The Man in My Basement: Willem Dafoe Cast in Thriller

Willem Dafoe joins the cast of thriller

Willem Dafoe joins the cast of the adapted thriller The Man in My Basement.

Few in the business have a resume as impressive as that of Willem Dafoe. But even without it, he’s hard to miss, with his eccentric good looks and aura of self-confidence, both in person and on the screen. He emerged remarkably unscathed (and perhaps, thankfully, uncredited) from the epic misfire known as Heaven’s Gate in his first film role. From that point, his career is literally a study in acting versatility. Here are just a few examples on either ends of the spectrum:

Some Good Guys

Sgt. Elias Gordon in Platoon, evidently one of the few soldiers who retained their sanity during the Vietnam conflict. Jesus of Nazareth as Everyman in The Last Temptation of Christ. Über-correct Agent Alan Ward in Mississippi Burning. Holocaust survivor and pugilist Salamo Arouch in Triumph of the Spirit.

Some Bad Guys

Sociopath Bobby Peru in Wild at Heart. Sly gas station owner Gas in Existenz. Max Schreck as Count Orlok (and vice-versa) in Shadow of the Vampire. The Green Goblin in the Spider-Man franchise. Human trafficker Clem Hoatley in Nightmare Alley.

And Those In Between

While the above performances are particularly memorable, the mainstay of his career lies in portrayals of complex, multifaceted characters. Among these are: Starstruck John Henry Carpenter in Auto Focus; the hermit Axel Heyst in Victory; the grieving husband “He” in Antichrist; reclaimed blood-sucker Lionel “Elvis” Cormac in Daybreakers; the title role of the notorious Italian director in Pasolini.

And Dafoe, despite his success, is no snob. Often as not, he is motivated by opportunities to work with professionals he admires on both sides of the camera. This leads us to wonder what piqued Dafoe’s interest in working with the director, Nadia Latif.

Ms. Latif studied directing at RADA and later became associate director of the Young Vic Theatre. Later she expanded into film and television, with the added distinction as a Fellow at the Sundance Institute. She directed the first episode of the UK television science fiction series Foresight, “They Heard Him Shout Allahu Akbar.” Currently she has a number of projects in development, including The Man in My Basement, adapted by Walter Mosley from his novel.

Mr. Mosley has written across many genres of fiction (with a number of prestigious awards to his credit), but is best known for his crime novels featuring a black detective, Easy Rawlins. Much of his work has in fact focused on the evolving challenges of African-Americans, and The Man in My Basement promises to be a special one.

According to the synopsis, the plot centers on Charles Blakely, played by Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country, The Last Black Man in San Francisco). Charles is a member of the Sag Harbor landed gentry and about to lose his home, when Anniston Bennet, a European businessman (Dafoe), rents his basement for the summer. The intriguing plot, the mysterious and ‘peculiar’ Mr. Bennet, and the refined vulnerability of an upper crust black gent, no doubt appeals to both actors, especially Dafoe — apparently never one to miss a chance to break new ground. The Man in My Basement has yet to start filming, but there is every reason to anticipate a triumph with the talents on board.

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