The Hilarious Spider-Man 2 Prank Willem Dafoe Pulled On Alfred Molina
Due to "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which featured the return of Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's portrayals of Peter Parker, the Sam Raimi "Spider-Man" trilogy has been getting a lot of attention. Not to mention, it was recently the official 20th Anniversary of the 2002 "Spider-Man" movie, to which Raimi and much of the team behind that movie reflected on the process of making it happen in a recent Variety interview. Of course, Raimi is also doing press junkets for the upcoming "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" film, which he directed. Needless to say, fans are likely spending time reflecting on the "Spider-Man" trilogy that essentially set the stage for the superhero era that's dominating Hollywood.
Of course, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" didn't only feature Maguire alone, but many of the villains from the Sam Raimi universe — including Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin, Alfred Molina's Doctor Octopus, and Thomas Haden Church's Sandman. Dafoe's Green Goblin ultimately became the central antagonist to Tom Holland's Peter Parker, although Maguire's Peter was able to stop Holland's from killing the Goblin out of grief and rage at the end of the movie.
Both Dafoe and Molina have voiced not only their excitement in coming back to be part of the story in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" but to work with each other again (via The New York Times). The two actors certainly have a history, and Dafoe even pulled a good prank on Molina back during the filming for "Spider-Man 2."
Willem Dafoe came to set playing Doctor Octopus as motivation for Alfred Molina
In a behind-the-scenes clip that has since gained popularity over the years, now having over 3 million views on YouTube, director Sam Raimi assisted Willem Dafoe in playing an innocent prank on the unsuspecting Alfred Molina during "Spider-Man 2." Before the clip plays, it is explained that Raimi brought a special guest to the set of the film to help "motivate" Molina in his performance as Doctor Otto Octavius during the scene where he introduces the fusion energy source to Peter (Tobey Maguire), Harry Osborn (James Franco), and a number of others. In the video, Raimi and Molina are walking together as Molina seemingly asks if the director wants better acting, only for them to turn the corner with Raimi calling action to Dafoe, who is completely outfitted in Doc Ock's tentacles.
Molina laughs as Dafoe starts to perform the scene as Otto Octavius, ultimately finishing to applause from the entire set. Without missing a beat, Raimi says, "that's how we want it done," to which everyone again breaks out laughter. It is likely nice for fans to see Raimi, Molina, and Dafoe having a close enough relationship behind-the-scenes to pull pranks on one another.
Nearly all of the "Spider-Man" movies, whether they feature Maguire, Garfield, Holland, or all three, are known to have large blooper reels that are pretty hilarious. Although it's uncertain exactly where Spider-Man will show up next, not to mention which Spider-Man it will be — fans have a lot to smile about and look back upon with clips like these.