There are great performances and then there are great performances while wearing 3ft. stilts and reciting a fictional language. The later can only refer to a handful of thespians and among them Willem Dafoe is my favorite. He’s been continually taking a hell of a lot of risks between blockbusters and independent films the past few years as both a leading and supporting actor and has the respect of just about everyone.
In JOHN CARTER, Dafoe takes another risk with motion– er, sorry…performance capture in the form of the four armed Thark alien leader Tars Tarkas, who easily steals just about every scene he is in. I have to say, the set up for my sit down with Willem was really memorable. It was in an Arizona resort (for the Mars like red rocks) and two feet from my right were unassuming resort golfers tee’ing up. It’s pretty surreal talking to Willem Dafoe about his craft while a guy swears about his shitty backswing a few feet away. I’d expect nothing less bizarre with an actor like Willem. Don’t miss out his fun turn as Tars Tarkis in JOHN CARTER March 9th!
“I do a lot of small movies, but occasionally I get the need to do a big movie.”