There was not a single person in the theatres that could contain their excitement when Green Goblin surfed into the scene with his iconic laugh in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Willem Dafoe’s return to the Spider-Man universe received unending praise from the fans as it was pulled off with such perfection. Even after all these years since we first saw him in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, the craze for the villain is still alive.
But what was it that made Willem Dafoe return to play the Green Goblin yet again? The answer to that is quite simple, actually. Unlike the rest of his appearances after Spider-Man, Willem Dafoewanted to go bigger with his character. He did not want to do a mere cameo and wanted to do more action. Clearly, his expectations were fulfilled.
Willem Dafoe’s Conditions to Play Green Goblin Again
A still from Spider-Man: No Way Home
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home is one of the best superhero movies to grace the screen and that is just a fact. Of course, the multiple mind-blowing cameos played a huge role in this.
In an interview with The New York Times, Willem Dafoe talked about what went through his head when Amy Pascal and Jon Watts contacted him to reprise his role in the film. While he thought the idea was absolutely crazy, he was willing to give it a chance. However, he knew that in order for him to return, his role has to be bigger than a cameo, and with more action.
“When Amy Pascal and Jon Watts called me up and said we’d like to pitch you this idea, I thought, ‘This is crazy. But let’s see what they have to say.’ I really didn’t want to do a cameo. I wanted to make sure there was something substantial enough to do that wasn’t just a tip of the hat. And the other thing was, I said I really want there to be action — I want to take part in action scenes. Because that’s really fun for me. It’s the only way to root the character. Otherwise, it just becomes a series of memes.”
Willem Dafoe was not the First Choice for the Role
Willem Dafoe in Spider-Man
Now that we have seen Dafoe’s portrayal of Green Goblin/Norman Osborn, we can say with certainty that no other actor could have pulled it off with such perfection. The Inside actor was born to play the character! However, just like with any other movie, the role could have gone to another actor as the Spider-Man team offered the role to other actors before they offered it to Dafoe.
“They offered the Goblin/Norman Osborn part to many people before they arrived at me. I was shooting a film in Spain [The Reckoning], and they sent the casting director to Spain and we shot a little audition in my hotel room. It wasn’t business as usual. But it was something I was very interested in doing, and I had a good feeling for Sam Raimi. Of course, some people, at that point, thought it was very strange to make a film out of a comic. But I saw there could be a great pleasure and a great adventure in it, so I pursued it.”
We are glad Dafoe did not pay heed to “some people” and decided to go with his guts. The actor went on to get nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and two other Teen Choice Awards. His performance was heavily praised by fans and critics alike.
You can stream Spider-Man on Disney+ and Spider-Man: No Way Home is available to rent/buy on Prime Video.
Source: The New York Times
