167 Quotes by Willem Dafoe

The best thing an actor can be is ready. Be flexible, be ready.

The director's very important to me, particularly when the director has a recognizable style.

Let's hope I never end up on a deserted island, because I could never make a decision on which three CDs to take with me.

As you get older, you suffer fools less easily. That's why there's all those cranky character actors. I'm an exception. I'm a sweetheart.

Sometimes I think women are lucky because they can develop in ways men can't. The old-boy network may be oppressive to women, but it actually stunts men in terms of personal growth.

I feel like it's important to be flexible, particularly when I'm coming in late in the game and I'm connective tissue in the story. I'm not at the very center. It's important for me to have a certain kind of flexibility and try to help people do what they need to do.

Central to being an actor is pretending, and the adventure of it all. That's why you become a junkie for different kinds of situations.

The Midwest isn't somewhere you mix with those from the performing arts. But my mum and dad would go off to Chicago every so often to see shows. They would bring back the albums and the movies, those little eight metres, and we would all watch. I think that was when I fell in love with acting.

When I was a kid I was very interested in the idea of the will, finding out what you're capable of. I liked those kind of challenges.