Willem Dafoe has been named the new Artistic Director of the Theatre Department for La Biennale di Venezia for the term 2025-2026. The announcement was made by the Board of Directors of La Biennale, chaired by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco.
Announcing the appointment of Willem Dafoe as the Director of Biennale Teatro, Buttafuoco said, “Theatre is in fact the original home of his lustrous career. One of the founders of the legendary Wooster Group in 1977, the perfect control of his body on stage has always stemmed from discipline, knowledge, passion and a profound awareness of theatre. I can’t wait, like everyone else, to be a spectator at the Festival he will build as Artistic Director and – from his lectern as an absolute maestro – to watch the young men and women of the Theatre College grow in their art.”
Dafoe, known primarily as a film actor, expressed his excitement about the appointment. He said, “I was first surprised then happy to receive Pietrangelo Buttafuoco’s invitation to be the Director of the International Theatre Festival of La Biennale di Venezia 2025-2026.”
“I realise that I am known as a film actor, but I was born in the theatre, the theatre trained me and galvanised me. I am a stage animal. I am an actor. Theatre taught me about art and life. I worked with the Wooster Group for twenty-seven years, I have collaborated with great directors from Richard Foreman to Bob Wilson. The direction of my Theatre program will be charted by my personal development. A sort of exploration of the essence of the body,” he added.
Dafoe’s career began at the age of 19 when he joined Theatre X, an experimental theatre group in Milwaukee. He performed in Europe with the Mickery Theatre in Amsterdam and later co-founded The Wooster Group in New York. His work with The Wooster Group spanned over two decades, during which he participated in numerous productions that became central to the underground theatre scene in New York.
As a film actor, Dafoe has received numerous accolades, including four Oscar nominations and four Golden Globe nominations. His recent works include “At Eternity’s Gate,” for which he won the Coppa Volpi at the Venice International Film Festival, and “Poor Things,” which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. This year, Dafoe will be featured in Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the opening film of the 81st Venice Film Festival.
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