"When 'Spider-Man' was proposed to me originally it was like, 'Really, you're going to make a movie from a comic book?'" Dafoe told Hugh Jackman on Variety's 'Actor on Actor'.
Dafoe, 62, will next appear in the upcoming "Aquaman", starring "Game of Thrones" star Jason Momoa in the titular role.
"It was like I was slumming it, you know? I didn't see it that way, but some people were like, 'Really?'" he added.
"Ten years ago I remember hearing people say, "I don't think this will last much longer,' and it's just continued to grow. I don't think anyone saw that coming.
"I think 'X-Men' did a lot, particularly when it opened up in a concentration camp and the idea that we were taking it seriously in terms of more humanistic rather than superhuman," Jackman said.
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