Dafoe in new bad-boy role

Spider-Man villain Willem Dafoe has a new bad guy role.

Variety says he will star as the bad guy in a new Fox Searchlight drama The Clearing opposite Robert Redford and British actress Helen Mirren.

Dafoe will portray a disgruntled employee who kidnaps a wealthy executive (Redford) and negotiates a ransom through his wife (Mirren).

Alessandro Nivola, who appeared in Jurassic Park III, is in negotiations to play the couple’s son. Shooting is due to begin later this month in North Carolina.

Dafoe, who played the Green Goblin in Spider-Man opposite Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, next appears as a murder suspect in Sony Pictures Classics’ forthcoming film Auto Focus.