Appleton native Willem Dafoe received a Golden Globe nomination Monday for best supporting actor for his performance in "The Florida Project." 

The role, as the gruff manager of a Florida motel, has brought Dafoe tons of awards-season recognition already, including, so far, supporting-actor honors from four critics associations and the National Board of Review. 

It's his second Golden Globe nomination; he also was nominated in the same category in 2001, for "Shadow of the Vampire."  

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which sponsors the Golden Globes, announced the nominations in Hollywood Monday. 

RELATED: 'The Shape of Water,' 'Big Little Lies' top Golden Globe nominations

Dafoe is also considered a serious contender for an Academy Award nomination in the same category when those nominations are announced Jan. 23. He was been nominated for Oscars for best supporting actor twice before, for 1986's "Platoon" and "Shadow of the Vampire." 

A graduate of Appleton East High School, Dafoe was an early member of Theatre X, Milwaukee's standout experimental theater company in the 1970s and 1980s. 

RELATED: Willem Dafoe talks Appleton upbringing on 'WTF' podcast

In Monday's announcement, "The Shape of Water" led the movies field with seven Golden Globe nominations, with "The Post" and "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" each collecting six. "Big Little Lies" was the most-nominated television program, with six. 

Movies nominated for best motion picture (drama) include "Dunkirk," "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," and three that haven't opened in Milwaukee theaters yet: "The Shape of Water," due here Friday; "Call Me by Your Name," opening Dec. 22; and "The Post," the Steven Spielberg-directed newspaper drama with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, opening Jan. 12. 

Nominees for best motion picture (comedy or musical) include, per usual, movies that aren't exactly comedies in the mix: "Get Out," "The Disaster Artist," "The Greatest Showman," "I, Tonya" and "Lady Bird." 

The 75th annual Golden Globe Awards air live on NBC Jan. 7. 

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