Willem Dafoe’s artistic creativity flowed during the shooting of his new film, Insidewhen he was trapped alone and stuck in a small place for a very long time.
The actor is pretty much the only character to appear on screen in the film about a heist gone wrong. It hits theaters on Friday March 17th. Inside stars Dafoe as an art thief who must survive and escape from a luxurious penthouse apartment.
Vasilis Katsoupis conceived the story and directed the film. He and Dafoe spoke along news week about her favorite unscripted moments that made it into the final cut.
British filmmaker Ben Hopkins wrote the screenplay for this one-set film, but as Dafoe and Katsoupis explained, there was still plenty of room for improvisation.
“At the end of the day, the movie you see is 40 percent unscripted,” said Katsoupis, who made his directorial debut on the feature film news week. “We tried different things. We filmed things that came our way every day. It gives us the freedom to explore new things that come up in the script.”
Filming lasted approximately six weeks from April 2021 at a location in Cologne, Germany.
Katsoupis credits Dafoe with moments that were frequently used in the film’s promotion, including a rare scene where Dafoe’s character Nemo interacts with a co-star.
“My favorite addition, and it gives me goosebumps every time I see it, is the scene where Willem talks to the pigeon. What he says isn’t scripted, he’s just improvising,” he said.
Other moments highlighted by Katsoupi’s include a stand-up comedy joke about chicken and Dafoe’s interactions with the real-life artworks scattered throughout the fictional apartment.
“There were many and it was a pure pleasure to work with them [Vasilis] to this stuff,” Dafoe said news week, looking back at the unwritten moments. “There was a piece written in neon letters. One day we were sitting waiting for things to be set up and I started playing the game of making sentences by rearranging the letters.
“That was an amazing game because I got all these really cryptic, cool, philosophical sentences out of that one long sentence.” Ultimately, Dafoe explained that they were trying to film his play and although the scene didn’t make it into the final cut, the sound of him in the scene was woven into the final sound mix. He added, “Even though you might not recognize it or know exactly what’s happening, it’s a texture that has real roots coming from somewhere.”
Other actors are seen and heard from time to time, but the vast majority Inside shows Dafoe alone for an indefinite period of time.
While he has previously starred in a one-man play, Dafoe has never been on a project quite like this in his five-decade career.
“I had no awareness of wearing it because it was so cooperative,” Dafoe said. “Because I was the only actor, I had a really deep collaboration with all the departments, you know, the props I was doing, the stunt stuff, the makeup, all the things I’m involved with. I’m performing alone, I didn’t feel alone at all because I had this huge crew supporting me.”
An entertainment industry veteran, 67-year-old Dafoe isn’t afraid to push his body for a project. Despite being alone, Dafoe’s Nemo is active throughout as he attempts to escape from his gilded cage.
“It’s medium to high on the physicality chart,” Dafoe said, comparing it to previous films of his. “I like doing it, it’s my favorite job. When you involve the body and have tasks to do, your mind is so focused that certain parts of you fall away and you become more available to things that are happening.”
There are clues in the film that suggest how much time has passed, but it’s never explicitly stated. To give audiences an idea of how long it’s been, Dafoe also had to use his body behind the scenes.
“We shot in chronological order. So after the film started I let my hair grow and my beard grow. I let my nails grow. Yes, I’ve washed, but I’m getting a little more ragged by the day,” Dafoe explained.
Thirst and hunger become a factor for Nemo, but Dafoe stopped starving himself for the role.
“I didn’t really go into a program to lose a lot of weight or anything like that. But just because of the physical nature of it on set, you know, basically 12 hours a day, every day in the dark, time becomes I don’t really have a life off it Inside.
“We’re shooting in Cologne, Germany, I don’t know anyone there. I live like a monk. This is getting my life really thirsty, yes this is acting. But the basic stress is built up by the situation. And I accept it because I want to embody that character. And I want to indulge in that scenario,” Dafoe said.
Inside will be released exclusively in cinemas on Friday, March 17, 2023.
