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Wolfgang Petersen

Film Director / Film Producer / Screenwriter | * 03/14/1941 († 81, 08/12/2022) | Emden (Germany)
8,861
Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film and television director, screenwriter and producer. His international breakthrough was the 1981 war film Das Boot (1981), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. He subsequently directed the blockbuster fantasy film The NeverEnding Story (1984), based on the novel of the same name. After moving to the United States in the mid-1980s, Petersen directed his first American production, the science-fiction film Enemy Mine (1985). He directed a variety of major studio productions through the mid-2000s, including In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1995), Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000), ()
Photo of Wolfgang Petersen

Wolfgang Petersen was a German-born screenwriter, producer and film director who spent most of his career in the United States. In the 1960s he began working directing plays at the Ernst Deutsch Theater in Hamburg. After becoming interested in theater in Berlin and Hamburg, Petersen attended the Berlin Film and Television Academy (1966-70). His first productions were for German state television, and it was during his work on the popular crime series Crime Scene that he met actor Jürgen Prochnow, who would later appear in his iconic film Das Boot (1981). His other films include The NeverEnding Story (1984), cult film Enemy Mine (1985), Shattered (1991), In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1995), Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000), Troy (2004), Poseidon (2006) and Four Against the Bank (2016), his latest film.

Most frequent genres for this person: Drama | TV Movies | Documentaries

Known for these Movies & Shows

A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive o ...

Enemy Mine

PG-13

1985 | 3.5/5 | 1h 48min
Drama, Science Fiction
available on:
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While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a you ...

The NeverEnding Story

PG

1984 | 3.6/5 | 1h 42min
Adventure, Fantasy, Kids & Family, Drama
available on:
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A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their l ...

Das Boot

R

1981 | 4.0/5 | 2h 30min
Drama, History, War
available on:
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A deadly airborne virus finds its way into the USA and starts killing off people at an epidemic rate. Col Sam Daniels' job is to stop the virus spreading from a small town, which must be quarantined, ...

Outbreak

R

1995 | 3.3/5 | 2h 7min
Action, Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
available on:
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Awards & Nominations for Wolfgang Petersen

Bavarian Order of Merit Officer's Cross of The Order of Merit of The Federal Republic of Germany Academy Award for Best Director Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film
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Movies with Wolfgang Petersen as Actor(7)

as Self - Das Boot Screenwriter and Director2021 Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story
as Self (archive footage)2014 And the Oscar Goes To...
as himself2012 Der Bernd
2002 Starbuck Holger Meins
as himself1996 Hollywood, Germany - Die amerikanische Herausforderung
as Man who drops Milk (uncredited)1984 The NeverEnding Story
as himself1981 Das Boot: Behind The Scenes

TV Shows/Series with Wolfgang Petersen as Actor(10)

as himself2006 Filmlegenden. Deutsch
1999 The Directors
1992 HBO First Look
as himself1991 DAS!
as himself1982 Na sowas!
as himself1981 Wetten, dass..?
as himself1979 NDR Talk Show
as himself1978 Bio’s Bahnhof
as himself1977 Bitte umblättern
as himself1966 Goldene Kamera Verleihung

Movies with Wolfgang Petersen as Crew(43)

Directing/Director2016 Four Against the Bank
Directing/Director2006 Poseidon
Production/Producer2006 Poseidon
Directing/Director2004 Troy
Production/Producer2004 Troy
Directing/Director2000 The Perfect Storm
Production/Producer2000 The Perfect Storm
Production/Executive Producer1999 Instinct
Production/Producer1999 Bicentennial Man
Directing/Director1997 Air Force One
Production/Producer1997 Air Force One
Production/Executive Producer1997 Red Corner
Directing/Director1995 Outbreak
Production/Producer1995 Outbreak
Directing/Director1993 In the Line of Fire
Production/Executive Producer1993 In the Line of Fire
Directing/Director1991 Shattered
Production/Producer1991 Shattered
Writing/Screenplay1991 Shattered
Directing/Director1985 Enemy Mine
Directing/Director1984 The NeverEnding Story
Writing/Screenplay1984 The NeverEnding Story
Directing/Director1981 Das Boot
Writing/Screenplay1981 Das Boot
Directing/Director1978 Black and White Like Day and Night
Directing/Director1977 The Consequence
Writing/Screenplay1977 The Consequence
Directing/Director1977 Planübung
Writing/Writer1977 Planübung
Directing/Director1976 Four Against the Bank
Directing/Director1976 Hans in Luck
Directing/Director1975 Die Stadt im Tal
Directing/Director1975 Stellenweise Glatteis
Directing/Director1974 One or the Other of Us
Directing/Director1973 Smog
Writing/Author1973 Smog
Directing/Director1973 Van der Valk and the Rich
Directing/Director1971 I Will Kill You, Wolf
Writing/Writer1971 I Will Kill You, Wolf
Directing/Director1969 Ich Nicht
Writing/Writer1969 Ich Nicht
Directing/Director1967 Der Eine - der Andere
Writing/Writer1967 Der Eine - der Andere

TV Shows/Series with Wolfgang Petersen as Crew(5)

Creator/Creator2001 The Agency
Writing/Screenplay1985 Das Boot
Directing/Director1985 Das Boot
Creator/Creator1985 Das Boot
Directing/Director1970 Scene of the Crime

Citizenship: Germany
Born: Friday, 03/14 1941 (March) in Emden (Germany)
Died: Friday, 08/12 2022 (August) in Brentwood (aged: 81)
Zodiac sign: Pisces (Chinese zodiac sign: Snake)
Languages: German (DE), English (EN)
Educated at: German Film and Television Academy Berlin, Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums
Member of: Deutsche Filmakademie
Spouses (current/former): Ursula Sieg, Marie-Antoinette Borgel
Children: Daniel Petersen
Other names for Wolfgang Petersen (nicknames, foreign languages etc.):
"Вольфганг Петерсен"
Wolfgang Petersen frequently works together with these people:
Anke Sevenich (16x, Actress)
Karl Kranzkowski (15x, Actor)
Hans Peter Hallwachs (14x, Actor)
Dietrich Mattausch (14x, Actor)
Hans-Uwe Bauer (14x, Actor)
Angelika Bartsch (14x, Actress)
Martin Brambach (14x, Actor)
Heinz-Werner Kraehkamp (14x, Actor)
Jan Josef Liefers (13x, Actor)
Laura Tonke (13x, Actress)
Rolf Becker (13x, Actor)
Hannes Nikel (9x, Crew)
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WatchPlayStream ID: PEOPLE:6234, Added: 03/23/2018, Last updated: 07/10/2025