A renowned director once vetoed Willem Dafoe’s proposal to reveal his penis on screen because it was excessively ‘enormous’.
It’s been over forty years since Dafoe, now 69, debuted in Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate.
Since that time, the celebrated actor has appeared in several Wes Anderson films, played Vulko in the DC Extended Universe, and most recently starred in Yorgos Lanthimos’ anthology film, Kinds of Kindness.
Throughout his career, Dafoe has enjoyed diversifying from mainstream blockbusters by starring in various arthouse projects, including Lars von Trier’s Antichrist.
In the 2009 film, the actor played an unnamed married man credited simply as ‘he,’ alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg’s ‘She.’
If you have seen this dark project, you know it contains a fair amount of nudity.
However, it might surprise you to learn that Von Trier did not permit Dafoe to show his real penis in the nude scenes, opting instead to use a body double.
In a 2009 interview with The Boston Phoenix, the acclaimed director stated the star was ‘so large’ that it ‘left people confused,’ prompting the use of another actor.
“As for Dafoe… he has an enormous d**k. We had to take those scenes out of the film,” Von Trier explained.
“We had a stand-in for him because we had to take the scenes out with his own d**k.”
When asked to further elaborate, Von Trier said: “We had to, because Will’s was too big.”
The publication questioned the director on whether Defoe’s penis had been too large to fit on-screen, which he denied.
“No, too big because everybody got very confused when they saw it.”
Earlier this week, Dafoe made news after being selected to voice a Nike commercial ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Opening the advert titled ‘Winning isn’t for everyone,’ the Spider-Man actor candidly asks: “Am I a bad person?” before clips featuring Sophia Smith, Kylian Mbappe, and Sha’Carri Richardson are shown.
Throughout the athletic montage, Dafoe lists character traits that some may consider negative but are often highly valued in competitive sports.
“I have no empathy,” Dafoe says before chuckling and delivering the line, “I don’t respect you!”
He later queries again: “Am I a bad person? Tell me, am I?” before the words ‘Winning isn’t for everyone’ appear on the screen.
After watching the motivational clip, fans took to social media to express their opinions.
One wrote: “This is so awesome, Dafoe is a legend.”
“Willem Dafoe ATE UP that narration on the Nike Olympics commercial,” another commented.
“That Willem Defoe Nike commercial gets me so hype,” remarked someone else.