Jürgen Prochnow
Encyclopedia
Jürgen Prochnow (ˈjʏɐɡən ˈpʁɔxnoː; born 10 June 1941) is a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. His most well-known roles internationally have been as the sympathetic submarine captain in Das Boot
Das Boot
Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...

(1981), Duke Leto Atreides I
Leto Atreides I
Duke Leto Atreides I is a fictional character in the Dune universe created by Frank Herbert. He features in the novel Dune by Frank Herbert and in the Prelude to Dune prequel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson....

 in Dune
Dune (film)
Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...

(1984), the minor, but important role of Neo-Stalinist dictator General Ivan Radek in Air Force One
Air Force One (film)
Air Force One is a 1997 American action-thriller film written by Andrew W. Marlowe and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It stars Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close, and also features Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell and Paul Guilfoyle...

and the villain Maxwell Dent in Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop II
Beverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Tony Scott. It is the first sequel in the Beverly Hills Cop series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills, California to track down a joint robbery/gun-running ring...

.

Biography

Prochnow was born in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 and brought up in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

, the son of an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...

. He has an elder brother, Dieter. He studied acting at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...

. Thanks to his on-screen intensity and his fluency in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

, he has become one of the most successful German actors in Hollywood. He portrayed Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....

 in a film about the actor's political career in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, entitled See Arnold Run
See Arnold Run
See Arnold Run is a 2005 biographical movie starring Jürgen Prochnow and Roland Kickinger, both playing Arnold Schwarzenegger at different ages. The movie covers Arnold's early years in bodybuilding to his successful run for governor of California....

; coincidentally, Prochnow was one of the actors considered for the title role in The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...

. He also appears as the main antagonist in the Broken Lizard
Broken Lizard
Broken Lizard is an American comedy troupe, consisting of five friends, best known for its films, including Super Troopers and Beerfest. Its five members are Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske. They collaborate on the screen-writing, acting and...

 film Beerfest
Beerfest
Beerfest is a 2006 beer-themed comedy film by the comedy group Broken Lizard. Along with the regular members of Broken Lizard, other actors who appear in the movie include Will Forte, M. C. Gainey, Cloris Leachman, Kendra C...

, which contains a submarine scene that references his role in Das Boot. He also played a supporting character in the Wing Commander
Wing Commander (film)
Wing Commander is a science fiction film based on the same titled video game series, released in 1999. It was directed by Chris Roberts, the creator of the game series, and stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Matthew Lillard, Saffron Burrows, Tchéky Karyo, Jürgen Prochnow, David Suchet and David Warner...

 film, Cdr. Paul Gerald. In addition, he dubbed Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...

's voice in the German version of Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...

and Rocky II
Rocky II
Rocky II is a 1979 American film that is the sequel to Rocky, a motion picture in which an unknown boxer had been given a chance to go the distance with the World Heavyweight Champion. Sylvester Stallone, Carl Weathers, Tony Burton, Burgess Meredith, Burt Young and Talia Shire reprised their...

.

He was facially scarred following a stunt accident during the filming of Dune. One scene called for Prochnow to be strapped to a black stretcher and drugged. During one take, a high-powered bulb positioned above Prochnow exploded due to heat, raining down molten glass. Remarkably, the actor was able to free himself from the stretcher, moments before glass fused itself to the place he had been strapped. During the filming of the dream sequence, he had a special apparatus attached to his face so that green smoke (simulating poison gas) would emerge from his cheek when the Baron scratched it. Although thoroughly tested, the smoke gave Prochnow first and second-degree burns on his cheek. This sequence appears on film in the released version.

Personal life

Prochnow was married in the 1970s, and had a daughter Johanna, who died in 1987. He married Isabel Goslar in 1982, with whom he has two children: a daughter Mona, and son Roman. They divorced in 1997. He currently divides his time between Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

. He is currently involved with Birgit Stein, a German screenwriter and actress. He received American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 citizenship in 2003.

Filmography

  • One or the Other of Us
    One or the Other of Us
    One or the Other of Us is a 1974 West German film directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It was Petersen's first theatrical feature film, and was based on the novel of the same name by Horst Bosetzky, published anonymously under his pseudonym -ky. The film is a psychological thriller and focuses on the...

    (1974)
  • Die Verrohung des Franz Blum (The Brutalisation of Franz Blum) (1974)
  • The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
    The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (film)
    The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is a 1975 film adaptation by Volker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta of the novel of the same name by Heinrich Böll...

    (1975)
  • Die Konsequenz
    Die Konsequenz
    Die Konsequenz is a West German film from 1977. It is an adaptation of the 1975 autobiographical novel with the same name by Swiss author Alexander Ziegler and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The film has a pederastic theme...

    (1977) The Consequence
  • Das Boot
    Das Boot
    Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...

    (1981) The Boat
  • The Keep
    The Keep (film)
    The Keep is a 1983 horror film directed by Michael Mann and starring Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne, Jürgen Prochnow, Alberta Watson and Ian McKellen. It was released by Paramount Pictures. The story is based on the F...

    (1983)
  • Passion and Valor aka Love is Forever (1983)
  • Dune
    Dune (film)
    Dune is a 1984 science fiction film written and directed by David Lynch, based on the 1965 Frank Herbert novel of the same name. The film stars Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides, and includes an ensemble of well-known American and European actors in supporting roles. It was filmed at the Churubusco...

    (1984)
  • The Cop and the Girl (1984)
  • Forbidden
    Forbidden (1984 film)
    Forbidden is a 1984 drama film directed by Anthony Page and starring Jacqueline Bisset, Jürgen Prochnow and Irene Worth. The plot is loosely based on a true story originally told in the non-fiction book The Last Jews In Berlin by Leonard Gross about a countess who hides her Jewish boyfriend in her...

     (1984)
  • Killing Cars (1986)
  • Beverly Hills Cop II
    Beverly Hills Cop II
    Beverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 action-comedy film starring Eddie Murphy and directed by Tony Scott. It is the first sequel in the Beverly Hills Cop series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills, California to track down a joint robbery/gun-running ring...

    (1987)
  • Devil's Paradise (1987)
  • Terminus
    Terminus (1987 film)
    Terminus is a futuristic action film directed by Pierre-William Glenn.In a sort of "Mad Max" futuristic adventure, an international sport has been established where a driver of a computerized truck must drive across country to an established terminus and not be stopped by other vehicles...

    (1987)
  • The Seventh Sign
    The Seventh Sign
    The Seventh Sign is a 1988 apocalyptic drama film written by Clifford and Ellen Green and directed by Carl Schultz.-Plot:Signs of the apocalypse are appearing, along with a mysterious wanderer. Father Lucci is the Vatican official investigating them...

    (1988)
  • Kill Cruise
    Kill Cruise
    Kill Cruise is a 1990 film directed by Peter Keglevic and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Patsy Kensit and Elizabeth Hurley.-Plot summary:...

    (1990)
  • The Fourth War (1990)
  • A Dry White Season
    A Dry White Season
    A Dry White Season is a film released in 1989 by Davros Films and Sundance Productions and distributed by MGM. It was directed by Euzhan Palcy and produced by Paula Weinstein, Mary Selway and Tim Hampton. The screenplay was by Colin Welland and Euzhan Palcy, based upon André Brink's novel of the...

    (1990)
  • Robin Hood (1991)
  • Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
  • Jewels (1992)
  • Hurricane Smith (1992)
  • Interceptor (1992)
  • Body of Evidence (1993)
  • In the Mouth of Madness
    In the Mouth of Madness
    In the Mouth of Madness is a 1995 American horror film directed by John Carpenter and written by Michael De Luca, who was at the time of the film's release in charge of New Line Cinema...

    (1995)
  • Judge Dredd
    Judge Dredd (film)
    Judge Dredd is a 1995 American science fiction action film directed by Danny Cannon, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Armand Assante, and Max von Sydow. The film is based on the strip of the same name in the British comic 2000 AD...

    (1995)
  • On Dangerous Ground (1995 TV Movie) 1995
  • The English Patient
    The English Patient (film)
    The English Patient is a 1996 romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name by Sri Lankan-Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. The film, written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella, won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture...

    (1996)

  • The Human Bomb (1996)
  • DNA
    DNA (film)
    DNA is a 1997 American science fiction action film starring Mark Dacascos and Jürgen Prochnow, and directed by William Mesa. Filming took place in the Philippines...

    (1997)
  • Der Schrei Der Liebe (1997) The Cry of Love
  • Air Force One
    Air Force One (film)
    Air Force One is a 1997 American action-thriller film written by Andrew W. Marlowe and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It stars Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, and Glenn Close, and also features Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell and Paul Guilfoyle...

    (1997)
  • The Replacement Killers
    The Replacement Killers
    The Replacement Killers is a 1998 American action film, directed by Antoine Fuqua in his directorial debut. It stars Chow Yun-fat and Mira Sorvino...

    (1998)
  • Esther (1998)
  • The Fall (1998)
  • Wing Commander
    Wing Commander (film)
    Wing Commander is a science fiction film based on the same titled video game series, released in 1999. It was directed by Chris Roberts, the creator of the game series, and stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Matthew Lillard, Saffron Burrows, Tchéky Karyo, Jürgen Prochnow, David Suchet and David Warner...

    (1999)
  • Elite (2000)
  • Ripper
    Ripper (film)
    Ripper is a 2001 Canadian-British horror film, directed by John Eyres. The film stars A. J. Cook and Bruce Payne. It was written and produced by John A. Curtis and Evan Tylor and by production companies Prophecy Entertainment and Studio Eight Productions.- Plot :Molly Keller Ripper (also known as...

    (2001)
  • Dark Asylum (2001)
  • House of the Dead
    House of the Dead (film)
    House of the Dead is a 2003 action-horror film adaptation of the successful 1996 light gun arcade game of the same name produced by Sega. The film was directed by Uwe Boll. The film was universally panned by critics.-Plot:...

    (2002)
  • Baltic Storm
    Baltic Storm
    Baltic Storm is a 2003 film written and directed by Reuben Leder about the MS Estonia disaster. Based on the book Die Estonia: Tragödie eines Schiffsuntergangs by German journalist Jutta Rabe, the film focuses on the confirmed transport of defense materials by the Swedish Armed Forces, and alleged...

    (2003)
  • See Arnold Run
    See Arnold Run
    See Arnold Run is a 2005 biographical movie starring Jürgen Prochnow and Roland Kickinger, both playing Arnold Schwarzenegger at different ages. The movie covers Arnold's early years in bodybuilding to his successful run for governor of California....

    (2005) (TV
    Television
    Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

    )
  • The Da Vinci Code
    The Da Vinci Code (film)
    The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...

    (2006)
  • Beerfest
    Beerfest
    Beerfest is a 2006 beer-themed comedy film by the comedy group Broken Lizard. Along with the regular members of Broken Lizard, other actors who appear in the movie include Will Forte, M. C. Gainey, Cloris Leachman, Kendra C...

    (2006)
  • The Celestine Prophecy
    The Celestine Prophecy (film)
    The Celestine Prophecy is a 2006 American film directed by Armand Mastroianni and starring Matthew Settle, Thomas Kretschmann, and Sarah Wayne Callies...

    (2006)
  • Primeval (2007)
  • Nanking
    Nanking (film)
    Nanking is a 2007 film about the 1937 Nanking Massacre committed by the Japanese army in the former capital city Nanjing, China. The film draws on letters and diaries from the era as well as archive footage and interviews with surviving victims and perpetrators of the massacre...

    (2007)
  • Dark Sector
    Dark Sector
    Dark Sector is a third-person shooter video game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows developed by Digital Extremes. The game was released on March 25, 2008, in North America, March 27, 2008, in Japan and April 4, 2008, in Europe....

    (2008) (Video Game)
  • Merlin and the War of the Dragons
    Merlin and the War of the Dragons
    Merlin and the War of the Dragons is a 2008 fantasy film produced by The Asylum, based loosely on the legends of King Arthur. It was filmed entirely on location in Wales.- Plot :...

    (2008)
  • Sinners & Saints
    Sinners & Saints (film)
    Sinners and Saints is a 2010 action-thriller film directed by and co-written by William Kaufman. It stars Johnny Strong, Kevin Phillips, Costas Mandylor, Sean Patrick Flanery, Bas Rutten, Method Man, Kim Coates and Tom Berenger. The film is set in the dark underbelly of New Orleans...

    (2009)
  • 24
    24 (TV series)
    24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...

     (2010)
  • NCIS: Los Angeles (2010)


External links

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