March 1, 2013 at 12:30 PM ET

Two-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe is going digital for his next role.

The star of films such as "Platoon," "Spider-Man" and "The Last Temptation of Christ" will be joining actress Ellen Page in the forthcoming video game "Beyond: Two Souls."

That's right, "Beyond: Two Souls" now features TWO Oscar-nominated actors.

Page plays the lead character — supernatural-power-wielding Jodie Holmes — in the highly anticipated action thriller from developer Quantic Dream, and Dafoe will play government scientist Nathan Dawkins.

In an announcement released Friday by Quantic Dream, the developers say the relationship between the two will be a crucial part of the game (which launches on the PlayStation 3 October 8th):

Jodie Holmes, a young woman who’s known since birth that she is different from everyone else. She possesses supernatural powers through her psychic link to an invisible entity she calls Aiden, and this gift has changed her life forever. Willem Dafoe’s Nathan Dawkins is a government scientist who works with Jodie to analyze her powers to ultimately form a compelling bond and together deliver some of the most unique and powerful scenes yet seen in gaming.

"There's lots of complexities — love and betrayal — between the two of them," Dafoe explains in a video interview released Friday.

Quantic Dream's previous game — "Heavy Rain" — was a stunning example of just how emotionally compelling video games can be (see InGame editor Todd Kenreck's video review below).

And "Beyond" director David Cage has made it clear that, with this new game, he and his team are trying to blend cinematic-style story telling and character development with gaming in an even more powerful way.

Dafoe certainly seems impressed with the merging of the two mediums in "Beyond." "Because the player participates in the scenario and chooses the character's actions, the possibilities of where the story goes is fantastic," he says.

Check out the video below for a look at some of the motion-capture work Dafoe and Page did to bring their characters to life inside the game.

And for a look at what that motion-capture work looks like in the game itself, check out this new trailer for "Beyond."

Winda Benedetti writes about video games for NBC News. You can follow her tweets about games and other things on Twitter here @WindaBenedetti and you can follow her on Google+. Meanwhile, be sure to check out the IN-GAME FACEBOOK PAGE to discuss the day's gaming news and reviews.