Willem Dafoe on The Man in My Basement: TIFF Premiere, Bold Choices, and New Voices – INTERVIEW

Willem Dafoe breaks down The Man in My Basement.

Willem Dafoe has built a career on bold choices, and his latest performance in The Man in My Basement continues that streak. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the psychological thriller brings together veteran talent with a first-time feature director, Nadia Latif, in a haunting story about debt, race, and the roots of evil.

The Story at the Heart of the Film

Adapted from Walter Mosley’s novel, the film follows Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins), a man in Sag Harbor, New York, on the verge of losing his family home. When Anniston Bennet (Dafoe), a mysterious businessman, offers to rent his basement for the summer, Charles reluctantly agrees. What begins as a lifeline quickly transforms into a terrifying puzzle that forces both men to confront generational trauma and the darker corners of human nature. The ensemble cast also includes Anna Diop, Jonathan Ajayi, Gershwyn Eustache Jnr, Pamela Nomvete, and Tamara Lawrance.

Why Dafoe Took the Role

For Dafoe, the decision to join the project started with the script and Latif’s vision. “When I read Man in the Basement, I liked the script. I didn’t know the novel that it was based on, but I did know Walter Mosley’s work, so that got my interest,” he explained. He said what ultimately sealed the deal was Latif herself, noting that “she has an uncommon intelligence…she’s very articulate, she’s fun to be around, she’s very cultured. I knew I wanted to make a movie with her.” Dafoe admitted it can be risky working with a first-time feature director, but Latif’s passion convinced him. “This film is based on a book she read 20 years ago and has pretty much thought about in all those 20 years about making it as a movie. So it felt like things were coming together in a way that felt very positive.”

Becoming Anniston Bennet

Bringing Anniston Bennet to life required more than just memorizing lines. Dafoe described how he dove into background research to make his unsettling character believable. “I had to do quite a bit of research to really understand who this guy could have been because when he speaks about his past, I had to have some sense of plausibility. It couldn’t be just a speech—I had to believe in it,” he said, adding that finding that inner conviction helped shape the tone of his performance without oversharing spoilers.

The Importance of Festivals

At TIFF, Dafoe reflected on the importance of festivals for films like this. “Film festivals are very important to introduce new filmmakers, to also give a leg up to sometimes smaller films that may be more difficult,” he said. He believes festivals help “shine a critical light or audience popularity on a film that might have a tough time if it went cold into the marketplace,” and noted that they also serve as a marketplace for distribution. Above all, he stressed, “festivals help keep cinema alive, particularly in a time when the theater experience is really threatened.”

Premiere and Release

Following the world premiere at TIFF Lightbox, the cast and guests celebrated at Mister C. at the BISHA Hotel, raising glasses to a story that blends the intimate with the unsettling. The film is set to release in select theaters on September 12, 2025, and on Hulu and Disney+ this Fall.

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