The star was desperate to work with the Danish director, who was struggling with depression while writing and filming the movie, about a couple coping with the death of their only son.
Dafoe sat in on endless therapy sessions at New York’s Columbia University to get into character – because the 53 year old had never sought professional counselling himself.
He says, “I’ve never had therapy – though God knows lots of people have told me I need it – or had depression, so I had to work very hard.
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And he admits he began to feel very self-conscious after so much inward reflection: “When you get around these people you do start to develop phobic ideas yourself. I could see the triggers.”.
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