Watch Young Willem Dafoe Sing in a Rare 1985 Clip That’s Going Viral Again
Watch Young Willem Dafoe Sing in a Rare 1985 Clip That’s Going Viral Again
Emy LaCroixTue, February 24, 2026 at 12:44 AM UTC
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It seems there's always an image or video of Willem Dafoe going viral, and today is no different. This time it isn't the 70-year-old's frequently-memed photo looking up at the sky as Vincent Van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate; it's a throwback clip of a much younger version of him singing and dancing in an old theater production.
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The clip was resurfaced on hyper-popular meme account @ight on Feb. 23, where they described it as "one of the internet's rarest videos." The clip was originally shared by The Wooster Group, a New York City-based experimental theater company that Dafoe helped found in 1980, on YouTube in 2013.
The archival video shows 29-year-old Dafoe in 1985 singing a song to the tune of "Streets of Cairo" in a production of North Atlantic. "There's a place in France where the women wear no pants and the men walk around with their bananas hanging down," he sings, in part.
Though Dafoe often plays more serious and sinister characters, like the Green Goblin in the Spider-Manmovies, fans were struck by how silly and fun the resurfaced video is. "Love the way he dances," said one commenter, as another described it as "like a muppet."
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"Damn he looked good in his youth," a fan mused, with another adding, "He's so young it's uncanny looking!" People also compared his youthful appearance to other celebrities, including Harry Styles and YouTuber Jerma. Many joked that the song reminded them of Ke$ha's 2010 hit "Take It Off."
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This is far from the first time something of Dafoe's has gone viral, but he's always been a good sport about it. "It's good because it keeps young people connected to the cinema," he toldScreen Rant, however, he "tries not to follow any of this stuff" because it can make him feel "self-conscious."
He's also not ashamed of his dancing skills, no matter what people say. In a 2023 video for WIRED, he said dancing was "his favorite thing to do... but only in certain circumstances."
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
