Dieter Laser

Klaus Dieter Laser (17 February 1942 – 29 February 2020) was a German actor. Laser's career spanned over five decades, appearing in both German and English-language productions. He achieved recognition for his lead role in the 2009 film ''The Human Centipede (First Sequence)'' and also starred in the third entry in 2015. On television, he had a recurring role on ''Lexx'' from 1998 to 2000.

Life and career

Laser was born in Kiel, Germany. He was known to English speaking audiences for his roles as Mantrid in ''Lexx'', Prof. Otto Blaettchen in '' The Ogre'', Dr. Josef Heiter in ''The Human Centipede (First Sequence)'' and Bill Boss in ''The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)''

In 1975, he was awarded the ''German Film Award in Gold'' in the category of ''Best Actor'' for his title role in '' John Glückstadt''.

During the filming of ''The Human Centipede'', many crew members and leading actors described Laser as being a method actor. On the days of filming he did not speak to the cast very often and would stay in character as much as he possibly could. Director Tom Six cast him after being impressed with Laser's work in some of his earlier films. For his performance, Laser won Best Actor at the Austin Fantastic Fest and was nominated for the LA Scream Awards for Best Villain in 2010. He returned for the final installment of the franchise after refusing to play the part at first.

Laser starred in the Estonian fantasy film ''November'' (shot November 2015). On January 15, 2016, due to appointment collisions in the planning of ''Sky Sharks'', Dieter Laser and Fuse Box Films separated.

Death

Dieter Laser died twelve days after his 78th birthday on 29 February 2020. His death was not announced until a message to his official Facebook page was posted on 9 April 2020.[R.I.P.] 'The Human Centipede' Star Dieter Laser Has Passed Away
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Selected filmography

* 1968: '' ''In the Jungle of Cities'' ''(Im Dickicht der Städte)'''', as Collie Couch alias "The Pavian"
* 1973: ''Desaster'', as Alf Harden
* 1974: ''Ermittlungen gegen Unbekannt'', as Günter Riegand
* 1974-1976: ''Das Blaue Palais'' (TV-series), as Enrico Polazzo
* 1975: '' John Glückstadt'', as John Glückstadt
* 1975: ''The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum'', as Werner Toetges
* 1975: ', as Miguel
* 1976: ', as Medardus
* 1977: ', as Don
* 1978: ''Germany in Autumn'', as Member of the board of TV producers
* 1978: '' The Glass Cell'' (Oscar nominated: ''Best Foreign Language Film''), as David Reinald
* 1979: ''Union der festen Hand'' (TV film), as Adam Griguszies
* 1981: ', as Peter Senders
* 1982: ''Wir'' (based on '' We'', the 1921 Russian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin)
* 1986: ''Väter und Söhne – Eine deutsche Tragödie'' (mini series), as Friedrich Deutz
* 1990: '' The Man Inside'', as Leonard Schroeter
* 1991: ''Meeting Venus'', as Hans von Binder
* 1993: ', as Ludwig I. von Bayern
* 1996: ''Conversation with the Beast'', as Peter Hollsten
* 1996: '' The Ogre'', as Prof. Otto Blaettchen
* 1997: ''Shanghai 1937'' ''(Hotel Shanghai)'', as Dr. Hain
* 1997: '' The Rat'' (TV film), as Bruno
* 2002: ''Big Girls Don't Cry'', as Mr. Winter
* 2002: ''Fuhrer Ex'', as Eduard Kellermann
* 2003: ''Baltic Storm'', as Gehrig
* 2006: ', as Bruno
* 2009: ''The Human Centipede (First Sequence)'', as Dr. Josef Heiter
* 2010: ' (TV film), as General Klaus Habenicht
* 2015: ''The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)'', as Bill Boss
* 2017: ''November'', as Baron

References

External links

*
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Official Facebook site of Dieter Laser

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laser, Dieter
1942 births
2020 deaths
20th-century German male actors
21st-century German male actors
German Film Award winners
German male film actors
German male television actors
Actors from Kiel