Willem Dafoe has appeared in hundreds of movies till now, but his zeal and passion for the craft is ever-burning like an eternal flame that only gets bigger and bigger. From his first role in Heaven’s Gate to his more recent appearance in the psychological thriller Inside, the actor continues to delight viewers with his exceptional performances.
Known best for playing the Green Goblin in over four Spider-Man movies, the actor would next appear in Yorgos Lanthimos’s movie Kind of Kindness (previously And), along with Emma Stone. While the twp also worked together on Poor Things, Stone was struck by Dafoe’s extent of determination for during one scene he asked the Marvel star to slap him 20 times.
When Willem Dafoe Asked Emma Stone To Slap Him
Also Read: Mark Ruffalo Thought ‘Poor Things’ With Emma Stone Could Get Him Canceled in Real Life
It is no secret that Willem Dafoe enjoys his work, so much that he doesn’t even consider it as work but more like a way to get through life. Having starred in more than a hundred movies, his fondness for the film set is unmatched, and he keeps coming back to it like a child to a candy shop. And this was a feat Emma Stone, who recently worked with him in two movies, witnessed firsthand.
Both Stone and Dafoe co-starred in Yorgos Lanthimos‘s Poor Things and will also be appearing in his next Kind of Kindness (previously And). While working on the unreleased movie, the Marvel star was awestruck by Dafoe’s tenacity to be on set, which famously led to an assistant director calling this act self-motivating to set.
During one scene Stone was to slap the Spider-Man actor’s character, but he was to be off-camera, which meant Stone could have made it work without him or a double. However, Dafoe was persistent in being present and insisted on getting slapped ‘to get into character’ and make the scene more genuine.
This eventually led to the scene being shot over 20 times, only because Willem Dafoe remained firm on making it look as authentic as possible (via The New York Times).
Emma Stone On Working With Willem Dafoe
While Willem Dafoe certainly enjoyed working with the Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone (via IndieWire and ScreenRant), Stone was equally amazed to be working with the four-time Oscar-nominated actor. While talking to The New York Times about her experience and impression of Dafoe, she stated,
“There’s this instinct to perform that many actors have — the ‘look at me, look at me’’ kind of performer. He’s the opposite of that. Maybe it’s changed through the years. A lot of actors I bond with have been doing this for a long time, and you know they’ve gone from ‘I’ to ‘We.'”
Calling him and the rest of the cast incredible (via Arab News), Stone feels lucky to have the opportunity to work with Willem Dafoe. And fans hope to see more of their collaboration in the future.
While Poor Things is in theatres now, the release date for Kind of Kindness is yet to be announced.
