A 6-year-old girl named Moonee lives with her mother in a community of extended-stay motel guests in Kissimmee, Fla. The film follows Moonee and her friends through a life of mischief and inevitable heartbreak. USA TODAY
For the third time in his nearly 40-year Hollywood career, Appleton native Willem Dafoe has earned an Academy Award nomination.
Dafoe, who attended Appleton East High School and later the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is among the Oscar nominees as revealed Tuesday morning. His nod is in the Best Supporting Actor category for his work in “The Florida Project.”
He’ll be in the mix in a supporting actor field also includes the favorite Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”), Richard Jenkins (“The Shape of Water”), Christopher Plummer (“All the Money in the World”) and Woody Harrelson (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”).
The 90th annual Academy Awards will air at 7 p.m. March 4 on ABC. Jimmy Kimmel will host.
The Oscar nomination is the latest in a run of acknowledgements for Dafoe and his work in “The Florida Project.” He also was up for supporting actor categories at the Golden Globes on Jan. 7 and Screen Actors Guild Awards Sunday. Both awards went to Rockwell.
The 62-year-old Dafoe also earned nominations from the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards (AACTA) and nominations or wins from several regional critics groups.
He previously scored Oscar nods for “Shadow of the Vampire” in 2001 and “Platoon” in 1987. Beyond those, some of Dafoe’s most notable films stretching back to the 1980s include Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” films, “The Last Temptation of Christ,” “Mississippi Burning,” “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Finding Nemo” and “The Boondock Saints.” He also starred in “Murder on the Orient Express” in 2017.
Despite lots of acclaim, "The Florida Project" missed out on a Best Picture nomination. The field for the night's biggest award looks like this: "Call Me By Your Name," "Darkest Hour," "Dunkirk," "Get Out," "Lady Bird," "Phantom Thread," "The Post," "The Shape of Water" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri."
MORE: Appleton native Willem Dafoe likely to pick up Oscar nomination
MORE: Willem Dafoe talks Appleton upbringing on 'WTF' podcast