Gottfried John

Biography

Gottfried John, born in Berlin in 1942, was a German actor on stage and screen who also did voice work, and he died in 2014. He became a regular in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's projects, appearing in nine of the director's movies released from 1975 to 1981, among them Despair (1978), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven, Eight Hours Don't Make a Day, and the Berlin Alexanderplatz miniseries, where he played Reinhold. His gaunt looks led to frequent villain roles. He was known for the corrupt General Arkady Ourumov in the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995) and for playing Julius Caesar in the 1999 film Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar, which won him a Bavarian Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also received a Großer Hersfeld-Preis in 1982 for his stage Jago in Othello, recorded audiobooks by Nikolai Gogol and Michael Cunningham, and wrote an autobiography and a novel.

72years old at death

Born August 29, 1942Berlin
Died September 1, 2014Utting
Star sign: VirgoThe sign runs August 23 to September 22

Movie Career

Films: 19
Career span: 40 years1973 to 2013

Genres

Drama79%, 15 films
Action16%, 3 films
Adventure16%, 3 films
Biography16%, 3 films
Mystery16%, 3 films

First and latest

Did you know?!

A change of course
Gottfried John supported himself in Paris by working as a construction worker and a pavement artist, then went back to Berlin in 1960.

Gottfried John movies on Netflix

Rubinrot2013IMDb rating 6.0as Dr. White
John Rabe2009IMDb rating 7.2as Dr. Oskar Trautmann
Flood2007IMDb rating 4.8as Arthur Moyes
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes2004IMDb rating 6.2as Dr. Emmanuel Droz
The Gathering Storm2002IMDb rating 7.4as Friedrich von Schroder
Proof of Life2000IMDb rating 6.3as Eric Kessler
Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar1999IMDb rating 6.0as Jules César
Balzac: A Life of Passion1999IMDb rating 6.7as Count Hanska
The Ogre1996IMDb rating 6.8as Chief Forester
GoldenEye1995IMDb rating 7.2as General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life1995IMDb rating 7.0as Herr Benjamenta
Abraham1993IMDb rating 7.1as Eliezer
Mata Hari1985IMDb rating 4.2as Wolff
Lili Marleen1981IMDb rating 7.1as Aaron
The Marriage of Maria Braun1979IMDb rating 7.7as Willi Klenze
Despair1978IMDb rating 6.9as Perebrodov
Fedora1978IMDb rating 6.8as Kritos
In a Year with 13 Moons1978IMDb rating 7.3as Anton Saitz
World on a Wire1973IMDb rating 7.7as Einstein

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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GoldenEye1995 Action, Adventure, Sci-Fias General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov
IMDb rating 7.2289K votes
Proof of Life2000 Action, Drama, Thrilleras Eric Kessler
IMDb rating 6.361K votes
In a Year with 13 Moons1978as Anton Saitz
IMDb rating 7.35.2K votes
The Marriage of Maria Braun1979as Willi Klenze
IMDb rating 7.716K votes
Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar1999as Jules César
IMDb rating 6.049K votes
The Ogre1996as Chief Forester
IMDb rating 6.82.8K votes
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life1995as Herr Benjamenta
IMDb rating 7.02.2K votes
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes2004as Dr. Emmanuel Droz
IMDb rating 6.21.6K votes

Most often with

Rainer Werner Fassbinder directed five of these films, Stephen Quay two and Timothy Quay two. Two actors appear in four of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Lilo Pempeit

Volker Spengler

Klaus Löwitsch

Hark Bohm

Ingrid Caven

Isolde Barth

Rainer Werner FassbinderDirector, 5 films

Stephen QuayDirector, 2 films

Timothy QuayDirector, 2 films

Films together

Lilo Pempeit4 films together, 1978 to 1981
Lilo Pempeit's page
- Lili Marleen1981IMDb rating 7.1John as AaronPempeit as Tamara
- The Marriage of Maria Braun1979IMDb rating 7.7John as Willi KlenzePempeit as Frau Ehmke
- Despair1978IMDb rating 6.9John as PerebrodovPempeit as Secretary Schmidt
- In a Year with 13 Moons1978IMDb rating 7.3John as Anton SaitzPempeit as Schwester Gudrun
Volker Spengler4 films together, 1978 to 1996
Volker Spengler's page
- The Ogre1996IMDb rating 6.8John as Chief ForesterSpengler as Fieldmarshall Hermann Göring
- The Marriage of Maria Braun1979IMDb rating 7.7John as Willi KlenzeSpengler as Train conductor
- Despair1978IMDb rating 6.9John as PerebrodovSpengler as Ardalion
- In a Year with 13 Moons1978IMDb rating 7.3John as Anton SaitzSpengler as Erwin / Elvira Weishaupt
Klaus Löwitsch3 films together, 1973 to 1979
Klaus Löwitsch's page
- The Marriage of Maria Braun1979IMDb rating 7.7John as Willi KlenzeLöwitsch as Hermann Braun
- Despair1978IMDb rating 6.9John as PerebrodovLöwitsch as Felix
- World on a Wire1973IMDb rating 7.7John as EinsteinLöwitsch as Fred Stiller
Hark Bohm3 films together, 1978 to 1981
Hark Bohm's page
- Lili Marleen1981IMDb rating 7.1John as AaronBohm as Taschner
- The Marriage of Maria Braun1979IMDb rating 7.7John as Willi KlenzeBohm as Senkenberg
- Despair1978IMDb rating 6.9John as PerebrodovBohm as Doctor
Ingrid Caven3 films together, 1973 to 1978
Ingrid Caven's page
- Despair1978IMDb rating 6.9John as PerebrodovCaven as Hotel Manager
- In a Year with 13 Moons1978IMDb rating 7.3John as Anton SaitzCaven as Die rote Zora
- World on a Wire1973IMDb rating 7.7John as EinsteinCaven as Uschi, secretary
Isolde Barth3 films together, 1978 to 1979
Isolde Barth's page
- The Marriage of Maria Braun1979IMDb rating 7.7John as Willi KlenzeBarth as Vevi
- Despair1978IMDb rating 6.9John as PerebrodovBarth as 2nd Landlady
- In a Year with 13 Moons1978IMDb rating 7.3John as Anton SaitzBarth as Sybille
Rainer Werner FassbinderDirector, 5 films, 1973 to 1981
All films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Lili Marleen1981IMDb rating 7.1John as Aaron
- The Marriage of Maria Braun1979IMDb rating 7.7John as Willi Klenze
- Despair1978IMDb rating 6.9John as Perebrodov
- In a Year with 13 Moons1978IMDb rating 7.3John as Anton Saitz
- World on a Wire1973IMDb rating 7.7John as Einstein
Stephen QuayDirector, 2 films, 1995 to 2004
All films by Stephen Quay
- The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes2004IMDb rating 6.2John as Dr. Emmanuel Droz
- Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life1995IMDb rating 7.0John as Herr Benjamenta
Timothy QuayDirector, 2 films, 1995 to 2004
All films by Timothy Quay
- The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes2004IMDb rating 6.2John as Dr. Emmanuel Droz
- Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life1995IMDb rating 7.0John as Herr Benjamenta
Also three films together1 more actor
- Adrian HovenLili Marleen (1981), Despair (1978) and World on a Wire (1973)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.

Box office

What Gottfried John's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$530 million

8 of the 19 films have a worldwide figure.

8Worldwide figure
1US gross only
4Never in cinemas
6Figure not found

Top grosser

GoldenEye1995General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov$352 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

1
GoldenEye1995as General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov
$352M66.4% of the total
2
Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar1999as Jules César
$102M19.2% of the total
3
Proof of Life2000as Eric Kessler
$63M11.8% of the total
4
Flood2007as Arthur Moyes
$8.3M1.6% of the total
5
Rubinrot2013as Dr. White
$5.5M1.0% of the total
6
The Ogre1996as Chief Forester
$51K0.0% of the total
7
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes2004as Dr. Emmanuel Droz
$28K0.0% of the total
8
Lili Marleen1981as Aaron
$8K0.0% of the total