Willem Dafoe’s portrayal of the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s 2002 film Spider-Man left an indelible impression on viewers. The four-time Academy Award winner received a ton of praise from the public for his flawless portrayal as one of the most powerful Marvel villains.
Later, he made a spectacular comeback in Jon Watts’ Spider-Man: No Way Home as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. While Tom Holland’s film did not hold back on bringing some memes to life, Dafoe wanted his performance to mean more than just a cameo. That is why the actor, who made his debut with Heaven’s Gate, insisted on returning to the role of Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home—as long as he could take part in the action sequences instead of just having a “cameo”.
Willem Dafoe Refused to Appear as a ‘Cameo’ In Spider-Man: No Way Home
It is undeniable that the Tom Holland and Zendaya-starrer Spider-Man: No Way Home is among the greatest superhero films ever made. Of course, a big part of this was because of all the incredible cameos.
Last year, Willem Dafoe, 68, discussed his thoughts when Jon Watts and Amy Pascal approached him to reprise the role in an interview with The New York Times. Even though Dafoe believed the concept to be completely absurd, he was prepared to give it a shot. Having said that, he was aware that a stronger and more active role was required for him to make a comeback.
“When Amy Pascal and Jon Watts called me up and said we’d like to pitch you this idea, I thought, ‘This is crazy. But let’s see what they have to say.’ I really didn’t want to do a cameo. I wanted to make sure there was something substantial enough to do that wasn’t just a tip of the hat.”
The Platoon actor found the action to be very “fun,” so he was hoping for some of these scenes in the $1.922 billion film. If not, it would simply have become a compilation of “memes”. To quote him:
“And the other thing was, I said I really want there to be action — I want to take part in action scenes. Because that’s really fun for me. It’s the only way to root the character. Otherwise, it just becomes a series of memes.”
No doubt, fans enjoyed every second Dafoe spent playing the primary antagonist on screen in the Jon Watts-directed film.
Also Read: “Willem is not in this one”: Did Willem Dafoe Avoid Aquaman 2 Due to Amber Heard?
Was The Lighthouse Star the First Choice for Norman Osborn’s role?
Since Willem Dafoe gave his all to the role, we can be sure that no other actor could have played Green Goblin/Norman Osborn as faithfully. He was meant to play the role. However, he was not the only actor to be considered for the character in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The makers also looked at other actors before deciding to cast The Lighthouse star.
Dafoe shared in the same interview with The New York Times:
“They offered the Goblin/Norman Osborn part to many people before they arrived at me. I was shooting a film in Spain [The Reckoning], and they sent the casting director to Spain and we shot a little audition in my hotel room. It wasn’t business as usual. But it was something I was very interested in doing, and I had a good feeling for Sam Raimi. Of course, some people, at that point, thought it was very strange to make a film out of a comic. But I saw there could be a great pleasure and a great adventure in it, so I pursued it.”
With positive reviews from critics and a global box office total of over $1.9 billion, Spider-Man: No Way Home—part of Phase Four of the MCU—surpassed its predecessor to become Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing film. It became the highest-grossing film of 2021, the sixth-highest-grossing film of all time, and the highest-grossing Spider-Man film after shattering multiple box office records.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is available on DIRECTV.
