Weirdness is not my game. I'm just a square boy from Wisconsin. Willem Dafoe More Quotes by Willem Dafoe More Quotes From Willem Dafoe I think, as I've gotten older, I've been able to be more reckless with my choices, because practically speaking, you get less careful. Your choices become more instinctive, and you feel like if you make a mistake, it won't destroy you. Willem Dafoe choicesmistakethinking I'm no different to anyone else; I want people to like me. I just don't particularly want them to understand me. Willem Dafoe differentwantpeople I don't think people want to see me as a regular guy. Besides, I'm a regular guy in real life. I guess I just want to be reckless in my work. Willem Dafoe realpeoplethinking If you get stuck and it feels a little stiff, then you do have to mess it up to find it. But other times it's really written and you just stick to your guns and do it as elegantly and as concentrated and as committed as you can. Willem Dafoe gunstickslittles All the time, as an actor, you want to be asking what's next and where things are going. If you're not asking those questions, you're not growing. Willem Dafoe growingactorsasking I love Sam Neill. The thing that I always say about him, and I think it's true, is he's so dry. When he's serious, I think he's joking; when he's joking, I think he's serious. Willem Dafoe dryseriousthinking For every role, you have to always find a different way to approach it, one that's specific and suits what the key is. Every role's a mystery. I think if you know what it is, you probably shouldn't even do it. Willem Dafoe mysterydifferentthinking I don't have a preference between theatre and film; I like to do both. But I will say that there's something about theatre that is more nourishing and sustaining than film ever can be. Willem Dafoe preferencefilmtheatre The best thing an actor can be is ready. Be flexible, be ready. Willem Dafoe best-thingsreadyactors I'm learning in my old age that the only thing you can do to keep your sanity is to stay in the moment. Willem Dafoe madcrazyage 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 had a Hollywood life. I've always been a worker. But it's true: If you know something about a person outside of the movie that is really repulsive to you, it's hard to shake. So I prefer to do my speaking through the work. 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 through these characters. The other stuff is personal and too easy to trivialize out of context. Willem Dafoe characterpeoplethinking I'm one of those people who when I go over a bridge, I want to jump. It's just this intense tickle in the back of my throat. It's like I'm on the verge the whole time I'm walking over that bridge, and I'm not going to get a release until I jump. Willem Dafoe bridgeswantpeople Turn off the sound in a movie, and if you can tell what's going on, the movie should work. Willem Dafoe turnsshouldsound I'm a task-oriented actor. A pretender. And I try to invent my process anew each time I make a new project. So I frown on any method. Willem Dafoe tasksactorstrying If you know what it is before you even start, it's not as interesting. Central to being an actor is pretending, and the adventure of it all. That's why you become a junkie for different kinds of situations. I try to attach myself to people who really inspire me, and directors who are really passionate. That way, I can give myself more fully and trust the impulse behind why the film is being made, and I can be a little more irresponsible in finding out what the character is. I have to worry less about what the character means if I trust the director. Willem Dafoe adventurecharactermean One of the pleasures of being an actor is quite simply taking a walk in someone else's shoes. And when I look at the roles I've played, I'm kind of amazed at all the wonderful adventures I've had and the different things I've learned. Willem Dafoe shoesdifferentadventure I feel like it's important to be flexible, particularly when I'm coming in late in the game and I'm connective tissue in the story. I'm not at the very center. It's important for me to have a certain kind of flexibility and try to help people do what they need to do. Willem Dafoe importantgamespeople I have some sort of affinity for compulsive behavior. The most interesting stories come up from the people on the outside. Willem Dafoe storiespeopleinteresting As you get older, you suffer fools less easily. That's why there's all those cranky character actors. I'm an exception. I'm a sweetheart. Willem Dafoe actorssufferingcharacter Any actor who tells you that he makes choices, absolutely, is wrong. You find work and work finds you. Willem Dafoe actorschoices
