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Willem Dafoe - The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
By Daniel Robert Epstein
Dec 23, 2004
We finally get to the David Cronenberg section of The Life Aquatic coverage. Willem Dafoe worked with Mr. Cronenberg on the film eXistenZ and delivered a creepy performance. Creepy performances in films like Shadow of the Vampire, Auto Focus and Wild at Heart seem to be Dafoe’s stock in trade but for Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou he trades all that in to play Klaus the goofily tragic first mate aboard Zissou’s ship.
Check out the website for The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Daniel Robert Epstein: You haven’t done much comedy before on film.
Willem Dafoe: I know. I always thought I was funny. Though this character is not just comedy. He’s sweet and even though he’s a bully you feel protective of him. People aren’t used to feeling protective of characters like that.
DRE:
Do you think there will be resistance from people seeing you in a comedic role?
WD:
I think people have short memories and I hope their minds are flexible. It’s my job to fool people into seeing me in another way.
DRE:
Is your German accent real or is it more of a cartoon?
WD:
It’s one of those invented things. I spend a lot of time in Germany so it’s in my head. I didn’t feel the need to go to a dialogue coach and be very strict with it because that’s not in the spirit of how it should be approached. My take was that it should be played with and invented. It’s my idea of a Germanish accent.
DRE:
Your wardrobe is also very distinctive.
WD:
It’s great. Some people joke that you see what your wardrobe is and if it is very beautiful it could help determine your character. It guides you and is part of a mask. When they showed me these very short powder blue shorts, powder blue turtleneck and a red hat, that lets you know you aren’t doing Ibsen.
DRE:
Klaus feels left out of the bond between Steve Zissou and Ned Plimpton. Have you ever felt left out of a group?
WD:
I’m sure, haven’t we all?
DRE:
When did you first meet Bill Murray?
WD:
I met him on the set of this movie. We both live in New York but I’ve never had the occasion to meet him before. But now I love him. I think he’s great in this movie. Many people talk about how he is a great comic actor which is true but he’s also a great dramatic actor. Life Aquatic is a world that goes even deeper than something like Lost in Translation. I think one shouldn’t be fooled by the movie’s deadpan quality because it’s not glib. There are moments in the movie where it gets very close to Bill and it’s very vulnerable.
DRE:
How was it playing such a broad character against everyone else’s deadpan character?
WD:
We’re all finding out what our jobs are. I’m just playing the scenes so you just try to be in the world.
DRE:
I know you only had a small role in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator but how was it working with Scorsese again?
WD:
I’ve worked with him in a much more substantial way earlier. He asked me to do this thing for only half a day. I like Leonardo DiCaprio and I always have. I think I may have even agreed to do it without looking at the pages. It’s a nice short concise scene that was kind of a no-brainer. It was fun seeing Mary surrounded by all these young people. It made me feel a little old because I remember when I was one of those young people.
DRE:
Last time we spoke you said you hadn’t seen The Passion of the Christ.
WD:
I still haven’t seen it. I did get the screener so maybe I will and I won’t have to pay for it and contribute.
DRE:
The Aviator recreates a part of Hollywood history. If someone did a movie about the making of Platoon who would you want to play you?
WD:
Slap some makeup on me and I’ll do it. It wasn’t that long ago.
DRE:
What are your favorite films from this year?
WD:
I have to be a bit esoteric. I have a girlfriend that’s Italian and she’s started showing me a lot of films I didn’t know about. Ones by this Portuguese filmmaker named Montero. I love his stuff.
DRE:
Have you seen the documentary Overnight about Troy Duffy who directed Boondock Saints?
WD:
No I haven’t but I want to because it got incredible reviews. I have a little beef with it. I’m not here to protect Troy though I was happy to make a movie with him. They give the impression that Boondock Saints was a huge failure and that’s simply not true. It’s one of these movies that got sold to DVD because the producer was an ambulance chaser and didn’t want to risk a theatrical release. I can’t tell you how many young men come up to me about it. It’s got cult status. I think it’s unfair to brand it as a failure and put the nail in Troy’s coffin. Also the directors were on the set and they must have interviewed me for seven hours during that shoot. I was conscientious telling them what I thought of the film and Troy. Then in their film my involvement is reduced to them asking me the question “What do you think of Troy Duffy?” Then they cut to me laughing. It’s bullshit. These guys may have made a beautiful documentary but as far as the morality of it, it’s a little stinky.
DRE:
Troy’s morality may be stinky as well.
WD:
I know Troy and I’m sure he’s capable of bad behavior. But to leave out the good behavior causes an unbalanced picture. This was their point of view and they had a beef.
DRE:
Do you think Troy is any different from directors who have had success in terms of bad behavior?
WD:
That’s a very good question [laughs].
DRE:
How was it working with David Cronenberg on eXistenZ and would you do it again?
WD:
Of course, I like him a lot. It was a brief part.
DRE:
But a key one.
What’s it like having children as fans now?
WD:
It’s a change. Until Spider-Man there wasn’t a movie that kids could or should see. Kids are pretty cool but the only thing weird about it is that parents will sic their kids on you. Kids can just wave to the Green Goblin but the parents will pressure them to come over to me.
DRE:
What are you working on?
WD:
Nothing at the moment. I just finished xXx2 where I play the secretary of defense. I like [director] Lee Tamahori a lot so he was good to work with.
I’ve also written a screenplay so that’s my new thing. It’s for me to perform in but not direct. I know who the director will be but it’s too early to talk about.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
We finally get to the David Cronenberg section of The Life Aquatic coverage. Willem Dafoe worked with Mr. Cronenberg on the film eXistenZ and delivered a creepy performance. Creepy performances in films like Shadow of the Vampire, Auto Focus and Wild at Heart seem to be Dafoe’s stock in trade but for Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou he trades all that in to play Klaus the goofily tragic first mate aboard Zissou’s ship.
Check out the website for The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
Daniel Robert Epstein: You haven’t done much comedy before on film.
Willem Dafoe: I know. I always thought I was funny. Though this character is not just comedy. He’s sweet and even though he’s a bully you feel protective of him. People aren’t used to feeling protective of characters like that.
DRE:
Do you think there will be resistance from people seeing you in a comedic role?
WD:
I think people have short memories and I hope their minds are flexible. It’s my job to fool people into seeing me in another way.
DRE:
Is your German accent real or is it more of a cartoon?
WD:
It’s one of those invented things. I spend a lot of time in Germany so it’s in my head. I didn’t feel the need to go to a dialogue coach and be very strict with it because that’s not in the spirit of how it should be approached. My take was that it should be played with and invented. It’s my idea of a Germanish accent.
DRE:
Your wardrobe is also very distinctive.
WD:
It’s great. Some people joke that you see what your wardrobe is and if it is very beautiful it could help determine your character. It guides you and is part of a mask. When they showed me these very short powder blue shorts, powder blue turtleneck and a red hat, that lets you know you aren’t doing Ibsen.
DRE:
Klaus feels left out of the bond between Steve Zissou and Ned Plimpton. Have you ever felt left out of a group?
WD:
I’m sure, haven’t we all?
DRE:
When did you first meet Bill Murray?
WD:
I met him on the set of this movie. We both live in New York but I’ve never had the occasion to meet him before. But now I love him. I think he’s great in this movie. Many people talk about how he is a great comic actor which is true but he’s also a great dramatic actor. Life Aquatic is a world that goes even deeper than something like Lost in Translation. I think one shouldn’t be fooled by the movie’s deadpan quality because it’s not glib. There are moments in the movie where it gets very close to Bill and it’s very vulnerable.
DRE:
How was it playing such a broad character against everyone else’s deadpan character?
WD:
We’re all finding out what our jobs are. I’m just playing the scenes so you just try to be in the world.
DRE:
I know you only had a small role in Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator but how was it working with Scorsese again?
WD:
I’ve worked with him in a much more substantial way earlier. He asked me to do this thing for only half a day. I like Leonardo DiCaprio and I always have. I think I may have even agreed to do it without looking at the pages. It’s a nice short concise scene that was kind of a no-brainer. It was fun seeing Mary surrounded by all these young people. It made me feel a little old because I remember when I was one of those young people.
DRE:
Last time we spoke you said you hadn’t seen The Passion of the Christ.
WD:
I still haven’t seen it. I did get the screener so maybe I will and I won’t have to pay for it and contribute.
DRE:
The Aviator recreates a part of Hollywood history. If someone did a movie about the making of Platoon who would you want to play you?
WD:
Slap some makeup on me and I’ll do it. It wasn’t that long ago.
DRE:
What are your favorite films from this year?
WD:
I have to be a bit esoteric. I have a girlfriend that’s Italian and she’s started showing me a lot of films I didn’t know about. Ones by this Portuguese filmmaker named Montero. I love his stuff.
DRE:
Have you seen the documentary Overnight about Troy Duffy who directed Boondock Saints?
WD:
No I haven’t but I want to because it got incredible reviews. I have a little beef with it. I’m not here to protect Troy though I was happy to make a movie with him. They give the impression that Boondock Saints was a huge failure and that’s simply not true. It’s one of these movies that got sold to DVD because the producer was an ambulance chaser and didn’t want to risk a theatrical release. I can’t tell you how many young men come up to me about it. It’s got cult status. I think it’s unfair to brand it as a failure and put the nail in Troy’s coffin. Also the directors were on the set and they must have interviewed me for seven hours during that shoot. I was conscientious telling them what I thought of the film and Troy. Then in their film my involvement is reduced to them asking me the question “What do you think of Troy Duffy?” Then they cut to me laughing. It’s bullshit. These guys may have made a beautiful documentary but as far as the morality of it, it’s a little stinky.
DRE:
Troy’s morality may be stinky as well.
WD:
I know Troy and I’m sure he’s capable of bad behavior. But to leave out the good behavior causes an unbalanced picture. This was their point of view and they had a beef.
DRE:
Do you think Troy is any different from directors who have had success in terms of bad behavior?
WD:
That’s a very good question [laughs].
DRE:
How was it working with David Cronenberg on eXistenZ and would you do it again?
WD:
Of course, I like him a lot. It was a brief part.
DRE:
But a key one.
What’s it like having children as fans now?
What’s it like having children as fans now?
WD:
It’s a change. Until Spider-Man there wasn’t a movie that kids could or should see. Kids are pretty cool but the only thing weird about it is that parents will sic their kids on you. Kids can just wave to the Green Goblin but the parents will pressure them to come over to me.
DRE:
What are you working on?
WD:
Nothing at the moment. I just finished xXx2 where I play the secretary of defense. I like [director] Lee Tamahori a lot so he was good to work with.
I’ve also written a screenplay so that’s my new thing. It’s for me to perform in but not direct. I know who the director will be but it’s too early to talk about.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
I’ve also written a screenplay so that’s my new thing. It’s for me to perform in but not direct. I know who the director will be but it’s too early to talk about.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
