Yahoo Lifestyle People Can't Believe This TikToker Didn't Recognize Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe may be a Hollywood mainstay, but even he’s not safe from getting pulled into a stranger’s TikTok shoot.
Content creator Feroz Zadran, who posts under the name @hikhann_, approached the “Nosferatu” actor for a man-on-the-street-style interview that went viral this week.
In the video, he pulls Dafoe off the New York City street to compliment his outfit and asks, “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m an actor,” replies the star, who is bundled up against the NYC chill in a brown leather jacket, scarf, knit cap and gloves.
Zadran, on TikTok, then asks Dafoe for his name and what he likes about his job.
“It’s always different. Nothing’s ever the same,” answers the ever-affable “Spider-Man” star, who has over 150 screen credits to his name.
Pressed to share any “advice” for those trying to make it in the entertainment world, the four-time Oscar nominee demurs.
“I don’t give advice,” he says with a smile. “Everybody’s got to find their own way.”
In the comment section, fans found it hard to believe that Zadran didn’t recognize Dafoe and his distinctive look.
“Not knowing Willem Dafoe is a crime,” one viewer wrote.
“I hope this guy makes it. he seems like a humble fella,” another person joked.
While some wondered if the video was pre-planned, Dafoe’s polite but hurried disposition led others to conclude it was a spontaneous encounter.
“I thought its scripted but he looks really uncomfortable lmaooo,” someone posted.
“Bro just let him enjoy his walk,” shared another.
The “Platoon” actor previously talked about the moment he realized he was an especially recognizable celebrity during a December 2023 interview on NBC’s “Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist.”
When he once saw a “rough” looking bunch eyeing him on the subway, he feared something unsavory was about to happen — before things took a turn.
“They were looking kind of mean and they were looking at each other, and then I heard one say, ’Yeah, it’s gotta be him. Nobody looks like that motherfucker,” Dafoe recalled. “That’s when I knew.”
