Spider-Man: Every Green Goblin actor ranked from worst to best

1. Willem Dafoe

There’s a reason why Willem Dafoe was asked to return as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home instead of having Tom Holland’s Spidey face a different version of the character. It could be the same reason why Chris Cooper’s Norman Osborn only had about two minutes of screen time in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 before his character passed away.

To put it simply: it would be incredibly hard for any actor to surpass Willem Dafoe’s interpretation of the Green Goblin. Just like Heath Ledger became synonymous with The Joker thanks to his incredible performance, the same can be said for Willem when talking about Spider-Man’s archnemesis.

Whenever the Goblin took over Norman’s mind, audiences were treated to a brilliant portrayal from Willem Dafoe who quickly switched from portraying a scared man to an absolute lunatic capable of doing anything to make Spider-Man suffer. His body language, the tone of his voice, and the expression on his face all changed whenever the Goblin entered the scene and replaced Norman Osborn. Willem played the character as a menace and a madman without ever feeling forced or out of place.

And while his laugh alone was enough to send shivers throughout audiences’ spines, we also got to see a vulnerable side to Norman Osborn as well. Take Spider-Man: No Way Home as an example. After Norman wound up in a different universe from his own, he decided to bury his Green Goblin persona and look for help. When Peter found him in F.E.A.S.T. alongside Aunt May, he was confused and lost. You could even feel a deep sadness when Norman said Oscorp Industries and Harry were nowhere to be found in that universe. Willem completely nailed those little moments of desperation that we got to see in his character.

Of course, it goes without saying that every time the goblin entered the scene, it was a show to behold. Had any other actor played the part instead of Willem Dafoe and Sam Raimi’s Green Goblin wouldn’t have been as iconic as he was. Fortunately, Willem did gift us with a perfect portrayal of Spider-Man’s greatest villain, and it will be incredibly hard (or even impossible) for anyone also to surpass him in that role.