Willem Dafoe Quotes

Quotes about:

• The worst thing is to get involved with people who aren't passionate about what they're doing.

  Willem Dafoe

  People, Passionate, Worst

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  50 Copy quote

• I never act. I simply bring out the real animal that's in me.

  Willem Dafoe

  Real, Animal

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

  18 Copy quote

• I think on some level, you do your best things when you're a little off-balance, a little scared. You've got to work from mystery, from wonder, from not knowing.

  Willem Dafoe

  Thinking, Knowing, Balance

  "Willem Dafoe: 'You do your best work when you're scared'". Interview with Steve Rose, www.theguardian.com. July 4, 2012.

  5 Copy quote

• There's a real wisdom to not saying a thing.

  Willem Dafoe

  Real, Real Wisdom

  "Willem Dafoe: What I've Learned" by Cal Fussman, www.esquire.com. February 20, 2012.

  8 Copy quote

• You have to lose yourself to find yourself.

  Willem Dafoe

  Finding Yourself, Losing Yourself, Loses

  Interview with Jonathan Romney, www.theguardian.com. November 8, 1998.

  17 Copy quote

• 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

  Crazy, Mad, Age

  9 Copy quote

• Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to.

  Willem Dafoe

  Thinking, Challenges, Theatre

  21 Copy quote

• Performing is about developing empathy, which leads us to a broader view of the world and encourages us to develop compassion; so we can comfort each other and not be so brutal with each other.

  Willem Dafoe

  Compassion, Views, Empathy

  10 Copy quote

• Action breeds inspiration more than inspiration breeds action.

  Willem Dafoe

  Inspiration, Action

  "From Jesus to Antichrist". Interview with Laura Barton, www.theguardian.com. May 27, 2009.

  16 Copy quote

• Turn off the sound in a movie, and if you can tell what's going on, the movie should work.

  Willem Dafoe

  Sound, Should, Turns

  "Willem Dafoe: What I've Learned" by Cal Fussman, www.esquire.com. February 20, 2012.

  9 Copy quote

• I set myself challenges every time I work. Ideally I approach everything as though it's the first time - with a beginner's mind and an amateur's love.

  Willem Dafoe

  Challenges, Mind, Firsts

  "Willem Dafoe: 'Don't make this into a crackpot profile, please'". Interview with Stuart Jeffries, www.theguardian.com. June 16, 2013.

  6 Copy quote

• I guess they often cast me as the bad guy, because I'm not, er, conventional looking. I look sort of violent. I'm the odd one out, the outsider.

  Willem Dafoe

  Odd One, Guy, Looks

  16 Copy quote

• I'm not attracted to naturalism, I'm not attracted to behavior, I'm attracted to dance. I'm attracted to gesture, I'm attracted to singing with your voice, as opposed to having a natural manner. I'm a theater actor first, so that probably influences a lot of my approach. And I think in many ways, naturalism has ruined movies.

  Willem Dafoe

  Thinking, Voice, Singing

  "Sculpting Away". Interview with Simon Abrams, www.indiewire.com. March 19, 2012.

  12 Copy quote

• When you have something to work with, then you fly with it.

  Willem Dafoe

  Source: film.avclub.com

  9 Copy quote

• Weirdness is not my game. I'm just a square boy from Wisconsin.

  Willem Dafoe

  Boys, Squares, Games

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

  13 Copy quote

• 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

  Real, Thinking, People

  "Willem and able" by John Patterson, www.theguardian.com. February 28, 2003.

  4 Copy quote

• Sometimes I think women are lucky because they can develop in ways men can't. The old-boy network may be oppressive to women, but it actually stunts men in terms of personal growth.

  Willem Dafoe

  Boys, Men, Thinking

  "What I know about women". Interview with Rosamund Witcher, www.theguardian.com. November 21, 2009.

  18 Copy quote

• 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

  Adventure, Shoes, Different

  8 Copy quote

• Film is fragmented and gets into lots of other people's hands. There are a lot of pleasures that theatre gives me. You get to perform uninterrupted.

  Willem Dafoe

  Hands, People, Giving

  "Dafoe Treads The Boards" by wenn.com, October 17, 2001.

  15 Copy quote

• 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

  Adventure, Character, Mean

  Source: film.avclub.com

  7 Copy quote

• When I was a kid I was very interested in the idea of the will, finding out what you're capable of. I liked those kind of challenges.

  Willem Dafoe

  Kids, Ideas, Challenges

  "Willem Dafoe: 'Don't make this into a crackpot profile, please" by Stuart Jeffries, www.theguardian.com. June 16, 2013.

  10 Copy quote

• I've never had any close male friends. The most important relationships in my life have always been with women.

  Willem Dafoe

  Important Relationships, Important, Males

  "What I know about women". Interview with Rosamund Witcher, www.theguardian.com. November 21, 2009.

  4 Copy quote

• You can be intuitive when you've got a more expansive role. You can get into the poetry of telling the story rather than just pushing buttons.

  Willem Dafoe

  Buttons, Roles, Stories

  15 Copy quote

• 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

  Character, Thinking, People

  Source: film.avclub.com

  8 Copy quote

• I want to work with people who are good at what they do, and people who are passionate.

  Willem Dafoe

  People, Passionate, Want

  Interview with Steven Hyden, www.avclub.com. September 25, 2007.

  7 Copy quote

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