Going 'Inside' Willem Dafoe's iconic movie life, from art thieves to cartoon fish and Jesus

An art thief who descends into madness, talks to pigeons and duets with a refrigerator? That sounds like a job for Willem Dafoe.

Name a type of character, conventional or totally out there, and the Oscar-nominated actor’s probably played it over the course of his 40-plus years on screen, from his idealistic soldier in "Platoon" to villainous Green Goblin in the "Spider-Man" films. And moviegoers will spend a lot of time with Dafoe watching the experiential thriller “Inside” (in theaters Friday) since it’s pretty much a one-man show.

Nemo (Dafoe) is on a job to steal artwork worth millions from a posh, high-tech Times Square penthouse when the security system goes wonky, locking him inside and leaving him trapped. Days and months go by, his attempts to escape turn into a primal need to survive and the dire situation takes a physical and mental toll.

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“In this movie I'm just doing things. Dragging a table across a floor and then upending it to start making a tower; I get off on that,” Dafoe says, laughing. “I like getting lost in an action and you become part of the landscape. It allows the audience to enter, whereas if you're always throwing stuff in their face or you're always being showy, it pushes them away. It's like human nature: Who do you want to hang out with? Someone who puts a lot of pressure on you to keep acknowledging them, or someone cool and chill?"

After getting scruffy making “Inside,” Dafoe’s currently rocking an impressive mustache and reteaming with “The Lighthouse” director Robert Eggers for a remake of “Nosferatu.” When he finishes that, the actor partners with man-of-the-moment Jonathan Majors for the thriller “The Man in My Basement.” “I’m burning hot for him. We have good scenes together,” Dafoe says of his upcoming co-star.

Dafoe, 67, talks with USA TODAY about his new film and a few of his most famous roles (edited and condensed for clarity):

Question: You haven’t had many musical scenes in movies, but in “Inside” you sing along with a fridge that plays “Macarena.” Did you remember the lyrics from back in the day?

Willem Dafoe: It's very brief. I think I probably faked my way through it. (Laughs) I can do the dance but we didn't want that. That's a line too far.

Famous painters have different artistic periods. Do you feel similarly with your acting – for example, were early 1980s films like “The Loveless” and “Streets of Fire” your biker period?

I remember my life by movies because it tells me different stages. I have an association and I kind of remember, "OK, 'Streets of Fire.' What was I listening to? What was I interested in? How did I look? What were my aspirations? What didn't I like?" There are periods that aren't necessarily driven by me, but I am an expression of the period.

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“Inside” could have been called “Finding Nemo” but you already had a famous movie with that title. Twenty years after playing Gill the fish, where does he rank in the Dafoe canon?

That's in the fur and feather section. (Laughs) We shot this movie and I didn't even know that his name was Nemo because no one ever calls him Nemo. It's only in the credits.

This year also marks the 35th anniversary of “The Last Temptation of Christ.” What do you recall about that moment in your life playing Jesus?

It's a beautiful movie. I loved working with Martin Scorsese. When the movie opened, I was kind of heartbroken because, contrary to some people's belief, the protests really did hurt the distribution of the movie. And it really was sort of arbitrary. I felt like that was a moment that the religious right needed something to rally around and they targeted “Last Temptation.” I was quite shocked because in many ways it's rare for a movie to deal so directly with faith. It raises questions; the story is told unconventionally, but there was something sincere about it. And for that movie to be attacked was kind of disappointing.

Having played a bloodsucking Max Schreck onscreen in 2000’s “Shadow of the Vampire,” is it interesting revisiting “Nosferatu” now?

“Shadow of the Vampire” was a very particular kind of movie. I really loved playing that character, but it was an odd comedy and this is something different, apples and oranges. And I play one of the guys who is basically a vampire hunter.

Your “Inside” character answers this question, so I’ll ask you: What three things do you save from your house in a fire?

Let the house burn down. We'll start over tomorrow.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Inside': Willem Dafoe's one-man show adds to an iconic movie life