Willem Dafoe: 'I don't feel like if I make a bad decision it will destroy me, so I allow myself to make bad decisions'

Willem Dafoe is one of the most acclaimed actors in Hollywood, having given life to Jesus Christ in 'The Last Temptation of Christ', a sergeant in 'Platoon', the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi's Spiderman saga, vampire hunter professor Albin Eberhart Von Franz in 'Nosferatu', the motel manager in 'The Florida Project', and many more iconic characters.

With this long career behind him, Dafoe now feels that he has more freedom than ever to choose the projects in which he wants to participate. "I don't feel like if I make a bad decision, it will destroy me, so I allow myself to make bad decisions," he says in an interview with the Catalan News Agency (ACN).

Over the years, Dafoe says he has more freedom to choose his roles and the characters he really wants to play. He says he does not choose films for the characters, but for the situations they are in, and he explains that "characters are born from situations."

He believes he has more freedom now in his career, and remembers when he was young he was typecast and didn't have many opportunities. "I don't feel it as much now because I've had enough time."

BCN Film Fest

Dafoe is in Catalonia this week to present his latest film, 'The Birthday Party', at the BCN Film Fest. Starring alongside Dafoe in Miguel Ángel Jiménez's film are Victoria Carmen Sonne, Joe Cole, Emma Suárez, Carlos Cuevas, Francesc Garrido and Maria Pau Pigem.

The film tells the story of a Greek businessman in the late 70s, throwing a party for the 25th birthday of his daughter on a private island, before a series of unexpected events and visits will threaten both his millionaire empire and the foundations of his existence.

Dafoe puts himself in the shoes of a Greek businessman in the film. "You don't know the character or the story until you're in it," he explained. 

In the case of 'The Birthday Party', it was a "challenge" for him because it wasn't a role he thought he was born to play. "It's a big leap, or you could see it that way." He says a big part of his motivation in choosing a project are the challenge and the people involved.

Fame

Asked about fame and whether this has affected his career, the actor assures that he hasn't been surrounded by fame his whole life and that he doesn't feel privileged, although he admits that he is.

"I know where I come from, and I had a simple upbringing," he said. "We all basically have the same problems and we all have the same struggles and I always identify with that. I always remember that, not only at work, but as a person," he confesses.

Dafoe says that "trying to connect with a kind of true and genuine humility" are what makes him happy in acting, and that "basically we all want the same thing and we have the same problems."