Willem Dafoe talks Late Fame and how he approached his viral photo shoot

Willem Dafoe is an icon, not only of modern cinema but also of photography. Alongside unforgettable performances in movies like The Last Temptation of Christ, Nosferatu, and Spider-Man, he’s also awed the public with his extraordinary skills in front of a still camera, inspiring a TikTok trend where people try to pose like Dafoe.

So, when the star of Late Fame visited Mashable’s studios for an interview with Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko, the pair not only dug into the sensational New York movie and how it connects to Dafoe’s own youth as a struggling theater actor. But also, they dug into what it means to turn a photoshoot into art.

“I gotta admit, I like photoshoots,” Dafoe began. Referring to those who meme or mimic him online, he said, “I’m aware enough about it that I hope it doesn’t make me gun shy or make me self-conscious about it, because I’m aware of it.”

He went on, “There’s something instant about it. It is a collaboration. You enter a room. You get these clothes that you would probably never wear in life — not always — sometimes beautiful clothes. But sometimes they’re horrible.”

“The photographer comes in,” Dafoe continued, “He/she may have some ideas. We shoot away, and it’s all about finding something….But when it works it’s really fun and it’s really instant. It’s about making shapes. You’re free because you’re not representing anything. You’re just doing.”

“I’m trained as an actor, as a doer,” Dafoe said, “Not in psychology, not in interpretation, not in lots of things. But I know that everything is based on doing, and the quality of how you do it is the performance. And you put yourself into these structures and the structures kind of tell you what to do, and work on you. And then something happens, and that becomes the heart of the performance.”

Late Fame is now in theaters.