Willem Dafoe’s grin is legendary. It can bring joy, but it can also inspire fear. We’ve seen it on screen for decades now and the smile never gets old. So, why not bring that face to a character who also has an iconic smile?
Speaking to GQ, Willem Dafoe talked about his history of playing villains in films. But he does so without actually admitting that he actually plays a lot of bad guys in movies.
“I don’t know what that is. I’ll play dumb. You play characters. I could say, ‘Oh yeah, it’s fun to play villains ’cause you can do things that you can’t do in life, or it’s fun to play with your dark side,’” said Dafoe. “But I don’t know. I’m not thinking about those things.”
Obviously, even though he sidesteps the villain question, the actor has made quite a few memorable turns as characters on the dark side of life. In fact, he shows up in the new “Spider-Man: No Way Home” to bring back his Green Goblin baddie after decades away. And he’s also often brought up in fan-casting when it comes to the most popular supervillain, Joker. Regarding that, the actor does have an idea for a way to play Joker.
READ MORE: Joaquin Phoenix Is Still Open To More ‘Joker,’ But Still Unsure If A Sequel Will Be Made
“There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter,” said the actor. “So it would be possible to have not dueling Jokers but someone that [claims] to be the Joker that isn’t the Joker.”
Dafoe added, “And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did. I fantasized about that. But other than that I am not talking to anybody [about it], you’re the first one.”
As much as that pitch for a new “Joker” film sounds bonkers, it also sounds pretty interesting. And who wouldn’t want to see Dafoe and Phoenix go back and forth in Joker makeup? So, if Warner Bros. is reading this and needs to throw more money at another superhero film, make this happen!