Gunter Lamprecht

A bulky German character player with small, often sad eyes and heavy facial features, Lamprecht in middle age played a number of key roles, some of them leads, in films during the 1970s and 80s. Very much of a working class, "big lug" type, Lamprecht has sometimes been compared to an earlier German star, Emil Jannings, for the penchant for stoical yet masochistic suffering which his characters often seem to indulge. On occasion, though, Lamprecht's roles have been of a heartier and more cheerful nature, placing him in a tradition of slovenly, good-natured joes ranging from Wallace Beery to John Goodman. And sometimes Lamprecht's harsh military types or sullen oafs can implode with their own anger or neurosis like Rod Steiger or Ned Beatty.