Willem Dafoe

Weirdness is not my game. I'm just a square boy from Wisconsin.

— Willem Dafoe

Basically, when I hear the words 'family drama,' I run in the opposite direction.

— Willem Dafoe

Socially, I like the idea of sitting in a theater with a bunch of people.

— Willem Dafoe

It's nice to go back with people that you already trust.

— Willem Dafoe

In order to inhabit a character, you've got to embrace and empathise with them.

— Willem Dafoe

With theatre, you have to be ready for anything.

— Willem Dafoe

Action breeds inspiration more than inspiration breeds action.

— Willem Dafoe

It's too easy to trivialize people. The Internet does it all the time.

— Willem Dafoe

Let's hope I never end up on a deserted island, because I could never make a decision on which three CDs to…

— Willem Dafoe

Film is fragmented and gets into lots of other people's hands. There are a lot of pleasures that theatre gives me. You…

— Willem Dafoe

I've never had any close male friends. The most important relationships in my life have always been with women.

— Willem Dafoe

I love theaters. I love the event of going there and seeing a movie with a lot of people. I like the…

— Willem Dafoe

I don't think people are interested in my personal life. I've never had a Hollywood life. I've always been a worker.

— Willem Dafoe

It's fair to say that if you have a lot of experience, your power is greater. You have more of an opportunity…

— Willem Dafoe

Any actor who tells you that he makes choices, absolutely, is wrong. You find work and work finds you.

— Willem Dafoe

I don't want people to know anything about me, because that's not important. I'm more interested in the me that takes shape…

— Willem Dafoe

Sometimes you make very interesting movies that aren't meant for everybody. But this is a capitalist society, so everything conspires to put…

— Willem Dafoe

Sometimes I say I feel more like a dancer than an actor, because there are things implied about being an actor that…

— Willem Dafoe

A lot of critics are lazy. They don't want to look closely and analyze something for what it is. They take a…

— Willem Dafoe

The bad things about theatre get balanced by the good things in film and vice versa. So to tell you the truth,…

— Willem Dafoe

Performing is about developing empathy, which leads us to a broader view of the world and encourages us to develop compassion; so…

— Willem Dafoe

Usually when you meet with a director, just meeting them after you've seen something you're interested in, they say, "Oh I'd love…

— Willem Dafoe

I prefer shooting on location, just because it always helps you. You go some place, you put your life on hold even…

— Willem Dafoe

I'm never in Hollywood! I'm a theatre actor that lives in New York. I'm very seldom in Los Angeles. I don't dislike…

— Willem Dafoe

I'm an optimist. I hope if a movie's good that it will be a success, but that's not always true, just because…

— Willem Dafoe

I aspire to be an instrument of the director. I'm happiest like that. The stronger the director, the more I'm willing to…

— Willem Dafoe

I like to work with people of different cultures, different points of view. But yeah, I feel much more comfortable. That's the…

— Willem Dafoe

While we have a very strong popular culture, the roots of American culture are very shallow, and we put emphasis on how…

— Willem Dafoe

If you know what it is before you even start, it's not as interesting. Central to being an actor is pretending, and…

— Willem Dafoe

I like the idea of sitting in a theater with a bunch of people. With technology now, people are getting more and…

— Willem Dafoe

I'm more interested in talking about what I do. And I don't think people are interested in my personal life. I've never…

— Willem Dafoe

I'll never be able to really see a film that I'm in.

— Willem Dafoe

There's a real wisdom to not saying a thing.

— Willem Dafoe

You have to lose yourself to find yourself.

— Willem Dafoe

The best thing an actor can be is ready. Be flexible, be ready.

— Willem Dafoe

I've been in very few flat-out comedies. But I feel like I've always made comedies.

— Willem Dafoe

Each of the actors is quite different, but they're all living in the same world.

— Willem Dafoe

Corruption is something you face all the time. Avoid it.

— Willem Dafoe

Celebrity is okay as long as you know it's not about you.

— Willem Dafoe

When you have something to work with, then you fly with it.

— Willem Dafoe