And they basically started out brothers - wealthy family with a deep sense of noblesse oblige, that they wanted to help make the world a better place.īut then there's a real split because my brother, all of a sudden, as I say in the story, I say, he gets tired of losing to lesser minds. And there's almost a Shakespearean backstory to how they both arrived to where they are when we see them in the movie. And then you learn he really holds the secrets, that he knows intimately about corruption in the city because Moses Randolph is his brother. When you first see him, he - you think maybe he's a homeless guy, unstable, with an ax to grind, paranoid. Tell us how you saw this character.ĭAFOE: One of the beauties of this character is he's not as he appears. This town is run by the borough authority, and the borough authority is Moses Randolph.ĭAVE DAVIES, BYLINE: And that is our guest, Willem Dafoe, in "Motherless Brooklyn." Well Willem Dafoe, welcome to FRESH AIR.ĭAVIES: I notice that your character begins by asking for cheesecake served warm.ĭAVIES: We first meet him when he's kind of shouting out stuff at Moses Randolph in a meeting. NORTON: (As Lionel Essrog, unintelligible).ĭAFOE: (As Paul) Yeah, you should.ĭAFOE: (As Paul) Emerson said that an institution is the lengthened shadow of one man. You call yourself a reporter - on what? The arts beat? It's all BA.ĭAFOE: (As Paul) Borough authority. For God's sakes, he controls every construction job in the city.ĮDWARD NORTON: (As Lionel Essrog) He said they just created the position.ĭAFOE: (As Paul) No.
Half of the city is getting a ride on one of his horses. Excuse me? Could I get a slice of cheesecake? Could you make it warm? I'd like it warm. (SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN") Dafoe's character, Paul, speaks first to the waiter at the diner. In this scene, Dafoe is in a diner talking with Norton's character, who's posing as a reporter to get people to reveal information. Dafoe's character is one of the people opposing the redevelopment plan because he and just about everyone else in his neighborhood will be forced out of their homes by the new construction. The person behind the redevelopment plans is a ruthless power broker named Moses Randolph, clearly based on the real-life figure of Robert Moses. He's investigating this corruption because the people behind it seem connected to the murder of the head of the detective agency where he works. Norton plays a private eye who has Tourette's syndrome.
Dafoe currently stars with Robert Pattinson in the new film "The Lighthouse." He also appears in "Motherless Brooklyn," which was adapted from a Jonathan Lethem novel by the film's star, Edward Norton.ĭafoe spoke with FRESH AIR's Dave Davies, and they began with a clip from "Motherless Brooklyn." It's a film noir set in the '50s involving corruption in New York City land redevelopment.
Among his films are "Platoon," "To Live And Die In L.A.," "The Last Temptation Of Christ," "Grand Budapest Hotel," "The Florida Project" and "At Eternity's Gate," in which he portrayed Vincent Van Gogh. Dafoe has appeared in more than a hundred films over the past four decades, earning four Oscar nominations for best supporting actor. Our guest, actor Willem Dafoe, is known for his intense performances, often as villains.
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