Upon starring in an upcoming 2024 horror movie, Willem Dafoe will officially join an exclusive group of actors that might have also included Anya Taylor-Joy if it wasn’t for unfortunate scheduling conflicts. In the last few years, Willem Dafoe’s best performances have included Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse and Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Most recently, Dafoe has graced the big screen as the quirky scientist, Dr. Godwin Baxter, in Poor Things. Yet, Dafoe has had a long career, so it’s no surprise that he recently earned a very elite label.

Throughout his career, Dafoe has proven his wide range of talent. Dafoe has played villains and strange supporting characters, but he has also played major figures such as Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ and Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity’s Gate. Due to his ability to play characters large and small with equal commitment, Dafoe has become a frequent collaborator with various directors, like Wes Anderson, Abel Ferrera, and Paul Schrader. Now, Dafoe has become a true favorite of one specific director.

Nosferatu Ties Willem Dafoe With Ralph Ineson For Robert Eggers’ Most Frequent Collaborator

Dafoe & Ineson Starred In 3 Eggers Movies

After appearing as Prof. Albin Eberhart Von Franz in 2024’s Nosferatu, Willem Dafoe is now one of Robert Eggers’ most frequent collaborators. Of the four movies Eggers has directed, Dafoe has been in three of them. In 2019, Dafoe starred as lighthouse keeper Thomas Wake in The Lighthouse, alongside Robert Pattinson. A few years later, in 2022, Dafoe played Heimir the Fool in The Northman. Now, in 2024, Dafoe will feature in another Eggers movie as part of the cast of Nosferatu.

There is only one other actor that has also appeared in three Robert Eggers movies, and that is Ralph Ineson. Ineson first appeared in Eggers’ debut feature film, The Witch, as William. In 2022, he took on the role of Captain Volodymyr in The Northman. Finally, like Willem Dafoe, he is making his third collaboration with Eggers in 2024’s Nosferatu as Dr. Wilhelm Sievers. Throughout Robert Eggers’ many star-studded casts, Willem Dafoe and Ralph Ineson have proved themselves to be the most pivotal collaborators.

Anya Taylor-Joy Dropping Out Of Nosferatu Lost Her Chance To Tie Willem Dafoe

Anya Taylor-Joy’s Schedule Kept Her From This Title

Notably, one other actor might have joined Dafoe and Ineson as Robert Eggers’ top collaborator if not for scheduling conflicts. Originally, Anya Taylor-Joy was supposed to star in Nosferatu but due to her busy schedule, she was forced to drop out. If Taylor-Joy had remained in the Nosferatu cast, it would have been her third collaboration with Eggers, alongside The Witch and The Northman. Now, the actress will have to wait until Eggers’ next movie to join Willem Dafoe in this exclusive club of actors.