One Small Detail Shows How Dafoe’s Norman & Green Goblin Are Different

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home

One small detail in the Spider-Man movies shows how Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn and Green Goblin are different. Audiences around the world received another chance to see Dafoe play his Marvel villain thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home. He originally played Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, which made him an iconic big-screen Spidey villain. Despite his death in the first film, the response to Dafoe’s portrayal of the character led to him still playing small roles in both sequels. This enduring popularity is in no small part owed to many subtle differences between his portrayal of the two characters, often in the same scene.

There are many reasons why audiences continue to respond so positively to Dafoe’s Green Goblin. Not only is he incredibly powerful and a worthwhile foe for Peter Parker, Dafoe fully committed to the complexity of the role. This included doing his own stunts when possible and crafting two different performance styles. The latter was done to help differentiate how Norman Osborn was different from his Green Goblin persona. Everything from Dafoe’s laugh, smile, voice, and body language change depending on if he is Norman Osborn or Green Goblin – but there is one further small detail that physically sets them apart.

The subtle difference between Dafoe’s Norman Osborn and Green Goblin is his teeth. Whenever Dafoe plays Norman Osborn as his regular self, the actor wears fake teeth. These dental prosthetics give Norman perfectly straight and white teeth, which fits with his successful businessman look and lifestyle. However, Dafoe always takes out the fake teeth when it is time to play Green Goblin. This allows the villainous side of the character to use Dafoe’s natural and less perfect teeth, which subtly helps make Goblin’s smile a bit creepier.

Dafoe started wearing the fake teeth as Norman Osborn during 2002’s Spider-Man. The difference can really be seen in the movie during the famous scene where Norman talks to his Goblin persona in the mirror. It is a great showcase for how Dafoe plays the two sides of the villain differently, and going back and forth between them with close-up shots gives viewers a chance to see the switch multiple times. Spider-Man: No Way Home continued this tradition by giving Dafoe the fake teeth for the beginning of his screentime before removing them once the Goblin identity takes over.

This difference between Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn and Green Goblin might not be noticed by all, but it is a cool detail that shows the thought and care that goes into these films. Spider-Man: No Way Home made it easier to see the difference too since the movie destroyed Green Goblin’s mask. The MCU easily could’ve missed this detail for his return, but the combination of Sony, Marvel Studios, and Dafoe’s knowledge likely led to keeping this part of the iconic Spider-Man villain.