Dafoe Shares Stories and Advice with UWM Students

Former UWM student Willem Dafoe, best known as Green Goblin in the 2002 Spider-Man movie, spoke to current students about his time at the university, his career, and life. The four-time Oscar nominee returned to Milwaukee to give commencement speeches for the 2022 graduating classes and receive an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.

On Saturday, Dafoe stepped back on the same stage where he performed in “Phaedra” and “A Moon for the Misbegotten” back in the 1970s, this time with UWM Chancellor Mark Mone. The panel-style event was exclusively for UWM students to hear from the actor about his time at UWM, his career and life.

“I was born and raised in Appleton. I eventually made it to Milwaukee to pursue theater,” Dafoe said. “It has been nice to walk around campus and recognize some of the buildings on campus, remembering going to the movies on Downer and the Oriental.”

He detailed his time at UWM and his experiences at the university before dropping out of college and moving to New York to continue his theater career. He eventually starred in 144 movies, according to IMDB, receiving multiple awards over the years, and becoming a household name to multiple generations.

“I don’t believe in the concept of making it,” Dafoe told UWM students. “It is not a false humbleness, I just think that that is not a good way of thinking about it.”

Dafoe said many people think he is a New York native because he has spent so many years in the Big Apple.

He said many people have to separate what happens on film/tv from reality.

“I am very anti-gun,” he said. “I pretend to shoot and kill people in movies, but not in real life. There are too many guns out in this country.”

Dafoe said he learned many things as a theater major. Specifically, he learned to appreciate the work of people behind the scenes.

 “Understanding how every bit of a play is important,” said Dafoe. “Using technology as a tool is also a big part of it.”

I followed up by asking Dafoe how his acting approach has changed since the original Spider Man movie 20 years ago, when special effects were much less sophisticated.

“I don’t think it changes,” Dafoe said. “It’s all acting. Whether you are on wires or not you have your lines and you do your best to get the shot. I was on wires in both of the films, fighting Spiderman, but for me nothing has really changed in that regard.”

The event lasted two hours as Mone and excited students asked questions about Dafoe’s career and personal life.