Willem Dafoe shoots down question about American politics: 'You gotta be kidding me'

Key Points

• Willem Dafoe avoided a question about the state of American politics at the Sarajevo Film Festival.

• "If you know anything about me — and you do — that's not a real question," he reportedly said.

• The actor told Larry King in a 2017 interview that he thinks there are "better people to talk about the political situation" than actors.

Actor Willem Dafoe recently shot down a question about the current state of American politics, according to a report out of this year's Sarajevo Film Festival.

During a discussion at the festival about his career, the actor fielded an inquiry about political matters in the United States as the conversation turned toward his role in Sean Baker's 2017 film, The Florida Project, Variety reported.

The outlet noted that Dafoe was reminded of an interview he previously did with the late Larry King in 2017, in which he said he doesn't always "know where to join in" and that there are "better people to talk about the political situation" than actors, but he added that he still felt the country wasn't "going in the right direction" at the time.

"You gotta be kidding me with this question, right?" he reportedly replied when asked for an update on his views about the country's political trajectory.

"If you know anything about me — and you do — that's not a real question," he said, with the outlet reporting that he then moved on to the next subject.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to Dafoe's representatives for additional comment.

In his interview with King, Dafoe said that it's "tough" to discuss politics as an entertainer, and more directly responded to his views on politics under Donald Trump's first administration.

"I don't know where to join in," he said at the time. "I'm an actor and I always have a problem — I feel like I express things. I don't want to be a coward. I express myself best through my work. There's better people to talk about the political situation."

He later added, "Personally, our leader should be a moral leader, and I don't think we're going in the right direction. We're a powerful country, and we have a responsibility in the rest of the world."

Dafoe has been heralded by Hollywood across his multidecade career, earning four Oscar nominations for his performances in Platoon, Shadow of the Vampire, At Eternity's Gate, and the aforementioned Florida Project.

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The 70-year-old star will next be seen in The Birthday Party, adapted from Panos Karnezis' novel of the same name.

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