Gottfried John

Gottfried John
Gottfried John at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival
Born(1942-08-29)29 August 1942
Died1 September 2014(2014-09-01) (aged 72)
OccupationActor
SpouseBrigitte 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 nine of the filmmaker's projects between 1975 and 1981, the year before Fassbinder's death, 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.

  1. ^ Unlike the common English name John, the German pronunciation begins with a "y" sound.