Born William Dafoe Jr, in Appleton, Wisconsin, he has had many diverse roles in his life and has won many awards. He is a founding member of the experimental theater company The Wooster Group.

Filmography

• Finding Nemo .... Gill (voice)
• Auto Focus .... John Carpenter
• Spider-Man .... Norman Osborne/The Green Goblin
• Bullfighter .... Father Ramirez
• The Reckoning .... Martin
• Edges of the Lord .... Priest
• Pavilion of Women .... Father Andre
• Shadow of the Vampire .... Max Schreck
• Animal Factory .... Earl Copen
• American Psycho .... Donald Kimball
• The Boondock Saints .... FBI Agent Paul Smecker
• eXistenZ .... Gas
• New Rose Hotel .... X
• Lulu on the Bridge .... Dr. Van Horn
• Affliction .... Rolfe Whitehouse
• Speed 2: Cruise Control .... John Geiger
• The English Patient .... Caravaggio
• Basquiat .... The Electrician
• Victory .... Axel Heyst
• The Night and the Moment .... The Writer
• Tom & Viv .... Tom Eliot
• Clear and Present Danger .... John Clark
• In weiter Ferne, so nah! .... Emit Flesti
• Body of Evidence .... Frank Dulaney
• Light Sleeper .... John LeTour
• White Sands .... Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal
• Flight of the Intruder .... Lt. Cmdr. Virgil 'Tiger' Cole
• Wild at Heart .... Bobby Peru
• Cry-Baby .... Hateful Guard at Maryland Training School for Boys
• Born on the Fourth of July .... Charlie - Villa Dulce
• Triumph of the Spirit .... Salamo Arouch
• Mississippi Burning .... Agent Ward
• The Last Temptation of Christ .... Jesus Christ
• Off Limits .... Sfc. Buck McGriff, CID
• Platoon .... Sgt. Elias Grodin
• To Live and Die in L.A. .... Eric 'Rick' Masters
• King Rat.... Bit Parts