00:00I live by the things that people don't know about me.
00:04Absolute understanding or absolute comprehension is overrated.
00:09We should celebrate mystery and wonder and curiosity a lot more than we should celebrate common sense and certainty.
00:17Hi, everyone. We are here at the Variety Lounge in Sarajevo Film Festival with Willem Dafoe, who is the recipient of this year's Heart of Sarajevo.
00:33Thank you so much for being with us, Willem.
00:35My pleasure.
00:36You're here in Sarajevo with the birthday party. You just had a film in Locarno.
00:41You have two films in Venice, Les Femmes and the Souffleur, and then you have TIFF with the main basement.
00:45How important are festivals to you, going to festivals?
00:48They're wildly important, particularly when there are smaller movies and there are international movies that are funded through co-productions.
00:58It's very important to get them seen, get people behind them and get good distribution.
01:04I mean, it breaks your heart when you make something that you believe in and you really think it's a beautiful film and then it just doesn't get seen.
01:12You get used to it, but you do everything you can to try to help promote it.
01:17And, of course, now, you know, film festivals are great.
01:22They introduce you to new filmmakers.
01:24They show work that gives a platform and a place for films that are underseen or are looking for distribution.
01:31They elevate the discourse about film, and that keeps film alive and happy.
01:37And that's not so much the case in the mainstream media.
01:41So I think film festivals really step up.
01:44And talk about festivals.
01:45You had your first edition as the head of the Venice Biennale for theatre.
01:49And I thought it was incredible when I heard that it was theatre's body, body's poetry.
01:53Because when I think of your work, I think of body.
01:54So how important is the body for you as a performer?
01:56It's everything.
01:57I mean, acting is about doing things.
02:00And you do things through your body.
02:03And that's where it starts.
02:06And you've done some very gruesome things through your body.
02:08How do you find to take care of yourself, to be in and out, perhaps?
02:13I want to live a long life so I don't do anything too crazy.
02:16I'm not a gym rat, but I do.
02:18For many, many years, I've done a daily yoga practice.
02:23You know, they've already made a movie about me, Forrester.
02:29You mean The Godfather?
02:30No.
02:31It's about a big shark.
02:33You're here in Sarajevo with the birthday party.
02:36And I thought it was wonderful that the film ends with Nina Simone's Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.
02:40And just this idea of just a soul whose intentions are good.
02:43And have you ever felt misunderstood as an actor, do you think?
02:45Of course.
02:47There's a lot of stuff that goes misunderstood.
02:51And sometimes that's okay, too.
02:53Someone was talking about this Korean philosopher that I forget his name.
02:57But she shared with me the thought that I live by the things that people don't know about me.
03:03Absolute understanding or absolute comprehension is overrated.
03:08We should celebrate mystery and wonder and curiosity a lot more than we should celebrate common sense and certainty.
03:17Something I think about is that you're fearless.
03:19Your performances are usually fearless.
03:21Is there something that still scares you?
03:22I've got so much fear that I want to go towards things that I'll get rid of my fear.
03:26There you go.
03:27But do you still fear anything in this crazy industry?
03:30Well, listen.
03:30Fear.
03:31In making movies, you have this huge opportunity to take these risks and go places that you don't have to pay the consequences for.
03:41Not necessarily, you know?
03:44So you can toy with different ways of being without having that really be your life.
03:50So the beauty of being an actor is you can entertain different ways of being, different points of view.
03:55You have such an expensive career, almost 150 films.
03:59You have worked with prestigious directors, but you're also someone who works with a lot of up-and-coming directors.
04:03And you reach out to people.
04:04You reach out to Sean Baker, to Wes Anderson.
04:07How do you keep track of new talent?
04:09You know, sometimes they find me.
04:11Sometimes when I see a beautiful film and I want to know the filmmaker, I want to follow their work.
04:17I'll see a movie and I'll reach out to that person and I'll have a meeting.
04:21And if there's some sort of conversation or some sort of affinity, then maybe something will happen.
04:26I'm not a great fan of doing short films, for example, but Savannah Leaf, I saw her feature and I thought there was really something there.
04:37And then I met her and I really thought she's an interesting filmmaker.
04:42So we ended up making a short together.
04:45It's always fun.
04:46I mean, I find sometimes with the people that have been around for a while, there's a certain kind of expertise, a certain kind of elevated craft.
04:58But sometimes they've seen better days where younger people that are at the beginning of their careers, they're so turned on.
05:08And sometimes it's good to not know any better.
05:12As you become seasoned, there's a chance that a certain kind of corruption and a certain kind of routine can creep into your work.
05:21It can also refine things.
05:23But with younger directors, they're so turned on.
05:27They've got nothing to compare it to.
05:29They're excited.
05:31And you slipstream that.
05:33That's the way I like to work when people are turned on.
05:36I can't just craft something.
05:37I've got to feel like everything's an adventure.
05:39I think it's incredible how many first-time directors you work with and the chances that you're giving to people who are up and coming.
05:45And are you aware of the weight that your name brings to a project like that, or perhaps greenlighting it?
05:50I'd be running a studio if I knew things like that.
05:52I don't think about that so much.
05:55You look for opportunities.
05:56And sometimes those opportunities come from people that are dreamers.
06:01And that's often sometimes people that are just starting out.
06:06I'll say, if your name's on it, I will go watch it.
06:08So there is some weight.
06:09Well, that's one.
06:10There you go.
06:11You have one.
06:12And you were talking about the intro.
06:14I think it's really lovely that someone with a profile as high as yours talk about the importance of theatrical distribution, of festivals, of criticism.
06:22The theater experience, I love.
06:25You know, I've spoken about it a lot, so I don't want to get into it too much.
06:30But people are so conditioned to watching things that they can interrupt that they aren't really invested in.
06:38They watch in a distracted way.
06:39I've seen people watch films on computers and also have their phone in their hand.
06:43And they go between the two.
06:45So I don't want to be a scold.
06:47I don't want to be like an old dude that can't change.
06:49But, you know, the most challenging, you get what you put in.
06:54And if you don't pay attention, if you don't go to the challenging films that require your attention, then you're not going to be rewarded with a special experience.
07:03And looking ahead now, and you're so prolific, and I imagine you have a lot of things in the works.
07:08You have your next collaboration with Robert Eggers in pre-production.
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