The Boondock Saints
In 1999, Dafoe gave a supporting performance in David Cronenberg's "Existenz", a science fiction thriller in which he played a gas station owner named Gas. Later in the year, Dafoe starred in the action film "The Boondock Saints". He played an eccentric, gay FBI agent assigned with investigating a series of murders committed by the MacManus brothers (played by Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus), twins who are acting as vigilantes in Boston, Massachusetts after an act of self-defense. "The Boondock Saints" was negatively received by film critics, largely for its extreme violence and lack of emotional depth, though some critics praised Dafoe's role in the film. The film performed poorly at the box office, but has since been branded as being a cult film.