Willem Dafoe Reveals the Actor Who Shaped His Craft

For those looking to carve out a place in the world of performance, Willem Dafoe stands as a rather compelling figure to emulate. Over four decades, he has navigated the shifting tides of the industry with remarkable ease, consistently delivering performances that seem to grow richer with time. While many find themselves edged out of the limelight as the years pass, Dafoe continues to secure roles of substance, defying the usual trajectory with a certain quiet tenacity.

But who does Dafoe himself look up to? He has often spoken about the artists who have influenced his approach, mentioning Burt Lancaster’s role in The Leopard as a particularly formative experience. Yet, when pressed to name the first performer who truly captivated him, Dafoe’s answer is unwavering. In conversation with W magazine, he described his enduring admiration for Warren Oates, recalling the moment he first saw him on screen:

“When I saw him perform, I thought, that’s not an actor, that’s a man,”

he said.

“It kind of broke my heart to find out he was actually a trained actor.”

Warren Oates: The Unlikely Icon

Oates, a regular collaborator with the unconventional Western director Sam Peckinpah, made his mark in films such as The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Though the Western genre provided him with ample opportunity, his talent was by no means confined to cowboy roles. Oates, an American through and through, left a significant legacy even as far afield as New Zealand, where his appearance in Sleeping Dogs helped the film become a domestic box office triumph and paved the way for a new era in the country’s cinema.

Despite never quite reaching the same level of fame as some of his peers, Oates’s ordinariness became his greatest asset. He had a knack for convincing audiences he was just another face in the crowd, a quality Dafoe found especially compelling. In a business where celebrity often overshadows substance, Oates managed to stand out precisely because he seemed so unremarkable on the surface.

Authenticity Over Stardom

Though Oates was, in fact, a trained performer—having first become interested in acting at the University of Louisville before moving to New York to further his studies—he never came across as someone merely playing a part. Raised in a small Kentucky village, he brought a genuine sense of self to every role, never needing to pretend to be something he wasn’t. What audiences saw was, quite simply, the real man.

Dafoe, in many respects, carries forward this tradition. His versatility is well documented, moving effortlessly between larger-than-life villains, historical figures, and more understated characters. While his own style may be a touch more bohemian than Oates’s, the influence is unmistakable, visible in the way he approaches each new challenge on screen.