How many of Willem Dafoe's movies do you know?

Willem Dafoe (1955) is one of those recurrent faces of Hollywood whom we have seen in dozens of movies for several decades. Often he plays a villain, or at least a very serious role, and we have also heard his voice in animated movies.

In January 2024, Willem got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was about time, after more than 40 years of working in the best productions.

But of all those films, many award-winning and critically acclaimed, how many do you know? Let's take a look at some of Willem Dafoe's most remarkable films in the following gallery.

In one of his first movies, Dafoe played the role of Vance, a biker who goes to watch the races in Daytona with a motorcycle gang. The film was written and directed by a young female director at the time, Kathryn Bigelow, who later became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for 'The Hurt Locker' (2008).

In this acclaimed Oliver Stone movie, Dafoe played the role of Sgt. Elias who deals with both outer and inner enemies during the Vietnam War. For his performance, the actor got his first nomination for an Oscar. Next to him in the photo are Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger.

Willem Dafoe played a lot of different roles, even that of Jesus. He was directed by Martin Scorsese who got an Oscar nomination for Best Director in 1989.

Alongside Gene Hackman, Dafoe played a duo of FBI agents who travel to Mississippi to uncover the mysterious disappearance of several civil rights activists. 'Mississippi Burning' is considered an important historical drama about American race relations in the 20th century.

Another important, award-winning film in which Dafoe participated, was 'Born on the Fourth of July.' Both he and the lead actor, Tom Cruise, are Vietnam vets who get seriously injured on duty and start questioning the war over time. Another politically motivated historical film by Oliver Stone.

In 'Cry-Baby,' Dafoe has a small part playing a 'hateful guard' in the jail where lead actor Johnny Depp is incarcerated. It's an important film by director and writer John Waters, while it also launched Depp further into stardom.

Photo: Universal / YouTube

In this 9-time Oscar-awarded movie, Willem Dafoe played the Canadian intelligence agent David Caravaggio who comes to interrogate the explorer László Almásy in 1940s Italy. Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Colin Firth, and Kristin Scott Thomas co-starred in this now-classic movie.

It's a rare exception among Willem Dafoe's choice of movies. 'Speed 2: Cruise Control' would become most famous for how bad it was. Defoe was even nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor. An anti-award that, fortunately, he didn't win.

Did you know Willem Dafoe starred in 'American Psycho'? He's the detective investigating the murder committed by Christian Bale, the psycho in question. The film was based on the famous Bret Easton Ellis novel with the same title.

Willem Dafoe also participated in the superhero industry. He was the villainous Green Goblin in the Spider-man movies of the early 2000s.  While the actor of Spider-man changed from Tobey Maguire to Tom Holland, Willem Dafoe stayed on as one of his favorite villains.

Versatility fits the description of this great actor. In addition to seeing him, we can also listen to him in films like 'Finding Nemo' and 'Finding Dory'. Dafoe lent his voice to Gill, a Moorish idol who leads the Tank Gang.

This film is also known as 'Desperado 2' because it is part of Robert Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy. Willem Dafoe once again plays an FBI agent, and once again his co-stars are of the highest ranks: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, and more.

In this 5-time Oscar-winning film by Martin Scorsese, Willem Dafoe played the role of journalist Roland Sweet. A supporting character, the journalist was among the many probing the curiosities of the famous Howard Hughes (played by Golden Globe winner Leonardo DiCaprio).

Willem Dafoe betted on a Lars von Trier movie alongside Bryce Dallas Howard. In this supposed sequel to 'Dogville,' dramatic events take place on a 1930s plantation where, as opposed to historic events, slavery still exists.

Once again, Dafoe chose to work with a famous director. In this Spike Lee film, a robbery turns into a hostage situation. As he's done before, Dafoe is a police officer, Captain John Darius, and his team's main target is a robber played by Clive Owen. Co-stars are Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster.

This acclaimed film brings together a series of short stories about love, all set in Paris. Here Dafoe plays Le Cowboy in the short called 'Place des Victoires.'

Did you know Willem Dafoe participated in a Mr. Bean movie? He played an American filmmaker, a relatively serious guy in an otherwise hilarious comedy.

And now for something completely different. Willem Dafoe was the Martian warrior Tars Tarkas whose fellow Martians were violent and ruthless. Being a refined actor, however, Dafoe managed to portray Tars as the exceptionally empathetic kind. A fascinating sci-fi role.

Of course, Wes Anderson is on Willem Dafoe's Big Directors Bingo, too. And he's played in no fewer than five of Anderson's movies. In this one, 'The Grand Budapest Hotel,' winner of four Oscars, Dafoe plays one of the villains together with Adrien Brody.

Another acclaimed and awarded movie with Willem Dafoe is 'The Fault in Our Stars.' He plays Peter Van Houten, a reclusive author living in Amsterdam whose book fascinates the protagonists of the film, two young cancer patients (Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort).

In the 'John Wick' saga, Willem plays the role of Marcus, a very loyal friend to Wick who accepts his employer Viggo's contract to protect Wick from other assassins.

Again, Willem Dafoe demonstrates his versatility, this time by playing the complex character of Vincent van Gogh in a film about the painter's life in France. He got an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role with 'At Eternity's Gate.'

And on to something completely different, again! In this film about a Viking trying to avenge the death of his father, Dafoe played a joker named 'Heimir the Fool.'

We close the list with one of the best films of 2023. It tells the story of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a patient who has been brought back to life by the brilliant Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). The acclaimed film is expected to win many awards in 2024.