Iconic Actor Willem Dafoe Awarded Honorary Doctorate

“I reject the idea of ‘making it,’” said Willem Dafoe, prolific multi-award-winning American actor to a room of eager Peck School of the Arts students. Dafoe, a UW-Milwaukee alumnus, was visiting Milwaukee to receive his honorary doctorate of art and serve as the 2022 commencement speaker. On Saturday, May 22, UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone hosted an “Inside the Actor’s Studio” style interview where he questioned Dafoe, then invited the student-only audience to ask questions. 

Dafoe spoke at length about the importance of the arts and how they are linked intrinsically to humanity. He spoke briefly about gun control and he alluded to an x-rated film he made during his time in Milwaukee. He talked about sleeping on a couch in the theater and spending time at Tuxedo Bar  in between classes. He touched on the impact his peers and professors made on him– a young and hopeful 17-year-old from Appleton, Wisconsin. 

The one hour event was the first of several for Dafoe. After he left the Helen Bader Concert Hall, he went on to meet with the press, take a tour of the city and spend time in some old haunts. Fewer than 24 hours later, Dafoe was addressing a room full of graduates. 

“For a 17 year old sophisticated kid from Appleton Wisconsin with a vague notion about being an actor, UWM appealed to me,” explained Dafoe. “By comparison, Milwaukee to me was a big city with cultural and urban advantages. UWM appealed to me as a largely commuter, blue collar campus for the serious minded who were in the real world as opposed to the bubble of a traditional college town school.”

In the fall of 1972 Dafoe, who was still in high schooI, visited his friend Jim Gage who was a UWM theater student. At the time, Gage was in the department’s production of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Dafoe loved the show and admired the professionalism and high production values and that very night decided he wanted to go to school at UWM.

“It’s odd to be here at UWM after almost 50 years,” said Dafoe after Mone laid his doctorate stole across his shoulders. “To be here,  addressing a room full of graduates.” 

Chancellor Mone opened the ceremony with a congratulations to the students and a recognition of the family and friends who were there in support. Peck School of the Arts vocalist Isabel Mancl and the UWM band rang in the processionals.  Nearly 1,000 Doctorate, Masters, Bachelor and Associate degree earners sat at the afternoon ceremony, waiting eagerly to not only earn their degree, but watch a local hero earn his. 

“I am from a very large family,” said Dafoe.  “All my seven siblings went to Madison for undergraduate school, and I chose UWM.”

Leading up to the commencement speech, Chancellor Mone described just how rigorous the process is to earn an honorary degree. First, a candidate has to be nominated by a member of the academic staff. The candidate cannot be known for one single deed, but instead is regarded for the sum and distinction of  their professional achievements, personal integrity as well as the range, substance and value of the nominee’s outreach activities. Recommendations must then be endorsed by a formal academic department or dean, then all the nominees are ranked. From there, the candidates’ official applications are sent to the Honorary Degrees Committee. Once a nominee is approved by the committee, the approval process moves on to the Chancellor, the UWM Faculty Senate and finally the Board of Regents. 

Dafoe’s massive filmography, development of experimental stylings through Theater X and the Wooster Group, continued exploration of complex characters in thought provoking films, and dedication to the craft of acting has made Dafoe a cherished American icon, and more than qualified to receive his honorary Doctorate of Arts. 

The students, especially the over 150 graduates from the Peck School of the Arts, did not hold back their praise as Dafoe wrapped his commencement speech and went on to shake the hands of the graduates as they walked across the stage.

“Here I was receiving a degree with honors at the same time and place as Willem Dafoe,” said Angelica Hubler, who earned a B.S from the College of Health Sciences. 

Huebler was one of many students who expressed how special it was to share this moment with Dafoe, who started at the very place they are beginning their careers. 

“My time at UWM was formative and positive and it marked probably the first time I decided to pursue acting,” said Dafoe. “Not because I thought I could make a career of it, but because I found what I love to do.”