Willem Dafoe has built a career seeking out challenging roles and working with boundary-pushing directors. His collaboration with David Lynch on 'Wild at Heart' proved surprisingly smooth, with Lynch's abstract directorial approach fostering a positive creative environment. By contrast, Dafoe's work with Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier on films like 'Antichrist' and 'Nymphomaniac' presented considerable difficulties, yet Dafoe credits von Trier with a deep understanding of cinema that made the demanding experience artistically fulfilling despite its gruelling nature.

Von Trier's films remain deeply controversial for their explicit sexual and violent content, a reality reflected in starkly different accounts from those who have worked with him. Whilst Dafoe found the experience ultimately rewarding, other collaborators such as Björk, who appeared in von Trier's 'Dancer in the Dark', reported a markedly negative experience and later accused the director of sexual harassment—allegations he denied whilst acknowledging poor relations with the singer.