The girls, gays and theys are losing it over this pic of a very young Willem Dafoe

Before Willem Dafoe was the charmingly grizzled character actor we know him as today, he was a gorgeous twink with a mane that would have made Heath Ledger goblin green with envy. How do I know this? The Internet Gods, of course, who have seen fit this day to remind us of Willem Dafoe’s short but memorable twink era.

A still from a 1975 performance Dafoe did during his tenure at the Milwaukee theater company Theatre X shows Dafoe looking almost unrecognizably hot. Naturally, people are deeply excited about this development.

Culture, unfiltered

Twice a week, our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.

Related:

Spalding Gray was Super Queer, and His Journals Prove It.

When we want so badly to be seen, we’ll make a mirror out of anyone.

“My man looks like he’s the lead singer in a c-tier zeppelin cover band,” one commenter wrote, “what a babe.”

Quel babe, indeed. As a young actor, Dafoe not only looked amazing, but found himself in a strange living arrangement with the bisexual writer Spalding Gray and their girlfriend and collaborator, Wooster Group founder Elizabeth LeCompte. After Gray and LeCompte broke up in the late 70s, Dafoe and LeCompte started dating—and New York real estate being what it was, Gray didn’t move out of Alphabet City loft he shared with his ex. It was a strange arrangement, but hey, it worked! So did anything…you know…happen between the two men? Only in my wildest fantasies!

Dafoe’s career soon brought him out of the New York theater world and into Hollywood, but for a brief, magical time, this sexy long-haired man could be seen wandering around Alphabet City looking like a veritable Greek God. And good news—if you’d like to see Spalding Gray and a young Willem Dafoe talking about beating meat, look no further than this rare clip from the Wooster Group production of Gray and LeCompte’s “Point Judith.”

You’re welcome!

Don't forget to share: