For Willem Dafoe, bolder films are not made for platforms

In promotion of Poor Creatures, Willem Dafoe embraces his eclectic career choices.

On display in Poor creaturesthe new film from Yorgos Lanthimosin cinemas on January 17, 2024, William Dafoe spoke at length with The Guardian. He talks in particular about his way of life, close to animals and his small personal farm where humans and alpacas live together. Busier than ever, with more than 150 films over the course of his career, the 68-year-old actor did some soul-searching when he was forced to stop during the historic SAG-AFTRA union strike.

“When something like the strike happens, I wake up and say: ‘Listen, baby, you need to think about some of these things’because otherwise you are driving blind” he declares. And his opinion on today’s Hollywood and our new way of consuming films is more than interesting: “People watch films differently today, at home, rather than going to cinemas, which are closing.”

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“It’s tragic because the attention people give to the home is not the same. More difficult films, more daring films can’t do as well, when you don’t have a really attentive audience.” he analyzes. It is true that streaming platforms have become self-sufficient since they can now produce their catalog themselves, “streaming becomes a monopoly, they have the means to produce and distribute” adds William Dafoe.

More than the experience of the room, William Dafoe regrets the ritual in place around going to the cinema: “I miss the social dimension of the place of films in the world. You go see a movie, you go out to dinner, you talk about it later, and it spreads. Now people go home, they say: ‘Hey, honey, let’s watch something stupid tonight,’ and they skip and watch five minutes of 10 movies, and they say: ‘Forget it, let’s go to bed.’”

Willem Dafoe inaugurated his star on the Walk of Fame alongside Pedro Pascal and Mark Ruffalo

This evolution in film consumption goes hand in hand with the evolution of the industry itself: “Studios don’t make films like they used to. They’re funded by toy companies and other entities, and they become the way to make movies because they know how to do it.” declares the star. And although he clarifies that he does not know the commercial side of the industry very well, he recognizes that this transformation is due to a change in profile.

“I noticed that there is a proliferation of average people. There are no more courageous producers like before. There are some smart ones, but you don’t have the same kind of characters that you used to have, who would sell their house to make a movie and do crazy things to get there. They are a little harder to find.“

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