SUBMITTED BY Sarah

February 2, 2001 — Willem Dafoe is that rare breed of actor who glides effortlessly from one role to the other, from mainstream Hollywood (2002's Spiderman) to independents Whether he's Jesus or Nosferatu, he remains credible in the role. screen debut: disastrous Heaven's Gate in 1981, his screen time was cut from the film's final release print The Hunger (1983) To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) His breakthrough was in Platoon (1986). Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Idealistic FBI agent in Mississippi Burning (1988) Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Paralysed, tormented Vietnam vet in Born on the Fourth of July (1989) A mouthful of rotting teeth followed when he played an ex-marine in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990), And then got really weird and allowed Madonna to drip hot wax on his naked body in Body of Evidence (1992). Next came Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close in 1993 Mercenary in Clear and Present Danger (1994). Portrayal of T.S. Eliot in Tom and Viv (1994) Mysterious, thumbless World War II intelligence agent in The English Patient (1996) Lulu on the Bridge (1998) Affliction (1998) ( dir.Paul Schrader) Played gas station attendant in David Cronenberg's eXistenZ 1999.