Spider-Man: No Way Home star Willem Dafoe shares his funny reaction to fans casting him in the role of iconic DC Comics villain The Joker. Dafoe first rose to stardom in the ’80s with his antagonist roles in both Streets of Fire and To Live and Die in L.A. as well as his Oscar-nominated performance in Oliver Stone’s Platoon, Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ and Mississippi Burning. He would later find newfound acclaim in the world of blockbuster filmmaking with his role as supervillain Norman Osborn/Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, reprising the role for its subsequent sequels and recently returning for Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The Joker has enjoyed a long life on screen with a number of different performers taking on the role of the iconic Batman villain, going all the way back to the Adam West-led Batman series in which he was portrayed by Cesar Romero. Jack Nicholson would later bring him to life in Tim Burton’s Batman movie, with Heath Ledger bringing him back to the big screen with his Oscar-winning turn in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and later Jared Leto for the DC Extended Universe in Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Joaquin Phoenix more recently starred in Todd Phillips’ Joker, which offered an origin story for the character and saw the star earn an Oscar as well, and now audiences are setting their eyes on another potential actor for the role.
On the heels of sharing his pitch for a potential sequel, Willem Dafoe shared his funny reaction to Joker fan castings as part of his Saturday Night Live opening monologue. The Oscar nominee poked fun at his own intense facial expressions and how they’ve led to the fan castings. See what Dafoe said below:
“I can’t help that I have an expressive face, I can’t control it. I don’t think about controlling it, I’m not one of those subtle actors like Nicolas Cage or Al Pacino. Maybe that’s why people come up to me and say, ‘You know what role you’d be perfect for? The Joker.’ Always nice to hear that you have the vibe of a sociopath.”
As Dafoe notes, his over-expressive performances have made him a favorite pick for fans for a new portrayal of the Joker, further bolstered by his turn as the Green Goblin in Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. His funny reaction to the Joker fan casting comes on the heels of Dafoe sharing his pitch for a potential sequel to Phillips’ solo movie, in which he would star as a Joker imposter, creating a tension between he and Joaquin Phoenix’s Clown Prince of Crime. The idea was well-received by fans of both the star and the character, further sparking the fan castings for Dafoe to offer his own take on The Joker.
Dafoe’s comments also come as Joker‘s future on screen is largely unknown at the time of writing. Following the polarized reviews to his portrayal in Suicide Squad, Leto saw a warmer reception for his DCEU Joker in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, though the franchise is moving on from said timeline, while the financial success of Phillips’ Joker has led to Warner Bros. hungry for a follow-up, with the director reportedly having signed on to pen the script last year. In the meantime, audiences can catch up with Dafoe’s Green Goblin return with Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters now.
Source: Saturday Night Live
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