Willem Dafoe Goes Viral After Being Interviewed on the Street By a TikToker Who Didn’t Recognize Him

Willem Dafoe at the Golden Bear award photocall at the 68th Berlin Film Festival in February 2018
Willem Dafoe at the Golden Bear award photocall at the 68th Berlin Film Festival in February 2018. Photo by Michele Tantussi/AGF/REX/Shutterstock (9433527h)

Being a four-time Academy Awards nominee and star of movies like Spider-Man, American Psycho, and Inside Man, you would expect that everybody knows who Willem Dafoe is. But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Dafoe recently went viral after being interviewed on the streets of New York City by a TikTok content creator Khan, who didn’t recognize the famous actor.

Khan approached Dafoe and complimented him on his outfit before asking him what he does for a living.

“I’m an actor,” Dafoe says.

 “Really? What’s your name? Do you mind sharing?” Khan follows up, to which Dafoe responds by just giving his first name.

Dafoe then reveals that the thing he likes the most about his job is that “it’s always different” and “nothing’s ever the same.” However, the At Eternity’s Gate star wasn’t in the mood to give any career advice to aspiring actors.

“I don’t give advice,” Dafoe explains. “No, everybody’s got to find their own … Just, uh, enjoy.”

Dafoe was also coy when asked how he would like to be remembered and where he sees himself in five years.

The video ended up racking 12 million views since being shared earlier in January, with TikTok users sharing their disbelief about Khan failing to recognize Dafoe in the comments section.

“dude just asked the most recognizable man in the world who he was,” one person commented.

“Theres no way people don’t know Willem Dafoe,” another added.