Interview: Willem Dafoe (Antichrist) at TIFF

With four movies at TIFF this year, Willem Dafoe sat down to chat with Tribute’s Bonnie Laufer about his role in the Lars von Trier film, Antichrist.

Antichrist features only two central characters, “He” (Dafoe) and “She” (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a married couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods following the tragic death of their young son. To prepare for the role, in which he plays a therapist, Dafoe explains that sat in on sessions with cognitive behavioural therapists at Columbia University.

In the interview, Dafoe admits that he does have trouble watching himself on screen. “Sometimes I can and sometimes I can’t,” he says. “You get self-conscious about things.” However, the actor has now watched Antichrist three times, calling it “Beautiful, powerful and disturbing. It haunts me.”

Dafoe can be found in three other films at TIFF: Daybreakers, L’Affaire Farewell and My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?