Willem Dafoe’s Houses: From the Rubber House to an Italian Alpaca Farm
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Willem Dafoe’s houses are as diverse as his acting portfolio. Known for his roles in Platoon, Spider-Man, The Lighthouse, and Poor Things, the prolific actor is a theatrical chameleon who thrives within every genre. And since his career took off in the 1980s, Dafoe has made over 150 films. He’s worked with legendary directors Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, and Yorgos Lanthimos (to name a few). As a result, the highly accredited actor has been nominated for four Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, four Critic’s Choice Awards, and one BAFTA. Dafoe spent much of his career living in Manhattan but recently opted for a slower-paced life in Italy. Read on as we share a glimpse into the past and present properties of the legendary actor.
The Rubber House
Not a lot is known about where the actor lived up until the late ’80s when he bought property in upstate New York. It was in 1988 that Defoe, like many New Yorkers looking for an escape from the city, sought refuge in the Hudson Valley. His first purchase was an industrialist property known as the Rubber House in Accord, New York. Built in 1981 by Tom Pritchard for famed choreographer Eugene Loring, the home was a true architectural marvel. It was built among five massive boulder formations with an exterior completely covered in a dark gray neoprene, hence the name. The neoprene provided superior interior sound quality for musicians. With such a sleek exterior, it only makes sense for the interiors of the Rubber House to be just as minimal and refined. The postmodern design featured wall-to-wall glass windows and a freestanding geometric fireplace, plus Loring’s original dance studio that came complete with mirrored walls and a ballet barre. Dafoe eventually sold the home in 2008 due to the fact that it wasn’t really what he had dreamt about in a country home. “I was looking for a house upstate, something rustic, like an old farmhouse,” Dafoe told Interview magazine that year. “This was the first place my real estate agent took me to see, and I was annoyed because the Rubber House was clearly not what I had said I was looking for. But as I continued to search, I kept returning to have another look. Visit by visit, I was seduced, and I finally bought it.” What caught the actors eye was the way the home worked with nature instead of against it. “The inside looks out, and the outside looks in,” he said in the same interview. “My best memory of the place is lying in bed, watching a storm roll in from over the horizon.” For those looking to experience the Rubber House for themselves, the iconic property is currently available on Airbnb for $877 per night.
Lower East Side co-op
In 2005, the actor and his son, Jack, purchased a co-op on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, located in an Art Deco, prewar building. It featured two-bedrooms, original hardwood floors, high ceilings, and an abundance of closet space (for a New York City apartment, that is). The pair owned the property until 2016, when it sold for well over asking price at $860,000.
Perry Street apartment
At the same time Dafoe was purchasing the co-op for his son, he was snagging a place across town for himself. In 2005, the Nosferatu actor bought a two-bedroom co-op in the West Village of Manhattan for $1.6 million. That same year, Dafoe married Italian actress and director Giada Colagrande. The couple’s historic apartment came complete with exposed brick walls, a wood-burning fireplace, built-in bookshelves, and an eat-in kitchen. Dafoe lived there until 2014, when it sold for $2.9 million.
Jane Street apartment
68 Jane Street
After shedding the two smaller co-ops, Dafoe opted for something a little more grand—a two-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse apartment. The actor purchased the property in 2014 for just shy of $4 million. Located in a seven-story converted-factory building, Dafoe’s new digs boasted 12-foot ceilings, arched windows, and a wood-burning fireplace. While Defoe never opened his doors for a tour, it’s easy to see how much character existed throughout the lofted building based on photos of other units. As of October 2023, the actor still owns the property.
Hudson Valley retreat
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After parting ways with the Rubber House in 2008, the Kinds of Kindness actor purchased the home he had originally set out for—a quaint 1920s farmhouse. The property was located 90 miles north of Manhattan in Ulster County, which at the time was known for pulling celebrities like Daniel Craig, Uma Thurman, and the Olsen twins. The private, 1,800-square-foot home sat on one acre of land, until Dafoe purchased the adjacent 4.7 acres, transforming the modest property into a bucolic estate. In addition to the two-story main cottage, the property is also home to lush apple trees, a barn, and a cozy writer’s cabin. The interiors of the century-old home had everything one could want in an upstate hideaway: three bedrooms, two bathrooms, wide plank floors, a fireplace, a claw-foot tub, and a cozy eat-in kitchen with a wooden banquette. Dafoe listed the home in 2023 for $1.3 million.
Life in Italy
After nearly 150 movies and four decades in New York, Dafoe sought a slower-paced life and found it. “I lived in New York for over 40 years, I married an Italian, she didn’t want to give up living in Rome, and I had no objections,” the actor said in a 2019 interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan. It isn’t totally clear when Dafoe made the move, but he met Colagrande in Italy in 2004, they were married within the year, and sometime after that the couple bought an alpaca farm outside Rome, complete with turkeys, chickens, sheep, goats, and, of course, 14 alpacas. Dafoe’s Poor Things costar, Mark Ruffalo, visited the farm in 2023 and shared a photo that garnered over 1.5 million likes.
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