stone back to life in \u201cPoor Things,\u201d was\u00a0darker still; it will reach theaters in January\u00a0and premiered at the 80th Venice International\u00a0Film Festival. Reacting to Stone\u2019s character,\u00a0Bella Baxter, critics immediately lauded the\u00a0film as feminist, saying it changes the way we\u00a0tell women\u2019s stories. Rarely before now had\u00a0there been such convincing representations of\u00a0female desire and sexuality, and it\u2019s the scientist\u00a0played by Dafoe \u2013 a product of the highly chaste\u00a0Victorian era \u2013 who resurrects Bella, albeit from\u00a0a male perspective.<\/p>\n

The actor also gave a masterful performance in\u00a0Wes Anderson\u2019s \u201cAsteroid City,\u201d which reached\u00a0theaters September 14. He was in Venice as part\u00a0of the cast of Saverio Costanzo\u2019s \u201cFinally Dawn,\u201d\u00a0in which he plays American gallerist Rufus\u00a0Priori; the film was selected to compete for the\u00a0Golden Lion.<\/p>\n

This interview with Dafoe took place right\u00a0before Hollywood\u2019s actors and writers went on\u00a0strike, which is why we couldn\u2019t ask him about\u00a0his most recent projects. Fortunately, however,\u00a0the actor was able to share many little-known\u00a0facts about his career and his life in Italy. He is\u00a0married to director Giada Colagrande and lives\u00a0in Rome.<\/p>\n

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MILAN, ITALY – JANUARY 15: Willem Dafoe walks the runway during the Prada ready to Wear Fall\/Winter 2012 – 2013 show as part of the Milan Men Fashion Week on January 15, 2012 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Victor VIRGILE\/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You have appeared in over 140 movies. How do\u00a0you do it?<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

I still love my job as much as I did the day I\u00a0started. Acting makes me feel alive.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re offered a role, what criteria do\u00a0you use in deciding whether to accept it or turn\u00a0it down?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I like to work with filmmakers who have a\u00a0personal vision. I\u2019m happy for them to use me as\u00a0an instrument. I hide all traces of myself and let\u00a0myself engage with the stories of the characters\u00a0they ask me to play.<\/p>\n

Do you do your own stunts?<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

I\u00a0always pursue authenticity. I\u2019m convinced that\u00a0as an actor, you\u2019re only believable if you\u2019re real.\u00a0So, if I can, I do everything that\u2019s required for a\u00a0character. Physical training is an integral part of\u00a0an actor\u2019s work and I\u2019m a beast in that sense, I\u00a0dive into the most reckless sequences. Don\u2019t get\u00a0me wrong, I\u2019m not saying this to be \u201cmacho,\u201d\u00a0I\u2019m just saying it as an actor who understands\u00a0that the human body is a fundamental means of\u00a0expression in this line of work.<\/p>\n

What do you do when you\u2019re not working?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The truth of the matter is that work is my\u00a0favorite hobby. I spend time reading scripts and\u00a0daydreaming about my characters. I\u2019m always\u00a0busy.<\/p>\n

You never stopped, not even during the\u00a0pandemic?\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

No, I kept working. I\u2019m not so much obsessed\u00a0with work as with my passion, and I chose this\u00a0job precisely because it was everything I ever\u00a0wanted to do. That\u2019s why after all these years\u00a0I still wake up every morning with the same\u00a0enthusiasm for what I do.<\/p>\n

I know you practice yoga. Do you have any\u00a0<\/i>other tips for keeping energy and enthusiasm\u00a0<\/i>high?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Worry as little as possible about things you can\u2019t\u00a0change.<\/p>\n

Such as the passage of time?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

For example, yes.<\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t the future of filmmaking worry you\u00a0<\/i>at all, given concerns about the impact of\u00a0<\/i>streaming?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not against streaming platforms. On the\u00a0contrary, they make art-house cinema and\u00a0independent films more accessible to a lot of\u00a0people around the world, and they allow us to\u00a0view works that are unknown or impossible\u00a0to find. But seeing a movie in the theater is\u00a0something else; it\u2019s a shared experience\u00a0with the\u00a0stranger sitting next to you.<\/p>\n

Is there anyone you feel obliged to thank for\u00a0<\/i>your success as an actor?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy for me to answer that question. I can\u00a0say there are directors who believed in me and\u00a0gave me the chance to show what I knew how to\u00a0do.<\/p>\n

For example?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Walter Hill, who gave me my first real studio\u00a0experience. He cast me in my movie debut,\u00a0\u201cStreets of Fire,\u201d and allowed me to experience\u00a0a variety of fun stuff on set.When he offered\u00a0me the chance to shoot a western 40 years later\u00a0[Editor\u2019s note: Dead for Dollar<\/em>], I accepted\u00a0immediately, and discovered that neither of us\u00a0had changed.<\/p>\n

And your friend Wes Anderson?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

With him I have a hard time calling it \u201cwork,\u201d\u00a0because beyond admiring what he does, I like\u00a0spending time with him. His form of cinema\u00a0is very close to an artisan craft. It\u2019s impossible\u00a0to get bored with a director who is so full of\u00a0creativity and talent.<\/p>\n

They say your meeting with the Italian\u00a0<\/i>director Sergio Leone didn\u2019t go so well.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

I was a big fan of his movies, until one day\u00a0he came to the press presentation of The Last\u00a0Temptation of Christ<\/em> and said, referring to me:\u00a0\u201cThis is not the face of our Lord, this is the face\u00a0of Satan!\u201d Let\u2019s just say that his comment left me\u00a0with feelings that aren\u2019t exactly positive.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re asked to take on a historical\u00a0<\/i>character, such as Jesus, Pasolini or van Gogh,\u00a0<\/i>how do you approach the task at hand?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

I immerse myself in the study of their lives and\u00a0works, not with the goal of imitating them, but\u00a0to pay tribute to them, with great humility. My\u00a0work tends to be intense and visceral, so that\u00a0sometimes I start to look like the character I\u2019m\u00a0playing. People are surprised and tell me: \u201cYou\u00a0know, you really look like that person!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

“My work tends to be intense and visceral, so that sometimes I start to look like the character I\u2019m playing.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You even started painting to play van Gogh.\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

Painting was essential to tell his story, so I\u00a0learned how to do it and honed my skills. I\u00a0always enjoy exploring new means of expression.<\/p>\n

What stayed with you about Pasolini?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

His poetry, his cinema, his visionary nature, and\u00a0political reflections. They\u2019re something that still\u00a0inspires me to move forward, and I find that\u00a0they\u2019re a motivating force for everyone, anywhere\u00a0in the world.<\/p>\n

What remains of these great geniuses today?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

The brilliance of their art, their love for culture,\u00a0that existential mix of impatience and passion,\u00a0the restlessness expressed in an unfulfilled dream\u00a0of returning to simple and sacred things. The\u00a0example they set in knowing how to follow many\u00a0different paths and be comfortable both with the\u00a0cultural elite and kids off the street. But most\u00a0of all, the ability to scandalize people while also\u00a0inspiring them and making them think.<\/p>\n

Translated from the Italian b<\/em>y Cynthia Martens<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Read GRAZIA USA<\/em>\u2019s Fall Issue<\/a> featuring cover star Ziwe\u00a0Fumudoh<\/a>:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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