I Met Actor Willem Dafoe at Shop ‘n Save in Oxford in the 1980s

True story here about the time I met Willem Dafoe at the Oxford, Maine Shop 'n Save in the late 80s, only because I worked there.

Willem Dafoe's Career

Willem Dafoe has been in several blockbuster movies. Just take a look at these movies that you may or may not know Dafoe was in.

• Spider-Man
• Spider-Man: No Way Home
• Finding Nemo 
• The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
• Aquaman 
• Justice League 
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 
• American Psycho 
• Clear and Present Danger 
• The Boondock Saints 
• John Wick

And that's just the short list.

Platoon

I first learned of actor Willem Dafoe when I saw the 1986 Oliver Stone film, Platoon. Dafoe played Sgt. Elias, who appears on the movie poster on his knees and with his hands in the air, is one of the most iconic movie posters of the 80s.

Willem Dafoe at the Oxford Shop 'n Save

The above photo of Harbor Freight at the Oxford Plaza was formerly Shop 'n Save up until a larger store was built across the street. I worked there during high school as a bagger who wheeled groceries out to customers' cars and loaded them in. Yeah. We used to do that back then. Times have changed.

I then moved on to a cashier. No scanners. You had to key every price in on the register. One of those times, Willem Dafoe came into Shop 'n Save to pick up a few items with me at the register.

I recognized him immediately, but I didn't fan boy. I treated him like any other customer. This one just happened to be a movie star. He was quiet, but a very nice guy. After he left, everyone in the store was talking about him.

Turns out he has a home on Thompson Lake in Oxford, Maine, where he spends his summers and comes back in the winter to ice fish. He's not shy of the public either, as he's often seen around the Oxford Hills popping into local stores.

No. I didn't get his autograph. What am I going to have him sign? His receipt?