William J. "Willem" Dafoe (born July 22, 1955) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated American film and stage actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group. He is best known for his roles in Wild at Heart, To Live and Die in L.A., Platoon, Flight of the Intruder, The Last Temptation of Christ, Shadow of the Vampire, Mississippi Burning, The Boondock Saints, the Spider-Man films, Clear and Present Danger, and Finding Nemo.

Biography

Early life

Dafoe, the sixth of eight children, was born William J. Dafoe in Appleton, Wisconsin, the son of Muriel Isabel (née Sprissler), a nurse and Boston native, and Dr. William Alfred Dafoe, a surgeon.Willem Dafoe Biography His paternal grandfather was from Belleville, Ontario.1 His birth name is William Dafoe; he changed it to "Willem" (Dutch for "William") so people would not call him "Billy". After being expelled from Appleton East High School for making a video that school administrators deemed "pornographic", he finished his studies at nearby Lawrence University. He then studied drama at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but left before graduation in order to join the newly formed avant-garde group Theatre X.