Willem Dafoe Recalls Being Recognized on N.Y.C. Subway: ‘I Have a Distinctive Face’ (Exclusive)

Willem Dafoe knows he has a recognizable face.

The Poor Things actor, 68, appears on an upcoming episode of NBC News’ Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist. In a clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE, Dafoe reflects on how his fame increased after he starred in the 2000s-era Spider-Man trilogy as villain Norman Osbourne, aka the Green Goblin.

“A movie like that is so widely seen that you can be in Timbuktu and people will recognize you,” Dafoe says. “And I’ve learned that I have a distinctive face — something I didn’t know.”

The actor recalled realizing how easily recognizable he was one day while taking the subway in New York City with his son Jack.

“Some guys got on the train — and they’re sitting and they’re looking at me and they’re looking kind of rough and I think, ‘Oh God, even with my son here, they’re going to roll me for money or something. Something bad is going to happen,’ ” he said.

“They were looking kind of mean and they were looking at each other, and then I heard one say, ‘Yeah, it’s gotta be him. Nobody looks like that m—–f——.’ “

“That’s when I knew [I was recognizable],” he added.

Dafoe has been acting for the screen since he made his debut in 1980’s Heaven’s Gate. He has received four Academy Award nominations in three separate decades, most recently earning Oscar nods two consecutive years for his performances in 2017’s The Florida Project and 2018’s At Eternity’s Gate.

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He portrayed Spider-Man villain Norman Osbourne in each of the three Tobey Maguire-led movies, though his character died in the trilogy’s first film. He memorably reprised the role along with Maguire, 48, in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which brought together a number of villains from Sony’s three separate live-action film series.

“If everything was right, sure. I mean, that’s a great role. I liked the fact that it’s a double role both times,” Dafoe told Inverse earlier this year of whether he would like to play the supervillain again. “Twenty years ago, and fairly recently, both times [were] very different experiences, but I had a good time on both.”

Dafoe has been married to Italian director and actor Giada Colagrande since 2004. He shares son Jack with his former partner Elizabeth LeCompte.

Dafoe’s full interview airs Sunday, Dec. 17, on NBC News’ Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist.