Jürgen Prochnow [IPA: 'jÊ?Ê?gÉ™n 'pʀɔxnoË?] (born June 10, 1941) is a German actor. His most well-known roles internationally have been as submarine Captain Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock in Das Boot (1981), Duke Leto Atreides in Dune and the villain Maxwell Dent in Beverly Hills Cop II.
Prochnow was born in Berlin, Germany; he has an older 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. He also stars in the Broken Lizard film Beerfest.
Was facially scarred (second and third degree burns) following a stunt accident during the filming of Dune (film). One scene in the film called for Duke Leto (Jürgen Prochnow) to be strapped to a black stretcher and drugged. During one take, a high-powered bulb positioned above Jürgen exploded due to heat, raining down molten glass. Remarkably, Jürgen 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, the Baron Kenneth McMillan approached Leto, who had a special apparatus attached to his face so that green smoke would emerge from his cheek when the Baron scratched it. Although thoroughly tested, the smoke gave Jürgen first and second degree burns on his cheek. This sequence appears on film in the released version.
