All Episodes

September 3, 2025 3 mins
Willem Dafoe Biography Flash a weekly Biography.

Willem Dafoe continues to remind us why he is one of the most dynamic forces in film and theatre. Just days ago at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, Dafoe made headlines with the premiere of “The Souffleur,” a buzzy new film directed by Gastón Solnicki. Dafoe stars as Lucius, a hotel manager whose life is upended when his beloved building is sold off, igniting a madcap battle to cling to the world he knows. Variety notes the film has sparked excitement, earning a wide theatrical release in Italy next year and distribution deals in Austria. Solnicki praised Dafoe in his Venice interview, calling him “very courageous” and highlighting the actor’s ambition even after decades of renowned performances. The Venice crowd could not miss Dafoe’s signature blend of openness and intensity, and early reviews call his performance a true highlight of this year’s festival slate.

Venice has also been a platform for Dafoe in another major capacity. He leads as artistic director of the 2025 Venice Theatre Biennale, where his vision “Theatre is Body. Body is Poetry” challenges artists to reconnect with the fundamental presence and poetry of the body—an especially poignant theme in a digital age. He’s drawn heavyweights like the Wooster Group and Romeo Castellucci to Venice and made sure this year’s festival strikes at the heart of what makes live theatre so transformative. Dafoe’s philosophy and hands-on leadership have been covered widely by outlets like The Theatre Times, who quote him emphasizing human endurance and artistic ritual.

Meanwhile, Dafoe’s film calendar is packed. He is set to appear in “The Man in My Basement,” a psychological thriller co-starring Anna Diop and Corey Hawkins. The actor is also set to work again with Bárbara Paz on the near-future drama “Cuddle,” portraying a professional cuddler struggling with deep loneliness—an intriguing role sure to draw attention when it gets closer to release. Deadline just broke the news that Dafoe has been cast in Sony’s “SNL 1975,” a look behind the scenes at the history-making first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Dafoe will play David Tebet, the NBC executive who helped secure the talent that launched the cultural juggernaut.

In person, Dafoe has been seen at high-profile events in Venice and was recently photographed for Getty Images’ September entertainment round-up—always exuding his characteristic mix of approachability and mystique. He was also recently honored at the Sarajevo Film Festival and, according to multiple sources including IMDb, graciously declined to comment on American politics, noting a desire to keep the focus on the arts.

As of the past 24 hours, there have been no viral controversies or unexpected major headlines involving Dafoe. On social platforms, fans buzz about his Venice appearances, his ever-unusual press quotes, and anticipation for his upcoming roles, reaffirming that's he an actor who never stops pushing boundaries.

Thank you for joining this Willem Dafoe Biography Flash. Don’t forget to subscribe to never miss the latest on Dafoe and search “Biography Flash” for more great biographies!

Get the best deals https://amzn.to/4mMClBv

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
William Dafoe continues to remind us why he is one
of the most dynamic forces in film and theater. Just
days ago, at the twenty twenty five Venice Film Festival,
the Foe made headlines with the premiere of The Soufflor,
a buzzy new film directed by Gaston Salniki. Defoe stars
as Lucius, a hotel manager whose life is upended when
his beloved building is sold off, igniting a mad cap

(00:33):
battle to cling to the world he knows. Variety notes
the film has sparked excitement, earning a wide theatrical release
in Italy next year and distribution deals in Austria. Solnicki
praised Dafoe in his Venice interview, calling him very courageous
and highlighting the actor's ambition even after decades of renowned performances.

(00:53):
The Venice crowd could not miss Defoe's signature blend of
openness and intensity, and early reviews call his performance a
true highlight of this year's festival. Slate. Venice has also
been a platform for the Foe in another major capacity.
He leads his artistic director of the twenty twenty five
Venice Theater, Bienali whereas vision the Theater is Body, Body

(01:16):
is Poetry, challenges artists to reconnect with the fundamental presence
and poetry of the body, an especially poignant theme in
a digital age. He's drawn heavyweights like the Wooster Group
in Romeo, Castellucci to Venice, and made sure this year's
festival strikes at the heart of what makes live theater
so transformative. Defoe's philosophy and hands on leadership have been

(01:39):
covered widely by outlets like The Theater Times, who quote
him emphasizing human endurance and artistic ritual. Meanwhile, Defoe's film
calendar is packed. He is set to appear in The
Man in My Basement, a psychological thriller co starring Annadeop
and Corey Hawkins. The actor is also set to work
again with Arbor Pause on the near future drama Cuddle,

(02:02):
portraying a professional cuddler struggling with deep loneliness, an intriguing
role sure to draw attention when it gets closer to release.
Deadline just broke the news that Daffoe has been cast
in Sony's sn L nineteen seventy five, a look behind
the scenes at the history making first broadcast of Saturday
Night live, Daffae will play David Tebbett, the NBC executive

(02:24):
who helped secure the talent that launched the cultural juggernaut.
In person, Daffo has been seen at high profile events
in Venice and was recently photographed for Getty Image's September
Entertainment Roundup, always exuding his characteristic mix of approachability and mystique.
He was also recently honored at the Sarajevo Film Festival, and,

(02:45):
according to multiple sources including IMDb, graciously declined to comment
on American politics, noting a desire to keep the focus
on the arts. As of the past twenty four hours,
there have been no viral controversies or unexpected in major
headlines involving Dafoe. On social platforms, fans buzz about his
Venice appearances, his ever unusual press quotes, and anticipation for

(03:09):
his upcoming roles, reaffirming that see an actor who never
stops pushing boundaries. Thank you for joining this Willem Dafoe
Biography Flash. Don't forget to subscribe to never miss the
latest on Dafoe and search biography Flash for more great biographies.
And that is it for to day. Make sure you
hit the subscribe button and never miss an update on

(03:31):
Willem Dafoe. Thanks for listening. This has been a quiet
please production quiet, Please dot A I hear what matters
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.