Gottfried John ( ; 29 August 1942 - 1 September 2014) was a German actor.

Early life

John was born in Berlin, Germany on 29 August 1942. His father, whom he never met, was married to another woman. In World War II he and his mother were evacuated to East Prussia. He grew up with his single parent mother and in several protectories, John fled from a protectory when he was 15 years old and returned to his mother, who lived in Paris.

In Paris he earned a living as pavement artist and construction worker and returned to Berlin in 1960.

Career

During the 1970s and early 1980s, John was cast by director Rainer Werner Fassbinder in several of his projects, in particular as Reinhold in the Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) mini-series.

He was internationally known for his portrayal of General Ourumov in the James Bond film GoldenEye and Julius Caesar in Asterix and Obelix take on Caesar.

Personal life

John lived with his wife, Brigitte, in Utting am Ammersee from 2008 until his death in 2014.

On 1 September 2014, it was announced that John had died in Utting am Ammersee near Munich, Germany of cancer at the age of 72.

Filmography

• Café Oriental (1962) ... uncredited
• Das Mädchen und der Staatsanwalt (1962) (uncredited) ... Train passenger
• Jaider, der einsame Jäger (1971) ... Jaider
• Carlos (1971) ... Carlos
• Acht Stunden sind kein Tag (1972/73) (TV miniseries) ... Jochen
• Welt am Draht (1973) (TV film) ... Einstein
• Mutter Küsters' Fahrt zum Himmel (1975) ... Niemeyer
• Derrick - Season 3, Episode 11: "Das Superding" (1976) (TV)
• Die Ratten (1977) (TV film) ... Bruno Mechelke
• In a Year of 13 Moons (1978) ... Anton Seitz
• Despair (1978) ... Perebrodov
• The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) ... Willi Klenze
• Wo die Liebe hinfällt (1979) (TV)
• Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) (TV miniseries) ... Reinhold
• Reiseabrechnung (1980) (TV)
• Lili Marleen (1981) ... Aaron
• Ente oder Trente (1983)
• Super (1984) ... Hilpert
• Chinese Boxes (1984) ... Zwemmer
• Bartolome oder Die Rückkehr der weißen Götter (1985) (TV film) ... Bartolomé de las Casas
• Otto - Der Film (1985) ... Sonnemann (Bank robber)
• Der Fall Franza (1986) (TV) ... Capitain
• Of Pure Blood (1986) (TV) ... Paul Bergmann
• Verworrene Bilanzen (1987) (TV) ... Karl M. Kronen
• Death Has a Bad Reputation (1990) (TV) ... Rodimstev
• Night of the Fox (1990) (TV) ... Hofer
• Elfenbein (1991) (TV) ... Nicholas Messier
• Die Verfehlung (1992) ... Jacob Alain
• Colpo di coda (1993) (TV) ... Pierre
• Space Rangers (1993) (TV) ... Colonel Erich Weiss
• Abraham (1994) ... Eliezer
• Polizeiruf 110 (1994) (TV) ... Hannes Hellwig
• GoldenEye (1995) ... General Arkady Ourumov
• Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life (1995) ... Herr Benjamenta
• The Ogre (1996) ... Chief Forrester
• Millennium (1997) (TV) ... Josef Heim
• Bin ich schön? (de) (1998) ... Herbert
• Astérix et Obélix contre César (1999) ... Jules César (Julius Caesar)
• Gli amici di Gesù - Maria Maddalena (2000) (TV) ... Erode Antipa
• Proof of Life (2000) .... Eric Kessler
• The Gathering Storm (2002) (TV) ... Friedrich von Schroder
• Imperium: Augustus (2003) (TV) .... Cicero
• Die schöne Braut in Schwarz (2004) (TV) ... Aldo Caldini
• The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes (2005) ... Dr. Emmanuel Drosz
• Störtebeker (fr) (2006) (TV film)... Konrad von Wallenrod
• Das zweite Leben (2007) (TV) ... Robert Kreutzer
• Das Papstattentat (2008) (TV) ... Paolo Naldini
• Rumpelstilzchen (2009) (TV) ... König
• John Rabe (2009) ... Trautmann

Awards and nominations

• 1982: Großer Hersfeld-Preis for his role as Jago in Othello
• 1999: Bavarian Film Awards, Best Actor
• 2000: Bavarian Film Awards for Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (Bester Nebendarsteller)
• 2004: Euregio Filmball - Best Euregio-Actor
• 2006: DIVA-Award - European Award (Hall of Fame)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]