The Best of Willem Dafoe

With Oscar season looking to be a very successful one ahead for the acting chameleon Mr Dafoe for his outstanding turn in The Florida Project (which I'll discuss in the future)...let's look at some of his finest work.

10. Spider-Man 

Though I wouldn't say his costume is the greatest (still miles better than whatever Dane DeHaan was wearing), Dafoe makes for a slightly off-putting but charismatic Norman Osborne, and gives an unnerving portrayal of the growing influence of the Green Goblin over him. When he actually is the Green Goblin it's a bit campy and over-the-top, but in an enjoyable and menacing way.

9. Born on the Fourth of July

Not one of the better Oliver Stone films, and featuring one of Tom Cruise's more overrated performances (he really should have been nominated a year before instead, for Rain Man). However, it is fairly affecting in parts in depicting the trauma of Vietnam veterans, and Dafoe excels as a sort of even more cynical foil to Cruise's character. It's a short role but a deeply moving one, and I'd have loved to see a film revolve around his character.

8. To Live and Die in L.A. 

One of his earliest performances, and a good example of Dafoe going full slimeball with his portrayal of a composed, murderous counterfeiter. Again it's not a great film, lesser William Friedkin on the whole and with a plot too convoluted resulting in an excess of style over substance, but Dafoe makes for a menacing and quite compelling villain, and his final scene is particularly great.

7. The Grand Budapest Hotel

He seems to have become one of Wes Anderson's posse, and rightly so since he's so finely attuned to the director's sensibilities. Dafoe completely buys into Anderson's delightful deadpan/heightened realism style and makes for a very intimidating and scary villain, whose also quite hilarious in the over-the-top-ness of his villainy. A particular highlight is him and Jeff Goldblum's scene together where one weird character meets another to create quite a memorable comic sequence.

6. The Boondock Saints 

A film that has divided the critics and audiences, The Boondock Saints is not a good film at all, but that doesn't stop Dafoe from giving one of his most entertaining performances as FBI Agent Paul Smecker. As the troubled and more than a bit loopy, but intelligent agent, he is the highlight of an otherwise trashy and unappealing action film. The scene where he describes the highlights of a shootout makes the shootout itself far more memorable than it has any right to be, and also has an inspired reference to...

5. Platoon 

Dafoe received his first nomination for his turn as the compassionate and religious Sergeant Gordon Elias. Platoon is an excellent film, Oliver Stone's best, and it's Dafoe and his onscreen counterpoint, Tom Berenger's violent and cynical Sergeant Barnes, who are the heart of the film. Their conflict is what makes it really work. Dafoe is such a great presence, earthly and grounded but with such an endearing wisdom to his morality, and makes you really care for the man. His demise, which isn't a spoiler since it's center of arguably the most famous film poster ever, is heartbreaking because of the man Dafoe makes him.

4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou 

Another delightful Wes Anderson turn, as a much more likeable figure. As Klaus Daimler, Steve Zissou's (an excellent Bill Murray) second-in-command, he's a sweet, innocent and for lack of a better word, adorable human being. His constant optimism, other than when his friendship and bond with Zissou is questioned (leadin to some truly hilarious scenes) plays off so well against the sardonic cynicism of Anderson's other characters. This again is not a film I love, but I like it a great deal, and a lot of that is down to Mr Dafoe's work.

3. The Last Temptation of Christ 

Saw this recently - give me some time to think about it as it is a really effective film, a one-of-a-kind sort of work only Scorsese himself could make, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it on the whole. It's a tough watch, and an interesting companion piece to Silence in its exploration of religion and God's instruction. Dafoe is Jesus, and though he might not seem like the most obvious candidate, he really nails it. It's a superb portrayal of the Son of God as an inspirational figure, but also a troubled man who struggles with the pressures put upon him, and is particularly great in the final act of the film.

2. Wild at Heart 

Dafoe and Lynch should really work together soon, since the brilliant Wild at Heart features Dafoe's most spine-chillingly grotesque villain of all his grotesque villains, the one and only Bobby Peru. There's little to no nuance in this performance which doesn't matter, Dafoe is a magnificent third act villain and is so compelling to watch whether he's terrorizing Laura Dern's character, or carrying out a heist like only a repulsive man like him can. He's not onscreen for even that long, but every second is very memorable.

1. Shadow of the Vampire

Dafoe's second nomination for Best Supporting Actor came with this portrayal of Max Schreck/Nosferatu in this very bizzare horror-comedy about the making of that classic Murnau film. Though he really should have been nominated in lead, I'm glad he was nominated since this is his very best performance. He slips so seamlessly into the role of one of the most iconic horror figures ever, almost on the level of Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi; the voice and accent, the physicality, and the creepiness he brings to every word he says, makes you completely buy into the concept of the film, which is that Schreck was really a vampire. The film isn't by any means perfect, but any scene with Dafoe blends the darkly comedic plight of the vampire with a surprisingly moving side to his eternal life of loneliness, and wish to become immortalized through film.