Willem Dafoe Bio, Awards and Nominations, Net Worth, Gay or Straight

Willem Dafoe Bio, Awards and Nominations, Net Worth, Gay or Straight

Willem Dafoe is a legendary American actor who plays the “bad guy” roles in his films. He is known for his role in the Marvel film Spider-Man 1, 2 & 3, which earned him a nomination for Best Bad Guy at the 2002 MTV Movie Awards. His professional way of interpreting his characters in movies has earned him several awards. Read on to learn more about this actor, including his fortune.

Willem Dafoe Biography

Willem Dafoe was born on July 22, 1955, in Appleton, Wisconsin as William James Dafoe, the youngest of seven children of Dr. William Alfred Dafoe, his father who was a surgeon, and his mother, Muriel Isabel Sprissler who was a nurse. He was raised by his older sisters and hardly saw his parents during his childhood as they were both absorbed in their work and had less time for him. He has a mixed pedigree – partly Scottish, English, Northern Irish, German and French, but his nationality is American and Italian. Willem is about 1.70 m tall and weighs 78 kg.

He attended Appleton East High School, where he was nicknamed Willem, which is an imprint of his birth name William. However, Willem also happens to be the Dutch rendering of the name William. He was expelled from high school for making a pornographic video, and so he finished his studies at another school – Lawrence University – to get his diploma.

Willem Dafoe Bio, Awards and Nominations, Net Worth, Gay or Straight
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After high school, Willem went to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he was supposed to study acting, but did not finish the program. He dropped out of college to join Theatre X – an experimental theatre group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, because he thought he was bored with the school’s theatre department. He soon left Theatre X and moved to New York to join The Performance Group under the mentorship of director Richard Schechner. Together with some other members of the Performance Group, he co-founded The Wooster Group.

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Willem Dafoe’s Career

Willem began his professional acting career in 1981 with a small role in the 1981 film “Heavens’ Gate”, although his role was eventually removed during editing, it served as a prelude to a career that saw him appear in over a hundred films in addition to television broadcasts. He described the feeling as one of disappointment, but he went on and played the lead role in Loveless (1982). When he starred in “Streets of Fire” (1984) and “To Live and Die in L.A.” (1985), Willem realized that he had earned the unwanted reputation of playing the villain in movies. His portrayal of Sergeant Gordon Elias, a good cop, in Oliver Stone’s 1986 film Platoon earned him his first Oscar nomination, and his fate as one of Hollywood’s best actors was sealed from then on.

Willem has acted in countless other films, including Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987), Off Limits (1988), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Wild at Heart (1990), The English Patient (1996), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Spider-Man (2002), Auto Focus (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2003), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), XXX: State of the Union (2005), Mr. Bean’s Holiday (2007), Spider-Man 3 (2007), Antichrist (2009), The Hunter (2011), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The Florida Project (2017), among so many others.

Net Worth – What is Willem Dafoe Worth?

The legendary actor’s annual income – income and salary – is not exactly known, but his net worth is estimated at 25 to 30 million dollars.

Is Willem Dafoe Gay or Straight

Willem’s sexual orientation has been a conflicting discussion all along. While many cling to the fact that he is married to a woman and blessed with a son as proof of his “heterosexuality”, others think he is gay and that his marriage is a cover-up or at best bisexual. A few others boldly say he is an openly gay man. We cannot contradict anyone, but we can say that Willem Dafoe has been married to Giada Colagrande, a filmmaker, actress and screenwriter, since 2005.

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Before his marriage to the Italian actress, Willem Dafoe was in a relationship with Elizabeth LeCompte, who was director of The Wooster Group for 27 years. They had his only child – Jack Dafoe (born 1982) – together. According to Willem, Elizabeth did not like the idea of marriage because it meant property to her, so they never married until they went their separate ways.

Awards and Nominations

If you are good at what you set out to do, it is only natural that you will be recognized, celebrated, and rewarded. Willem has received his own fair share of recognition after nearly four decades in the entertainment industry, performing one achievement after another and still thriving to conquer more territories. His award cabinet must have been rebuilt so many times. At the time of writing, Willem had been nominated for film awards a total of 127 times, and of that number he went home with the plaque an astonishing 61 times. Let’s take a look at his past awards and nominations.

Nominations

His role in the 1986 blockbuster Platoon earned him two nominations including an Oscar nomination.

  • Best Supporting Actor -Academy Award (Oscars)
  • Best Male Lead – Independent Spirit Award

‘Wild At Heart’ – 1990

  • Best Supporting Male  – Independent Spirit Award

Shadow Of The Vampire – 2000

  • Best Supporting Actor – Academy Award (Oscars)
  • Best Supporting Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award
  • Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture) – Golden Globe Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Online Film Critics Society Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – San Diego Film Critics Society Award
  • Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role – Screen Actors Guild Award

Spider-Man – 2001

  • Best Villain – MTV Movie Award

Auto Focus – 2002

  • Best Supporting Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Award

The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou – 2004

  • Best Ensemble Cast – Boston Society of Film Critics Award
  • Best Acting Ensemble – Critics’ Choice Movie Award

Antichrist – 2009

  • Best Actor in a Leading Role – Robert Award

The Hunter – 2011

  • Best Actor in a Leading Role – AACTA Award

The Florida Project – 2017

  • Best Supporting Actor – Academy Award (Oscars) – Pending
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role – BAFTA Award
  •  Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role- Screen Actors Guild Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Critics’ Choice Movie Award
  • Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture) – Golden Globe Award
  • Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture) – Satellite Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award
  • Best Actor – Gotham Independent Film Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award

Awards

Light Sleeper – 1992

  • Best Foreign Actor – Sant Jordi Award

Shadow Of The Vampire – 2000

  • Best Actor – Fantasporto’s International Fantasy Film Award
  • Outstanding Creative Performance – Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival’s President Award
  • Best Supporting Male – Independent Spirit Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award
  • Best Supporting Actor (Motion Picture Comedy or Musical) – Satellite Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Saturn Award
  • Best Actor – Sitges Film Festival’s Gran Angular Award

Spider-Man – 2001

  • Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Online Award

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Antichrist – 2009

  • Best Actor in a Leading Role – Bodil Award

The Florida Project – 2017

  • Best Supporting Actor – Atlanta Film Critics Circle Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Boston Society of Film Critics Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Detroit Film Critics Society Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – IndieWire Critics Poll
  • Best Supporting Actor – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – National Board of Review Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Online
  • Best Supporting Actor – National Society of Film Critics Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Seattle Film Critics Society Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Toronto Film Critics Association Award
  • Best Supporting Actor – Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award

His role in the 1986 blockbuster “Platoon” earned him two nominations, including an Oscar nomination.