Willem Dafoe
He is awarded an honorary doctorate
Willem Dafoe will soon be allowed to call himself “Doctor”.
© imago/UPI Photo
After almost 50 years, Willem Dafoe returns to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to receive an honorary doctorate.
US actor Willem Dafoe (66) receives an honorary doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). The UWM announced this in a statement on Friday. It states that Dafoe will give a speech at the closing ceremony on May 22 and then accept his title.
Willem Dafoe attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee between 1973 and 1974. He gained his first stage experience at the university in the plays “Phaedra” and “A Moon for the Loaded”. He describes his student days as “very formative and positive”. “I was young and very naive, but ready to practice and perform. I was totally committed and spent most nights on a couch in the theater because I was always working and studying and didn’t want to go home,” the university quoted him as saying.
Willem Dafoe is one of the most important actors of the 21st century
The commitment has paid off: Willem Dafoe’s portfolio now includes over 100 films, including successful productions such as “Platoon” (1986) or the “Spider-Man” franchise. He was nominated for an Oscar for his roles in “Platoon”, “Shadow of the Vampire” (2000), “The Florida Project” (2017) and “Van Gogh” (2018). In 2020 voted the “New York Times” Dafoe as one of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.
Willem Dafoe has been in cinemas since April 21 as Heimir the Fool in the Viking saga “The Northman” (2022).