| WILLEM DAFOE |
| DATE OF BIRTH: JULY 22, 1955 RAISED IN WISCONSIN, DAFOE IS THE SECOND-YOUNGEST OF EIGHT CHILDREN WHO ALL LOOK AND SOUND ALIKE. BUT WILLEN WAS THE ONLY DAFOE TO FOLLOW AN ARTISTIC BEND, WHILE THE REST TOOK MORE PROFESSIONAL CAREERS, LIKE DOCTORS, NURSES, AND LAWYERS. AT 17, DAFOE ENROLLED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. THE DRAMA DEPARTMENT FAILED TO HOLD HIS INTREST, SO HE JOINED MILWAUKEE'S AVANT-GARDE THEATRE X TROUPE. TWO YEARS OF TRAVELING WITH THE COMPANY SHOWED HIM THE GREATER PARTS OF THE U.S. AND EUROPE. DAFOE'S NEXT STOPOVER WAS MANHATTAN, WHERE, IN 1977, HE LANDED A PROMISING ROLE IN A PRODUCTION WITH THE PERFORMANCE GROUP. THERE, HE MET ARTISTIC DIRECTOR ELIZABETH LECOMPTE, WITH WHOM TODAY SHARES A HOUSE AND SON NAMED JACK. DAFOE AND LECOMPTE EVENTUALLY FOUNDED AND CELEBRATED WOOSTER GROUP, KNOWN FOR IT'S UNIQUE MULTIMEDIA-DECONSTRUCTIONIST STYLE OF THEATRE. AFTER DOZENS OF SHOWS, DAFOE MADE HIS FILM DEBUT AS A FEATURED EXTRA IN HEAVAN'S GATE. IN 1985, HE LANDED HIS FIRST SIZABLE ROLE IN TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. A YEAR LATER HE EARNED A BREAKTHROUGH ROLE AS THE MESSIAH-LIKE SERGEANT ELIAS IN OLIVER STONE'S PLATOON. |
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