What, exactly, is a “character actor?” Thankfully, the film gods blessed us with Willem Dafoe to answer that question. The legendary performer, who turned 70 this July, embodies the term. In a career spanning forty-five years and over 150 film credits, he is perennially gravitating towards bold, eccentric roles—often in supporting capacity. He might not be the star of any given show, but he usually ends up stealing it.

“The nightmare for an actor is to never have your feet held to the fire,” the four-time Academy Award nominated actor tells Esquire. “You got to turn up the heat otherwise nothing happens.”

It’s a sentiment familiar to fans of Islay Scotch. The whisky style—born of a boggy, windswept Hebridean isle—is characterized by smoky liquids likened to bonfires, seared seaweed, and

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