Willem Dafoe has joined the cast of "Manderlay," the second installment in Lars von Trier's "USA -- Land of Opportunities" trilogy.

Dafoe will play the father of Grace, the central character played by Nicole Kidman in the series' first film, "Dogville," and played by Bryce Dallas Howard in "Manderlay."

Dafoe joins Lauren Bacall, Jean-Marc Barr, Jeremy Davies, Isaach De Bankole, Danny Glover, Udo Kier, John C. Reilly and Chloe Sevigny in the new production, which is set in the American South during the 1930s and explores the repression of blacks.

The film is being produced by Vibeke Windelov for Denmark's Zentropa. Nordisk will release the film in Denmark and Sweden, with Trust Film Sales handling international distribution.

Like "Dogville," "Manderlay" will be shot entirely on a stage. The technique was inspired in part by von Trier's childhood viewings of theater productions broadcast on television and also shows the influence of Bertolt Brecht as well as a move away from the modern-day use of computers in creating film.

Dafoe next stars in Fox Searchlight's "The Clearing" with Robert Redford and Helen Mirren. His upcoming projects include Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic," Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator," Roger Spottiswoode's "White on White" and Tim Hunter's "Control." He also is in final negotiations to star opposite Ice Cube and Samuel L. Jackson in Revolution Studios' "XXX: State of the Union" for Lee Tamahori in the summer.

Dafoe is represented by WMA and Frank Frattaroli at Artists Independent Network.