Willem Dafoe: “I die more than Sean Bean on screen? Ah, I believe that trivia!”

Did he really come close to starring in Tim Burton's first Batman? We asked Willem Dafoe a few questions ahead of the release of Beetlejuice 2.

Willem Dafoe at the house of Tim Burton : the first images of the actor Spider-Man In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice seemed like a no-brainer. In his role as a deceased investigator with an improbable name (Wolf Jackson), with his impeccable suit, his star glasses and his visible piece of brain, we wondered why the 69-year-old actor had not yet played under the direction of the gothic filmmaker.

By going back over his filmography on IMDbthe question became even more burning: on this site perceived as “the Bible of cinema”, Burton is mentioned many times on Willem Dafoe's page. According to his “trivia”they almost collaborated several times in the past, without it coming to anything.

So in preparing our summer issue dedicated to Beetlejuice 2 (which is no longer on newsstands, but available online), we thought the best thing would be to ask him the question directly.

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First: Hello Willem. After signing for a gothic film with Guillermo del Toro (Nightmare Alleyin 2021) or a role inspired by Frankenstein in Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor creaturesin 2023), and while waiting to find yourself in a film dedicated to the famous vampire Nosferatu (by Robbert Eggers, scheduled for 2025 in theaters), you are finally with Tim Burton. It sounds like an obvious choice.

Willem Dafoe: That's right. Why didn't we collaborate earlier? You'd have to ask him! In any case, I can tell you that I was very happy when he called me, even for a supporting role. It's nice to join a world that seems made for you, to be invited to join a team that already knows each other very well, where everyone is happy to be reunited, but also to have some fresh meat (laughs). The other actors shared their good memories between takes, it was really a memorable shoot.

Before signing, was he your favorite Tim Burton?

I have a very vivid memory of the first Beetlejuice…but it is a difficult choice, because there is Edward Scissorhands which I also love very much.

Your first IMDb trivia is about this director.

Oh yes ?

It is said that you were considered for the role of the Joker, before he hired Jack Nicholson for the role. Batman from 1989.

Oh. I was told that the studio had thought of me to play Batman, at the time, but you know, I never had an offer, officially. Neither for him, nor for the Joker, but yes, you can read that on the internet. Maybe it's completely made up, who knows? Because contract stories in Hollywood can be complicated… Sometimes, the actors are the last to know.

Another anecdote states that you are one of the actors who die the most in films. Even more than Sean Bean!

I die more than Sean Bean on screen? Ah, I believe that trivia! It's true that I often die in my films, I don't know why the directors all want to kill me off, like that? I should talk to a shrink about it! (laughs) As for Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceit's a little different because I play a deceased detective, Wolf Jackson. When I was alive, I was an actor. An actor in detective films, B movies, victim of an accident on set. Once I landed in the world of the dead, they decided to offer me this job because thanks to my fiction investigations, I had acquired certain talents. Well, I had to wear a lot of makeup, but that doesn't bother me. It takes time, obviously, especially to make this piece of brain appear, there (laughs). But it was worth it!

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If you are immediately immersed in the world of the dead, you were treated to the best sets? Like in the first film, with these corridors with impossible perspective, inspired by German impressionist cinema?

Exactly. The sets were beautiful. Tim and his team really took care of the 'world of the dead'. What is beautiful with Beetlejuice 2is to see how much it respects the spirit of the original film. In its dialogues, its special effects… And then deep down, it's really the continuity of the Deetz story, that was the main thing. Choosing Jenna Ortega to continue this legacy was a perfect casting idea.

Is that what you liked best about filming?

(He thinks) It was nice to shoot in real sets, to see all that makeup and hard effects, but… no, I think what struck me the most was having the opportunity to make Tim Burton laugh. We invented a few things together. On a set, he is very present, in control, he is very 'fluid'he knows what he wants and it shows in many aspects of his film. That's one of the beautiful things about this project: he was able to go back to old technologies, to stop motion animation, for example, and I found that the shooting represented his personality well. On set, Tim is interested in everything: he runs from one detail to another, he can come and fix your hair, and then the next moment you see him rearranging elements of the set… I particularly like that side of him, feeling that we support each other, that we are making something special together.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is released in theaters this week. Here is the trailer:

Beetlejuice 2: “Jenna and I had so much fun rehearsing this weird choreography!”