Willem Dafoe on playing Joker: Nice to hear you’ve got the vibe of a sociopath

Ever since he played Green Goblin in Spider-Man, two decades ago, fans are convinced Willem Dafoe would be the perfect Joker.

The DC villain has been portrayed by a number of actors on film, ranging from Jack Nicholson and Jared Leto to Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix. But many on the internet are still actively campaigning for Willem to take over the role.

Recently, the 66-year-old actor took note of the fan-casting, joking that he had the ‘vibe of a sociopath’. While appearing on the popular variety show Saturday Night Live this Saturday, Willem talked about his ‘over-the-top’ acting style in his opening monologue. He said, “I don’t think about controlling it. I’m not one of those subtle actors like Nicolas Cage or Al Pacino.”

He then joked about the campaign to get him to play Joker “Maybe that’s why people come up to me and say, ‘You know what role you’d be perfect for? The Joker’. Always nice to hear that you’ve got the vibe of a sociopath,” he added.

This isn’t the first time the veteran actor has addressed the buzz around him playing the iconic villain. In an interview with GQ last year, he had said he was open to playing ‘a Joker imposter’.

He said, ““There is something interesting about, like, if there was a Joker imposter. So it would be possible to have not duelling Jokers but someone that says to be the Joker that isn’t the Joker.

And that kind of opens up the possibility of an interesting story, particularly if you had Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and then you had someone who was either imitating or riffing off what he did. I fantasised about that.” But the actor added that he wasn’t in talks with anyone for that.

The Joker may still be off bounds for him but Willem did play another iconic comic book villain recently. In last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, he reprised his role as the Green Goblin, returning to the role 19 years after his first outing in Spider-Man (2002).

The actor will be next seen in a supporting role in the historical epic The Northman, which stars Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, and Anya Taylor Joy.