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Willem Dafoe

After his attention-grabbing performance as a vicious counterfeiter in "To Live and Die in L.A." (1985), actor Willem Dafoe soared to stardom and earned an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor in the Academy Award-winning "Platoon" (1986). Prior to that performance, Dafoe used his menacing features and languid delivery to create an air of intensity for a succession of roles as toughs and villains, including in "The Loveless" (1981) and "Roadhouse 66" (1984). Following his breakthrough, however, the actor delivered a string of compelling performances, and even courted controversy as Jesus in "The Last Temptation of Christ" (1988). Throughout his entire career, Dafoe moved easily between showy character turns like a hard-drinking paraplegic in "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) and leading roles like T.S. Eliot in "Tom & Viv" (1994). Occasionally, he turned on the camp to play over-the-top villains in "Speed 2: Cruise Control" (1997) and the "Spider-Man" series. But he also turned in high-caliber performances, as he did playing German actor Max Schreck in "Shadow of the Vampire" (2000), which showcased the wealth of talent he had displayed throughout his varied career.