Willem Dafoe, who plays acclaimed artist Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate, says the character came across a more hopeful person, contrary to what has been written about him in the history. The 63-year-old actor portrays the 19th-century Dutch Post-Impressionist painter in the Julian Schnabel's feature and like most of the people, he also considered the artist a "tortured soul".

"He felt like he was painting in a new way. One of the things that changed for me in making this movie was the joyous part of him that we don't see. He's usually depicted as the poster boy for the tortured artists, but I would definitely say he's a hopeful character. History lies!" he told The Guardian in an interview.