Willem Dafoe: “I’m a happy guy, but I also think about death all the time”

“I’m a happy guy, but I also think about death all the time. And I also think about eating, sex, getting old… Who doesn’t look in the mirror and see these things?”

When asked if he balances his roles between lighter v. darker or mainstream v. more specialty work, Dafoe pondered the question and then said he’s found a balance, but it’s not necessarily a conscious decision.

“It sort of happens naturally in picking my roles. It’s not so much thinking of how it’s playing or who it’s going to play to. I’ve had interesting independent roles that don’t get support and are bad releases, and in those moments, I’d like to be in a movie that is supported and of course, those tend to be more commercial.”

And, as with most actors, the temptation of a big production is alluring for Dafoe. “I’ve had the chance to do great stuff in the independent film world, but it is usually a certain type of filmmaking. When I do it, I can sometimes get jealous when I see great lighting and editing, which of course enhances the performance of the actor. I laugh sometimes when someone says to me, ‘Wow, you look so much better in person…,’ and then I say, ‘It’s because I was running around so damn ragged on set.’”

Dafoe, who last worked with von Trier on “Manderlay,” casually checked in on the Danish director, which lead to the role in his new film. The actor explained that von Trier was going through one of his depressions that left him barely able to leave bed, but at the time had been working on a script filled with his personal nightmares and fears. “I asked him to send it to me and I liked it, so he said, ‘do you want to do it…?’”

“There were no rehearsals, but we did some talking ahead of time,” Von Trier explained earlier in the day Friday, via satellite from his native Denmark, adding coyly, “I remember everything being happy and not too many arguments, but then I guess I tricked Willem and Charlotte into thinking I was depressed so they would do what I said…”

Though audiences here reacted mostly well to its North American debut screening, it remains to be seen how it will do in release once word spreads further of its graphic details - and surely IFC Films, which bought the film in Cannes, will open it without a rating (and uncut).

“I was [concerned] that it would never be released in the United States,” said Dafoe. “But when I heard IFC would take it, then I had a feeling it would be screened uncut. And honestly, if you’re going to release a film like this, then why would you want to have it cut?” Audiences in America will have a chance to take their first look next month at the New York Film Festival, and it will show up in limited release on screens and via on demand beginning in late October.

“The film wasn’t always the easiest thing to do,” sadi Dafoe. “But ‘hard’ is when you’re working like a dog and it’s not worth it.”