Gottfried John

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Gottfried John
Gottfried John at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival
Born	(1942-08-29)29 August 1942 Berlin, Germany
Died	1 September 2014(2014-09-01) (aged 72) Utting am Ammersee, Germany
Occupation	Actor
Spouse(s)	Brigitte John (2004–2014; his death)

Gottfried and Brigitte John in 2004

Gottfried John (German: [ˈjoːn];^[1] 29 August 1942 – 1 September 2014) was a German stage, screen, and voice actor. A long-time collaborator of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, John appeared in many of the filmmaker's projects between 1975 and his death in 1982, including Eight Hours Don't Make a Day, Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven, Despair, The Marriage of Maria Braun, and Berlin Alexanderplatz. His distinctive, gaunt appearance saw him frequently cast as villains, and he is best known to audiences for his role as the corrupt General Arkady Ourumov in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, and for his comedic turn as Julius Caesar in Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar, the latter for which he won the Bavarian Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Early life[]

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

In Paris he earned a living as a pavement artist and construction worker, and returned to Berlin in 1960.^[2][3][4]

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.^{[citation needed]}

He was internationally known for his portrayal of General Arkady Ourumov in the James Bond film GoldenEye and Julius Caesar in Asterix and Obelix take on Caesar.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[]

John lived with his wife, Brigitte, in Utting am Ammersee from 2008 until his death in 2014.^[5]

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.^[6]

Works[]

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Filmography[]

Audiobooks[]

• Gottfried John reads: by Nikolai Gogol. 2006, ISBN 978-3-7831-2794-2.
• Gottfried John reads: Die Stunden by Michael Cunningham. 2007, ISBN 978-3-86604-759-4.

Written works[]

• Bekenntnisse eines Unerzogenen, autobiography, publisher: Econ, Berlin 2000, ISBN 978-3430151092.
• Das fünfte Wort, novel, publisher: Ullstein, Berlin 2003, ISBN 978-3550084270.

Nominations and awards[]

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• 1982: Großer Hersfeld-Preis for his role as Jago in Othello
• 1999: Bavarian Film Awards, Best Actor [1]
• 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)
• 2017: RF Hall of Fame

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gottfried John.

• Gottfried John at IMDb
• Gottfried John at the German Dubbing Card Index