This is my first crossover post with Spacebeer's Secret Boyfriend Wednesday. I like Willem Dafoe quite a bit. It's getting harder and harder to find novel reasons to love each actor each week (which is why I will be retiring this weekly feature after the one-year anniversary), but I mostly love watching him because he seems to take the craft of acting seriously without taking himself seriously. He loves and respects what he does without being fucking ponderous about it (which separates him from an actor I used to love, but now find unbearable, Sean Penn). He also usually picks either great characters, great movies, or both.
Recommended:
To Live and Die in L.A. (William Friedkin, 1985)
Platoon (Oliver Stone, 1986) (excellent performance, terrible movie, also great in Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July," a movie I find otherwise unwatchable)
The Last Temptation of Christ (Martin Scorsese, 1988)
Cry-Baby (John Waters, 1990)
Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990)
"Fishing with John" (John Lurie, ice-fishing episode, 1991)
Light Sleeper (Paul Schrader, 1992)
Basquiat (Julian Schnabel, 1996)
Affliction (Paul Schrader, 1997)
New Rose Hotel (Abel Ferrara, 1998)
eXistenZ (David Cronenberg, 1999)
American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)
Animal Factory (Steve Buscemi, 2000)
Shadow of the Vampire (E. Elias Merhige, 2000)
Spider-Man (Sam Raimi, 2002)
Auto Focus (Paul Schrader, 2002)
Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004)
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (Wes Anderson, 2004)
The Aviator (Martin Scorsese, 2004)
Manderlay (Lars Von Trier, 2005)
4 comments:
Sorry you're retiring FAM. I've recently searched out several Fassbinder movies because of the post about Barbara Sukowa. Can't believe I'd never seen "Lola." Love her. Your favorite actors are often mine: Katrin Cartlidge was one of my favorite actresses and great loss to the film community. I still feel sad about her death. And I've seen almost everything Willem Dafoe has ever done, which is sometimes a chore because some of his movies are shite, but he's always interesting to watch. Have liked him since "The Loveless" (early 80s I think). Anyway, I'll miss FAM.
My Secret Boyfriends are in love with your Favorite Actors.
There will still be FAMs until the end of August. I think I'm going to replace it with a movie of the week, hopefully with YouTube clips.
The 'Ice Fishing' episode of 'Fishing with John' is a personal all-time favorite anything, ever. Dafoe is a treasure for sure.
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