The Brief

Whether he's portraying the supervillain Green Goblin in Marvel's Spiderman or embodying Magic Castle manager Bobby Hicks in the indie-drama The Florida Project, actor Willem Dafoe knows how to transform and disappear into character.

In his latest film, Poor Things, a science fantasy directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, Dafoe disappears into the role of Godwin Baxter, an eccentric scientist.

Dafoe, who just received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joined Larry Mantle on LAist's daily news program AirTalk to discuss his new film, what drew him to the part, and how he continues to seek roles that challenge him.

The complete world of 'Poor Things'

Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo on the set of "Poor Things."

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Atsushi Nishijima

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Courtesy Searchlight Pictures

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When director Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone called Dafoe asking him to play Dr. Godwin Baxter in Poor Things, his answer was simply: Yes.

"I know both of their work, so the idea that they pitched and the fact that they'd be involved was enough to make me sign on," Dafoe said.

They wanted him to play mad scientist Godwin Baxter, who reanimates a woman named Bella, played by Stone, following her suicide. Based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, the story takes place in Victorian era London and the plot is a very loose take on Frankenstein.

Dafoe remembered how few rehearsals the cast did before submerging themselves in the world that he said Lanthimos so immaculately crafted.

"When I arrived on the set, we did some rehearsal, but that was principally not to understand the psychologically or stage the scenes, but to create a company, which Yorgos is very good at," Dafoe said. "So, it was a period of us just getting to know each other. And then when we entered that world, we were ready to swing with it."

(From L-R): Ramy Youssef, Emma Stone, Vicki Pepperdine and Willem Dafoe in "Poor Things."

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Atsushi Nishijima

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Courtesy Searchlight Pictures

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A 'sense of wonder' is key

"Poor Things" is another example of the range of films Dafoe is drawn to, having appeared in both big budget flicks and small indie ones over his four decades as an actor. He said at this point in his career, he's able to to choose his projects and in these choices, he's always looking for variety. He said it keeps him from "getting stuck."

"Everyone's different, but for me, that's the only way I can tap into a certain sense of wonder. So I have to mix it up," he said. "But having said that, nothing is totally in my control. Things comes to me and I go to things. It's a mix of what is available."

Dafoe added that staying fluid and open with his choices has allowed him to defy being typecast or falling into a fixed identity as an actor.

Becoming Dr. Godwin Baxter

Dafoe knows the power and influence of a director and prefers to work with those who have a strong vision, like Yorgos Lanthimos, who is known for his command of visuals and unsettling our sense of normalcy.

(From L-R:) Margaret Qualley, Willem Dafoe and Ramy Youssef in "Poor Things."

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Yorgos Lanthimos

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Courtesy Searchlight Pictures

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"I like this notion that [directors] see something, and maybe it's not my vision, but I go towards it. In the going towards it, it frees me from myself and allows me to take on a different way of thinking and different ambitions."

By exposing himself to all kinds of creative vision, Dafoe said he is able to avoid the habits and go-to methods that so many other actors may resort to.

"It's beautiful to find these situations where you can exercise different kinds of thinking. That's one of the beauties of being an actor, is you can imagine another world; another way of being. I think that makes you more alive and more useful to other people as well."

Playing Dr. Godwin Baxter, a disfigured scientist, required hours of make-up prep each day.

"The beautiful thing is you see yourself slowly recede and you see something else come forward," he said. "That becomes a beautiful opportunity to quite literally be transformed."

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: (L-R) Mark Ruffalo, Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe attend the UK Gala Screening of Searchlight Pictures' 'Poor Things' at the Barbican Centre in London, on December 14, 2023.

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Eamonn M. McCormack

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Courtesy Getty Images Europe

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Dafoe recalled his character's house, which was filled with books. In between takes, he said he would go over to the bookshelf and select a book at random. Inside would be actual surgical diagrams, many of them historically accurate to the time period of the story.

The sets were all physically built in exceptionally large sound stages in Hungary. They stretched from wall to wall and ceiling to floor, recreating the narrow streets of Lisbon, Portugal and decadent mansion of Dafoe's character. Acting in the physical space allowed Dafoe to learn from the world around him.

"There's such detail that you just wander around and it tells you what to do because it defines the world. Just like life," he said.

Willem Dafoe in "Poor Things."

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Yorgos Lanthimos

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Courtesy Searchlight Pictures

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Poor Things is in movie theaters now.

Listen to the full Willem Dafoe interview

Nithya Raman turned the tide in the L.A. mayoral race by winning over large swathes of the city that voted for Karen Bass in 2022, according to an LAist analysis of election data.

Bass was a favorite in many areas that voted for Rick Caruso when she faced him in 2022. She held onto a majority of voters across South L.A., but lost much of her previous support. She outperformed Raman in areas where Spencer Pratt, the third-place primary finisher, saw strong turnout in June.

The switchup came after Bass — a veteran in progressive politics — took a relatively-conservative approach on issues like policing and high-density housing developments compared to Raman, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority told its employees Friday to stop work, shut down their computers and stay off agency systems while it looked into “a potential security issue affecting our systems,” its chief executive confirmed to LAist.

That shutdown order was still in place Monday evening, according to a LAHSA official not authorized to speak on the record.

Gita O'Neill, the agency’s interim CEO, told LAist on Friday evening that the agency did not “yet have enough information to say definitively whether any sensitive or confidential personal information was accessed.”

She has not answered questions about whether or not services for unhoused people are disrupted.

Gita O’Neill, interim CEO of LAHSA, speaks ahead of the annual homeless count on Jan. 20, 2026.

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Jordan Rynning

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LAist

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LAHSA holds highly sensitive information collected from people experiencing homelessness in the region. The agency oversees the Homeless Management Information System, or HMIS, which includes unhoused people’s names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and disabilities, as well as self-reported mental health and substance abuse history, income sources and domestic violence history.

In a statement Monday, LAHSA said it had taken its internal computer systems offline “as a precaution” and “engaged outside cybersecurity specialists to investigate the nature and scope of the incident.” The statement, sent on O'Neill's behalf by outside public relations strategist Trevor Daley, continued to call it “a potential cybersecurity incident.”

The agency is “taking steps to maintain essential operations,” the statement added, saying LAHSA “remains open” while the investigation continues. It said the agency is working with its technical and legal teams.

What staff were told

Friday’s email to "Team LAHSA" carried the subject line "URGENT: Log Off and Shut Down for the Week." LAist obtained a copy, and O'Neill confirmed by text message that she had sent it.

“As a precaution while we look into a potential security issue affecting our systems, we're asking all staff to stop work and take their machines offline for the remainder of today and through the weekend,” the email said.

It told employees to “Log off and shut down your LAHSA computer” and not to log back in or connect to LAHSA systems, including email, “until you receive an all-clear from us.”

The email also told staff to report anything “unusual” before shutting down, such as “files renaming on their own, unexpected pop-ups or messages.”

What LAHSA leadership has said

In a texted response to LAist on Friday evening, O'Neill said she asked staff to take their computers offline “out of an abundance of caution” while the agency’s IT team assessed the situation.

“Our IT team is actively reviewing the situation now and working to understand exactly what occurred and whether any information was affected,” she wrote. “Protecting people’s personal and confidential information is a top priority in that review.”

Leaders of three LAHSA-funded service providers told LAist on Monday afternoon that they had not received any communications from LAHSA about the potential cybersecurity issue. All three use the HMIS system that holds unhoused people’s personal details.

Previous attacks against another LA housing agency

Another L.A. housing agency was previously hit by cyberattacks. The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles — a separate agency known as HACLA — has said hackers got inside its network in 2022 and may have accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, financial accounts numbers and medical information.

Two years later, HACLA was breached again, according to an official notice, with hackers potentially accessing names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and phone numbers.

LAist reporter Aaron Schrank contributed reporting to this story.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath announced Monday that she is running to be the county’s first elected chief executive. Horvath is the only candidate so far to enter the race, which is set for 2028.

The new executive post will take the place of the county’s appointed CEO and implement key priorities of the county Board of Supervisors. The executive will oversee the county budget, which is currently roughly $50 billion, and labor relations with more than 100,000 employees.

Horvath was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2022 and was re-elected in June to another four-year term. She represents the county’s 3rd District, which covers the San Fernando Valley and parts of the Westside and Central Los Angeles. She is a former mayor of West Hollywood.

The supervisor made her announcement Monday via social media and her campaign website. She called the race a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”

The backstory

Voters created the position in 2024 when they approved Measure G, which was proposed by Supervisors Horvath and Janice Hahn.

Among other changes, the measure allowed the Board of Supervisors to expand from five to nine members by 2030 and established an independent Ethics Commission, which held its first meeting last month.

The pushback

On Monday, Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement saying she believed it was “premature” to campaign for the new county executive position when it remained unclear whether “the office itself is constitutional.”

Barger pointed to questions raised by former federal judge Stephen Larson about whether California’s Constitution allows an elected county executive to veto board decisions, control county contracts and take on powers state law currently gives the Board of Supervisors.

“Moving forward with an office that would fundamentally change how Los Angeles County is governed, without first resolving these questions, is putting the cart before the horse,” Barger said in her statement. “We need clarity.”

The primary election is scheduled for March 7, 2028.