Willem Dafoe Didn't Want Green Goblin Return To Be A Power Cameo, He Insisted On Doing Action Scenes

Willem Dafoe who has returned to play the Spider-Man: No Way Home villain Green Goblin reportedly didn't want want to return only for a cameo. The 66-year-old actor revealed in an interview that he insisted on doing action scenes when first approached with the role.

Dafoe said, he believes having that visceral nature is key in people being able to buy the character. When discussing a potential return in Spider-Man: No Way Home with director Jon Watts and producer Amy Pascal, he said, "Listen I don't want to just pop in there as a cameo or just fill in in close-ups. I want to do the action because that's fun for me."

"To do this physical stuff was important to me," Dafoe added revealing that he was pitched the film even before the script was written.

Dafoe said, "It's really impossible to add any integrity or any fun to the character if you don't participate in these things because all that action stuff informs your relationship to the characters and the story... It makes you earn your right to play the character."

Earlier, Tom Holland had opened up about acting alongside all Dafoe, Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx. He told ComicBookMovie, "Walking on set, playing this character, we're here with Spider-Man: No Way Home, and I'm established and I know what I'm doing."

"All of a sudden, I'm thrown this curveball of fighting villains from the Raimi Universe. It was crazy. I mean, I had so many 'pinch me' moments where I'd be standing there looking at Alfred doing scenes with him and I really had to kind of take myself out of it and kind of focus as an actor rather than a fan because I was freaking out inside," Tom added.

Spider-Man: No Way Home was released on December 16, 2021.