“For the first few days…” - Finn Wolfhard says he couldn’t shake Willem Dafoe’s role while working with him

One of the stars of the cult-classic Netflix horror TV show, Stranger Things, Finn Wolfhard, discussed his experience working with Willem Dafoe in their brand-new movie, The Legend of Ochi. The 22-year-old Wolfhard had an amazing time working with the Academy Award-nominated actor. However, the only difficulty that Wolfhard faced initially was that he was unable to separate Dafoe from his iconic character of Norman Osborn in the 2002 Spider-Man movie.

In a recent and exclusive interview with People, Finn Wolfhard, in reference to Willem Dafoe's character, Norman Osborn, said:

"For the first few days, it was hard not to see Norman Osborn."

The Lighthouse actor, Dafoe, played the role of Norman Osborn in Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man movie, in which he also portrayed the character of the villain, Green Goblin. After almost two decades, Dafoe reprised his Green Goblin role in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was released in 2021.

Finn Wolfhard's role as Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things catapulted him to mainstream fame. Not to mention, he has worked in a bunch of mainstream as well as independent movies like Ghostbusters: Afterlife, It, The Goldfinch, When You Finish Saving The World, and many more. In 2023, Finn made his directorial debut with the horror comedy flick Hell Of A Summer, which he also wrote.

Finn Wolfhard shares his experience working with the senior actor Willem Dafoe

According to Finn Wolfhard, it was a thrilling experience working with Willem Dafoe, whose acting career spans almost four decades. While reflecting on his time working with the veteran actor, Wolfhard mentioned that Willem's "voice" was one of the things that stood out to him. Finn added:

"Whenever I would hear his voice, I'd be like, 'Oh, my God! He's real.' He's in every movie of all time, and his voice is so iconic, and his acting is so legendary."

The Stranger Things actor informed People that he was lucky enough to get some profoundly wise career advice from Dafoe. Wolfhard said:

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"I had a lot of great conversations with him, and I asked him about what it was like as a theater actor in New York in the '70s and '80s. It was really cool to pick his brain about that stuff. I really got to watch him, and through watching him, I feel like I learned a lot about acting and the craft of acting. ... He's just always been someone who I think just is in it for the art of it."

A24's The Legend of Ochi, directed by Isaiah Saxon, revolves around a young girl, Yuri, who was taught not to go outside after dark, as forest creatures known as Ochi come out at night. Things take a different turn when a young Ochi is left behind. Yuri decides to go on an adventurous journey to reunite it with its pack. The Legend of Ochi was released on April 18, 2025.

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