Willem Dafoe to star as professional cuddler in Barbara Paz's fiction debut ‘Cuddle'
Hollywood actor
Willem Dafoe
is reuniting with Brazil's
Barbara Paz
in the
near-future drama
, 'Cuddle'. The film marks Paz's fiction feature debut.
Dafoe was an associate producer of the documentary 'Babenco: Tell Me When I Die', which Paz directed as an ode to her late husband, Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker
Hector Babenco
, reports 'Variety'.
The film also represented Brazil at the 93rd Academy Awards. Dafoe's ties to Paz and Babenco began with 'My Hindu Friend', Babenco's semi-autobiographical 2015 swan song, in which Dafoe portrayed a dying filmmaker closely modeled after Babenco himself and Paz played a small but pivotal role.
As per 'Variety', in 'Cuddle', Dafoe plays Dante, a
professional cuddler
who offers platonic comfort to strangers craving connection.
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His clients range from the overwhelmed to the emotionally fragile, people searching for human touch in a world where affection has become rare and transactional. Behind his calm exterior, Dante struggles with a painkiller habit and a lonely existence, softened only by the quiet company of his dog. But when a surprising encounter disrupts his routine, it opens the door to a fragile and unexpected kind of intimacy.
The actor said, "Beyond an exploration of loneliness, the need for human touch and conquering challenges, this story captures the zeitgeist of our times".
He added that he very much looked forward to working with Paz again. To add to the Oscar pedigree of the project, Brazil's
Conspiracao
, behind the recent Best International Feature Oscar winner 'I'm Still Here', joins Infinity Hill, producer of the Academy Award-nominated "Argentina, 1985," as co-producers alongside Paz's company, BP.
'Cuddle' marks the first time that Infinity Hill has collaborated with Conspiracao, but it's their second co-production with Brazil.
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