“They like to work,” Dafoe recalled of Schrader’s analogy.
Willem Dafoe played a goblin, a rat, a fool and a fish, but according to Paul Schrader, it is completely normal for the career of a great actor. Dafoe, which recently transformed into trapped art thief for claustrophobic psychological thriller”Inside‘, revealed that Oscar winner Schrader told her it was the best compliment to compare to a farm animal.
“Paul Schrader says that all actors are like farm animals“Dafoe told The New York Times Style Magazine“They like to work. »
Schrader directed Dafoe in “Light Sleeper” in 1992. In total, Dafoe worked with writers Wes Anderson, Robert Eggers, Abel Ferrara and Yorgos Lanthimos For several movies each.
“When you’re first starting out, you feel like every movie can ruin you,” Dafoe said. “Now I can take more risks.”
One such risk is running Lanthimos next surreal film “And” opposite Emma Stone, who praised Dafoe’s working approach. “There’s this instinct to play that a lot of actors have – the ‘look at me, look at me!’ kind of a performer. He’s the opposite of that,” she said.
Director Lanthimos added, “That’s what you expect from actors, wanting to be part of it in any way.”
Dafoe previously told IndieWire’s Eric Kohn that he can only prepare for the roles and likes to leave a little room for improvisation.
“My thing is, I like to prepare for work, but you can’t prepare that much and once you’ve prepared, you can throw it all away once you’re there,” Dafoe said in June. 2021. “You’re just preparing to relax and preparing to engage, so when opportunities arise, you can thoughtfully receive them and really play.
The ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ star continued, “The size of the projects are varied. He feels very open. I love nothing more than the idea of having a lot of work ahead of me. Acting and making films is still mysterious to me. Lately, I’ve been lucky to have things turn me on. The day I stop engaging with people who are interested in working with me, I will have to reevaluate everything… I prefer to do something that can challenge me and surprise me.
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