<p id=”par-1_49″><em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/spider-man/”>Spider-Man</a></em> was the first superhero film that Willem Dafoe starred in, portraying the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/willem-dafoe-green-goblins-costume-change-spider-man-no-way-home.html/”>Marvel character’s arch-nemesis Green Goblin</a>. But Dafoe also got experience working in DC as well when he appeared in <em>Aquaman</em>. Although they were both superhero projects, Dafoe asserted there was quite a difference between the two.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-willem-dafoe-on-doing-marvel-and-dc-projects”>Willem Dafoe on doing Marvel and DC projects</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Marvel-Willem-Dafoe.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=’Willem Dafoe attends the Los Angeles Premiere of “The Northman” in a dark blue suit.’ class=”wp-image-3764031″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Willem Dafaoe | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_48″>Dafoe played two completely different characters in his only superhero projects. Although he played a villain in the <em>Spider-Man</em> series, he played more of a supporting hero and mentor in the <em>Aquaman</em> films. But the two superhero universes he appeared in were just as different as his characters.</p>
<p id=”par-3_90″>“They are different. They’re very different – because they have different aims,” he once said in an interview with <a href=”https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2461194/willem-dafoe-loves-that-aquaman-was-a-totally-different-experience-from-spider-man”>Cinemablend</a>. “They’re working with different materials, their working with different intentions. But that’s okay! I like to mix it up because that way you don’t get stuck. You don’t start to believe that there’s only one way of doing things, and you don’t start believe there’s only one way of living, and you don’t start to believe there’s only a certain kind of film that’s worth making. It keeps you loose.”</p>
<p id=”par-4_18″>However, variety was something he was looking for in all of his movies. Not just the superhero subgenre.</p>
<p id=”par-5_76″>“It’s beautiful, and it’s a privilege to be able to have those different experiences. And I don’t value anything in judging one against the other. I have some preferences, but I don’t lean on them. It’s like my relationship with theater and film. I love doing theater, but when I’m doing theater I miss film a little bit. When I’m doing film, I love it, but I miss theater! I guess it’s human nature,” he said.</p>
<p id=”par-6_40″>Dafoe hasn’t been seen in a superhero project since <em>No Way Home</em>. However, he’s not opposed to returning to those kinds of films. Apart from the Green Goblin, there’s even another, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/spider-man-no-way-home-willem-dafoe-villain-love-play-after-green-goblin.html/”>similar comic book villain</a> that Dafoe wouldn’t mind playing.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-willem-dafoe-couldn-t-believe-a-movie-was-being-made-from-a-comic-book-when-he-first-did-spider-man”>Willem Dafoe couldn’t believe a movie was being made from a comic book when he first did ‘Spider-Man’</h2>
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<p id=”par-7_45″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/sam-raimi-spider-man-movies-received-praise-1-harsh-critic-marvel-films.html/”><em>Spider-Man</em> director Sam Raimi</a> played a large part in convincing Dafoe to play Norman Osbourne. He approached Dafoe personally about the project. Although Dafoe wasn’t a comic book enthusiast, he grew curious when he discovered that a filmmaker like Raimi was attached to the film.</p>
<p id=”par-8_72″>“I talked to Sam [Raimi], after I knew he and Tobey were involved, which really identified what they were doing to a great degree – because Sam especially wasn’t a usual suspect to be at the helm of this great summer movie. It was set up as a courtesy call, where Sam was going to feel me out. I was shooting in Spain, and he was in LA,” Dafoe once told <a href=”https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/05/09/willem_dafoe_spiderman_interview.shtml”>BBC</a>.</p>
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<p id=”par-9_105″>“We talked at a weird hour, and I thought it was going to be a ten-minute phone call. He started to tell me the story, and told it in such incredible psychological detail, talking about the relationships without getting to the action or the Green Goblin/Spider-Man stuff,” he added. “He kept saying, ‘You wanna hear more?’ Two hours later he had told the story. I thought, this guy is not cynical about this story. He deeply loves his characters, and feels an obligation as a Spider-Man fan to present these characters truthfully. So I thought, there’s something else going on here besides a hardware movie.”</p>
<p id=”par-10_21″>But before his conversation with Raimi, Dafoe seemed unsure about how they’d pull off making a comic book to begin with.</p>
<p id=”par-11_45″>“When Spider-Man was proposed to me originally it was like, ‘Really, you’re going to make a movie from a comic book?’” Dafoe told <a href=”https://collider.com/hugh-jackman-willem-dafoe-superhero-movies-interview-video/”>Collider</a>. “It was like I was slumming it, you know? I didn’t see it that way, but some people were like, ‘Really?’”</p>