Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American actor. His first edition as artistic director of the Venice Biennale‘s International Theatre Festival will run from May 31–June 15, 2025, and will include a revival of Richard Foreman’s Symphony of Rats, as well as an homage to Foreman performed by Dafoe alongside Italian actress Simonetta Solder.
I was thrilled and inspired whenever I was in Richard’s presence. He was a very fluid and original thinker—grumpy yet playful. I worked with him on some shows as a performer and he always gave me obstacles and challenged me in a way that always threw me off my thinking. I felt liberated.
