Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home

One small detail in the Spider-Man movies shows how Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn and Green Goblin are different. Audiences around the world received another chance to see Dafoe play his Marvel villain thanks to Spider-Man: No Way Home. He originally played Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, which made him an iconic big-screen Spidey villain. Despite his death in the first film, the response to Dafoe’s portrayal of the character led to him still playing small roles in both sequels. This enduring popularity is in no small part owed to many subtle differences between his portrayal of the two characters, often in the same scene.

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There are many reasons why audiences continue to respond so positively to Dafoe’s Green Goblin. Not only is he incredibly powerful and a worthwhile foe for Peter Parker, Dafoe fully committed to the complexity of the role. This included doing his own stunts when possible and crafting two different performance styles. The latter was done to help differentiate how Norman Osborn was different from his Green Goblin persona. Everything from Dafoe’s laugh, smile, voice, and body language change depending on if he is Norman Osborn or Green Goblin – but there is one further small detail that physically sets them apart.

The subtle difference between Dafoe’s Norman Osborn and Green Goblin is his teeth. Whenever Dafoe plays Norman Osborn as his regular self, the actor wears fake teeth. These dental prosthetics give Norman perfectly straight and white teeth, which fits with his successful businessman look and lifestyle. However, Dafoe always takes out the fake teeth when it is time to play Green Goblin. This allows the villainous side of the character to use Dafoe’s natural and less perfect teeth, which subtly helps make Goblin’s smile a bit creepier.

Dafoe started wearing the fake teeth as Norman Osborn during 2002’s Spider-Man. The difference can really be seen in the movie during the famous scene where Norman talks to his Goblin persona in the mirror. It is a great showcase for how Dafoe plays the two sides of the villain differently, and going back and forth between them with close-up shots gives viewers a chance to see the switch multiple times. Spider-Man: No Way Home continued this tradition by giving Dafoe the fake teeth for the beginning of his screentime before removing them once the Goblin identity takes over.

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This difference between Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn and Green Goblin might not be noticed by all, but it is a cool detail that shows the thought and care that goes into these films. Spider-Man: No Way Home made it easier to see the difference too since the movie destroyed Green Goblin’s mask. The MCU easily could’ve missed this detail for his return, but the combination of Sony, Marvel Studios, and Dafoe’s knowledge likely led to keeping this part of the iconic Spider-Man villain.

Key Release Dates
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
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About The Author


Cooper Hood
(5616 Articles Published)

Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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