With director Abel Ferrara’s Siberia now playing in select theaters and available On Demand, I recently landed an extended interview with Willem Dafoe to talk about his extensive career. Even though I had thirty minutes to talk with the fantastic actor, it would be impossible to cover even a fraction of his amazing resume. So going in I decided to use some of the time to talk about his film work, and the rest of the conversation about other subjects like why he never directed, or when he felt like he made it as an actor and could pay rent just from acting.

However, before going any further, the reason I got to speak with him was his new movie Siberia. If you haven’t seen the trailer, I’d watch that first. As you can probably gleam from the footage, the movie is not easy to explain because Dafoe and Ferrara designed the film to make the audience think, and they leave many of the things that happen up to the viewer to decipher. What I’ll say is if you want to check out something a bit more enigmatic that doesn’t follow the typical narrative structure, check this film out because it’s not like most movies and Dafoe delivers a great performance.

During the interview Dafoe talks about what it was like working on Heaven’s Gate so early in his career, how he adopted a greyhound rescue, how the business has changed since he started in the industry, auditioning for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, why he loves Robert Eggers’ work and what he’s excited for people to see in The Northman, making Nightmare Alley with Guillermo del Toro, David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, and a lot more.

Check out the full conversation in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about.

Willem Dafoe:
How I almost cried on camera when I spoke to him for Togo.
When did he think he made it as an actor and could act for a living and pay rent?
How has the business changed since he started in the industry?
Did he ever consider directing?
What’s the most time he’s spent taking on a role?
Has he ever turned down a role that still haunts him?
How he has managed to balance making “Hollywood” movies and more artistic films. Was that a conscious choice? Did he ever have someone telling him to stick more on a mainstream path?
When was the last time he auditioned for a role?
Was it like being part of Spider-Man and the big explosion of superhero movies?
Did he watch Zack Snyder’s Justice League?
Is he part of the Aquaman sequel?
What does he love about working with Wes Anderson?
How do the projects with Abel Ferrara happen?
How he lives near Ferrara in Rome.
How even though cinema is 100 years old the art form is still expanding and figuring out what it can be. Siberia is one of those films that helps to push the art form forward.
How the film started as a man trying to find peace in his life.
The way they worked on set.
How Siberia isn’t a normal narrative film, but is enigmatic.
Did he want to work in the snow with dogs again after Togo?
What was it like filming the scene in Siberia where he is cutting open the fish and standing in the snow with the dogs in the background?
How he just got adopted a greyhound rescue.
Why he loves working with Robert Eggers.
What is he excited for people to see in The Northman?
What surprised him about making Nightmare Alley with Guillermo del Toro?
What is he making this year?
What was it like working on Heaven’s Gate so early in his career?
Did he see the other cuts of the film?
What was it like making eXistenZ with David Cronenberg?

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