Jürgen Prochnow

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Jürgen Prochnow
Prochnow as Leto Atreides I in Dune
Born	June 10, 1941 (1941-06-10) (age 68) Berlin, Germany

Jürgen Prochnow ([IPA: 'jʏɐgən 'pʀɔxnoː]; born June 10, 1941) is a German actor. His most well-known roles internationally have been as the submarine captain (based on Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock) in Das Boot (1981), Duke Leto Atreides in Dune (1984) and the villain Maxwell Dent in Beverly Hills Cop II.

Biography

Prochnow was born in Berlin and brought up in Düsseldorf, the son of an engineer.^[1] He has an elder brother, Dieter. He studied acting at the Folkwang Academy 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 titular 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. In addition, he dubbed Sylvester Stallone's voice in the German version of Rocky and Rocky II.

He was facially scarred (first and second-degree burns) following a stunt accident during the filming of Dune. One scene called for Duke Leto (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 '70s, and had a daughter Johanna, who died in 1987. He then married to Isabel Goslar in 1982, with whom he has two children: a daughter Mona, and son Roman. Prochnow divorced in 1997. He currently devotes his time between Los Angeles and Munich, although it is said he currently makes a permanent home in Los Angeles. He's currently involved with Birgit Stein, a German screenwriter and actress.

Awards

• 1985 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Actor^[2]

Filmography

References

External links

• Jürgen Prochnow at the Internet Movie Database
• The Jurgen Prochnow Watchdog Society Fan Club