Willem Dafoe on the “anti -Semitic” reaction to the “last temptation of Christ”

Willem Dafoe, which is at the Sarajevo Film Festival to receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Prize as well as to support “The Birthday Party” by Miguel ángel Jiménez, gave a in -depth career masterclass where he spoke of some of his most emblematic roles. He also briefly approached the current American policy.

Speaking about his role nominated in the Oscars in Sean Baker’s drama “The Florida Project”, Dafoe was recalled to give an interview to Larry King when the film was released when the United States entered the first Trump administration. On this occasion, the actor said that America “was not going in the right direction”. When the moderator opened a space so that the actor reflects on the fact that he thinks or not that the country is always poorly directed, Dafoe has kept silent, before asking: “You have to make fun of me with this question, right?”

“If you know something about me and do it, it’s not a real question,” he added simply, going to the next subject.

By thinking about his career, the actor discussed another controversial subject: “The last temptation of Christ” by Martin Scorsese, where he played the titular role. The actor said he thought it was a “beautiful role”, exploring “the human part of Jesus” as a guy “who rejects the responsibility given to him”.

“This is one of my favorite roles because it was so demanding,” he continued. “You are in every time. We had very little resources, we fired very quickly, no money, but it was the way to pull it because we were not distracted by the show. We could only do what we do. There was a beauty, a grace and a simplicity.”

When he was asked if he thought that the animated reaction to the film was shocking, the actor agreed, adding that the controversy was mainly “motivated by the religious right which needed something to energize their cause”. He added: “They complained about the idea of ​​the film. They hadn’t seen him.”

“Then it turned into a strange thing about the Jews in Hollywood and became an anti-Semitic thing,” he added. “He made snowball. Perception is that it was the Catholic Church, and it was not the Catholic Church; It was the fundamental law in America that started [it]. I was shocked because in an era of super-violent films and porn, it was a film that was trying to address the nature of faith. It was a sincere attempt. »»

The actor joked when he was asked if he had “appreciated” the experience of being crucified, saying that it was “an experience”. “I put one of you on a cross and you will have an experience. In fact, if all this goes in hell, I can find a plot of earth and have an experience. ”

Commenting on his role as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man”, Dafoe said that he “really liked to play this role, especially the original”.

“The original ‘` Spider-Man’ ‘was very fun because in a scene, it could go from very dramatic to very comical, which is very difficult to do. It has a great sense of humor, but it is not light. And I like to do the action stuff. When the first’ `Spider-Man ” was done, you have always used sons.

By asking to make his own stunts, Dafoe said he did not want “gaps” in his performance. “You want to assume responsibility for everything so that all points connect. When you work on a role, you do not know if it will work or not, but the best you can do is to be there for each action.”

The actor spoke of his frequent collaborators, like Abel Ferrara (“collaboration is very personal, and sometimes we go, I do not know who is the director. It is very fluid”) and Paul Schrader (“He always has a lot of ideas, but he does not work conventionally with the actors.

Dafoe is currently in pre-production during his fourth collaboration with the English director and said that he liked to work with Eggers because of his complex research. “He gives them material that excites me; it excites me,” he added. “Who knew that I had an interest in the 1300s in England? He seduces you to be in this world. He is a passionate and intelligent guy. I like his aesthetic sensitivity, and he is very nice. It is a whole package.”