JP
Jürgen Prochnow
Actor
Born June 10, 1941 (81 years)
Jürgen Prochnow is a German actor. His most well-known roles internationally have been as the sympathetic submarine captain in Das Boot (1981), Duke Leto Atreides I in Dune (1984), the minor, but important role of Kazakh dictator General Ivan Radek in Air Force One and the antagonist Maxwell Dent in Beverly Hills Cop II.
Prochnow was born in Berlin and brought up in Düsseldorf, the son of an engineer. He has an elder brother, Dieter. He studied acting at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen. Thanks to his on-screen intensity and his fluency in English, he has become one of the most successful German actors in Hollywood. He portrayed Arnold Schwarzenegger in a film about the actor's political career in California, entitled See Arnold Run; coincidentally, Prochnow was one of the actors considered for the title role in The Terminator. He also appears as the main antagonist in the Broken Lizard film Beerfest, which contains a submarine scene that references his role in Das Boot. He also played a supporting character in the Wing Commander film, Cmdr. Paul Gerald. In addition, he dubbed Sylvester Stallone's voice in the German version of Rocky and Rocky II.
He was facially scarred following a stunt accident during the filming of Dune. One scene called for Prochnow (as Duke Leto) 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 (Kenneth McMillan) 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.
In 1996, he was a member of the jury at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.
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 and Munich. He was involved with Birgit Stein, a German screenwriter and actress. He received American citizenship in 2003.
Filmography
| 2020 | A Handful of Water · as Konrad |
| 2020 | Der Alte und die Nervensäge · as Wilhelm Schürmann |
| 2019 | A Hidden Life · as Major Schlegel |
| 2017 | Kundschafter des Friedens · as Kern |
| 2017 | The Final Journey · as Eduard |
| 2017 | Dengler - Die schützende Hand · as Dr. Schweikert |
| 2017 | Damascus Cover · as Franz Ludin |
| 2017 | Lore (TV Series) · as Andreas Gruber |
| 2016 | Half Brothers · as Herr Dryser |
| 2015 | Hitman: Agent 47 · as Tobias |
| 2015 | Remember · as Rudy Kurlander #4 |
| 2015 | Elstree 1976 · as Judge Griffin |
| 2015 | The Dark Side of the Moon · as Pius Ott |
| 2015 | Dengler (TV Series) · as Dr. Schweikert |
| 2014 | Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces · as Woodsman |
| 2013 | Company of Heroes · as Luca Gruenewald |
| 2013 | Ohne Gnade! · as Helmutchen |
| 2013 | Die Kinder meiner Tochter · as Ernst Blessing |
| 2011 | Luck (TV Series) · as Racetrack Owner |
| 2010 | Spear of Destiny · as Baron Von Haan |
| 2010 | Sinners and Saints · as Mr. Rhykin |
| 2010 | Amigo · as Fredo Kovacs |
| 2009 | NCIS: Los Angeles (TV Series) · as Mattias Draeger |
| 2008 | Merlin and the War of the Dragons · as The Mage |
| 2008 | The Conspiracy · as Espinosa |
| 2007 | Nanking · as John Rabe |
| 2007 | Primeval · as Jacob Krieg |
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Code · as André Vernet |
| 2006 | Schroeder's Wonderful World · as John Gregory |
| 2006 | Beerfest · as Baron Wolfgang von Wolfhausen |
| 2006 | The Celestine Prophecy · as Jensen |
| 2006 | Chain Reaction · as Police Man |
| 2005 | See Arnold Run · as Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| 2005 | Julie, chevalier de Maupin · as Le baron Hengen |
| 2005 | Rilke Projekt: Zwischen Tag Und Traum (Live 2005) · as Jürgen Prochnow |
| 2004 | Julie, chevalier de Maupin (TV Series) · as Le baron de Hengen |
| 2003 | Baltic Storm · as Erik Westermark |
| 2003 | The Poet · as Vashon |
| 2003 | Nightshift (TV Series) · as Friedrich Otto Winterstein |
| 2003 | Los Angeles Plays Itself · as Michael Kogan in The Replacement Killers |
| 2003 | House of the Dead · as Kirk |
| 2002 | Heart of America · as Harold Lewis |
| 2002 | Davon stirbt man nicht · as Everett Burns |
| 2001 | Ripper · as Detective Kelso |
| 2001 | Dark Asylum · as Dr. Fallon |
| 2001 | The Elite · as Avi |
| 2001 | Last Run · as Andrus Bukarin |
| 2001 | 24 (TV Series) · as Sergei Bazhaev |
| 2000 | The Last Stop · as Fritz |
| 2000 | Gunblast Vodka · as Sacha Roublev |
| 2000 | Poison · as Carl Krieger |
| 2000 | Padre Pio: Miracle Man (TV Series) · as Visitatore |
| 2000 | Padre Pio · as Visitatore |
| 1999 | Esther · as Haman |
| 1999 | Wing Commander · as Cdr. Paul Gerald |
| 1999 | The Fall · as József Kovács |
| 1999 | Der blonde Affe · as Jan Vleuten |
| 1998 | The Replacement Killers · as Michael Kogan |
| 1998 | Human Bomb · as Gerhardt Dach |
| 1998 | From China with Love · as Paul Konen |
| 1997 | Air Force One · as General Ivan Radek |
| 1997 | The Directors (TV Series) · as Unknown |
| 1996 | The English Patient · as Major Muller |
| 1996 | On Dangerous Ground · as Carl Morgan |
| 1996 | Alisea and the Dream Prince · as Kurdok |
| 1996 | DNA · as Dr. Carl Wessinger |
| 1996 | The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century (TV Series) · as Kaiser Wilhelm II (voice) |
| 1996 | Alisea and the Dream Prince (TV Series) · as Kurdok |
| 1995 | Judge Dredd · as Judge Griffin |
| 1995 | Fesseln · as Günther |
| 1995 | Tödliche Wahl (TV Series) · as Alex Bronner |
| 1994 | In the Mouth of Madness · as Sutter Cane |
| 1994 | Red Eagle · as Marteau |
| 1994 | Guns of Honor · as Jack Neumann |
| 1994 | Trigger Fast · as Jack Neumann |
| 1993 | The Last Border · as Duke |
| 1993 | Der Fall Lucona · as Jorunalist Strasser |
| 1992 | Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me · as Woodsman |
| 1992 | Body of Evidence · as Dr. Alan Paley |
| 1992 | Interceptor · as Phillips |
| 1992 | Hurricane Smith · as Charlie Dowd |
| 1992 | Danielle Steel's Jewels (TV Series) · as Joachim von Mannheim |
| 1991 | Robin Hood · as Sir Miles Folcanet |
| 1990 | Kill Cruise · as The Skipper |
| 1990 | The Man Inside · as Günter Wallraff |
| 1990 | The Fourth War · as Col. Valachev |
| 1989 | A Dry White Season · as Captain Stolz |
| 1988 | The Seventh Sign · as David Bannon |
| 1987 | Beverly Hills Cop II · as Maxwell Dent |
| 1987 | Terminus · as Sir / Doctor / Yellow Truck's Driver |
| 1986 | Killing Cars · as Ralph Korda |
| 1985 | Der Bulle & das Mädchen · as Der Bulle |
| 1985 | Murder: By Reason of Insanity · as Adam Berwid |
| 1985 | Das Boot (TV Series) · as Der Alte |
| 1984 | Dune · as Duke Leto Atreides |
| 1984 | Forbidden · as Fritz Friedländer |
| 1983 | Love Is Forever · as General Siegfried Kaplan |
| 1983 | The Keep · as Captain Klaus Woermann |
| 1981 | The Boat · as Capt.-Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock - Der Alte |
| 1981 | A Case for Two (TV Series) · as KHK Max Gerber |
| 1981 | Das Boot - The Making of · as Unknown |
| 1977 | The Consequence · as Martin Kurath |
| 1975 | The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum · as Ludwig Götten |
| 1974 | The Brutalization of Franz Blum · as Franz Blum |
| 1973 | Tenderness of the Wolves · as Hehler |
| 1972 | The Merchant of Four Seasons · as Man at the Meeting Table |
| 1972 | |
| 1970 | Tatort (TV Series) · as Kesting |