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PEOPLE & ARTSWednesday 27 December 2017
Dafoe finds encouragement for
his craft in early awards noms
In this Nov. 11, 2017 file photo, Willem Dafoe arrives at the 9th By SANDY COHEN around the people of our beautiful, really challeng-
annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles. Dafoe stars in the film, AP Entertainment Writer story and being in the ac- ing, but the first thing I want
“The Florida Project.” LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wil- tual place, it guides you. It to do is shave off my beard
lem Dafoe came into “The just tells you what you need to try to get back to a neu-
Associated Press Florida Project” ready to be to do, and that’s always tral place,” Dafoe said.
transformed, and working thrilling because you feel He returned from Europe
in a cheap motel helped like it opens your mind and the morning of the Golden
him get there. your heart and broadens Globe nominations and
The 62-year-old actor has the possibility of how you was awoken after little
been collecting acco- are.” sleep with news of his sup-
lades — including a Gold- Immersive settings, and porting actor nod. The vet-
en Globe Award nod and real settings, allow him to eran actor is deeply appre-
Screen Actors Guild Award connect more deeply with ciative of the recognition.
nomination — for his perfor- his characters, he said. He “The nature of perform-
mance in the Sean Baker just finished playing Vincent ing, the nature of making
film, which was set and shot Van Gogh in Julian Schna- things, the nature of mak-
at the Magic Castle hotel in bel’s “At Eternity’s Gate,” ing movies, it isn’t a sci-
the shadows of Orlando’s which shot in various Euro- ence. It’s not precise. It’s
Disney World. pean locations where the full of all kinds of variables.
Dafoe said filming at a real artist spent time. So, no matter how long you
hotel that houses homeless “When you do that, you do it, it’s an uncertain life,
families like the one at the can’t help but, with a little so you’re always happy for
heart of the film changed imagination, feel his pres- encouragement. You’re al-
his perspective as a per- ence there; or imagine ways happy for someone
former. that that a tree, that old to say, ‘Keep going, keep
“The beautiful thing is you big tree that is 200 years going. We like what you’re
learn things and then you old, was in his presence doing,’” he said. “From
can apply it to the pre- and now you’re in its pres- day to day, the whole the
tending. And I love that ence and there’s some whole prospect of per-
situation, where you’re not sort of connection,” Dafoe forming is you’re kind of
really just drawing from said. “So you’re aware of wiping the slate clean ev-
your impressions and your those things and you do ery time, so you’re starting
thoughts, but you’re re- kind of connect the dots from zero. And that zero is
ally getting outside of your- and make a connectivity not that different from the
self,” he said in a recent that you wouldn’t normally zero that you were at when
interview. “That’s always have.” you had never made a film
when the best things hap- He said that while all his before. So it helps to be
pen, when you’re a little past characters stay with encouraged.”q
— you’re new, you know? him, some make more of ___
You have a better chance an impression than others Follow AP Entertainment
to enter into a kind of new — Van Gogh among them. Writer Sandy Cohen at
way of thinking. And being “Great experience, really www.twitter.com/APSandy
budgetaruba@setarnet.aw
