It is almost impossible to imagine a film set where Willem Dafoe wouldn’t be treated like royalty. Known for his intense physical commitment, infectious laugh, and generous spirit, Dafoe is a dream collaborator for world-class directors ranging from Martin Scorsese to Yorgos Lanthimos.
However, back in 1979, Dafoe was just a young, struggling theater actor trying to break into the movie industry. When he landed a small role in a massive, big-budget Western, he thought he had hit the jackpot. Instead, he found himself on the receiving end of one of the most notoriously rigid directors in Hollywood history.
The Set of ‘Heaven’s Gate’ and Director Michael Cimino
The year was 1979. Director Michael Cimino was the hottest filmmaker in Hollywood, fresh off winning Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards for The Deer Hunter (1978). Granted total creative control and a blank check by United Artists, Cimino embarked on making his passion project, the epic Western Heaven’s Gate.
Dafoe auditioned for a small role as a cock-fighter named Willy. To secure the gig, he famously lied during his audition about being fluent in Dutch—a gamble that somehow paid off when Cimino cast him.
Once production began in Montana, Cimino’s perfectionism quickly turned the set into a high-pressure pressure cooker. Scenes were filmed dozens of times, schedules blew past deadlines, and cast members spent grueling hours waiting in period costume for lighting setups that often took entire workdays.
The Joke That Ended It All
Dafoe ended up on the Montana set for nearly three months, absorbing the tense atmosphere. One tedious afternoon, the cast was instructed to stand in full costume and makeup for eight straight hours while technicians tested the lighting for a scene scheduled to shoot the following day.
As the hours dragged on, an extra whispered a dirty joke into Dafoe’s ear. Caught off guard, Dafoe let out an audible, booming laugh.
“I was sitting there, someone told me a joke, and I laughed. Audibly,” Dafoe later recalled during an interview. “Michael Cimino, the director, had his back to this group. He heard the laugh, turned around, and said, ‘Willem, step out.’ And that was it. I went home with my tail between my legs.”
Cimino had zero tolerance for levity or perceived distractions. Dafoe was handed a plane ticket back to New York that very evening, his role cut down to an uncredited background appearance.
Upon its release in 1980, Heaven’s Gate was a cataclysmic critical and financial disaster, ballooning to over $44 million and single-handedly bankrupting its distributor, United Artists. It remains famous as the film that ended Hollywood’s auteur-driven “New Hollywood” era.