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IMDbPro

Josef Sommer(I)

  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Josef Sommer in Witness (1985)
This is the theatrical trailer for the Elephant King, directed by Seth Grossman.
Play trailer2:16
The Elephant King (2006)
6 Videos
20 Photos
Josef Sommer is a classically trained stage actor who has also been a prolific performer in films. He made his debut at the age of nine in a production of "Watch on the Rhine" with the Carolina Playmakers in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He trained as an actor at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut. He performed with the Seattle Repertory Theater and made his Broadway debut in 1970. Sommer made his film debut in Don Siegel's classic Dirty Harry (1971) and also appeared in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He is probably best remembered for his role as Harrison Ford's superior in the hugely successful Witness (1985).
BornJune 26, 1934
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BornJune 26, 1934
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Photos20

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    Known for

    Harrison Ford and Lukas Haas in Witness (1985)
    Witness
    7.3
    • Schaeffer
    • 1985
    Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry (1971)
    Dirty Harry
    7.7
    • Rothko
    • 1971
    Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, and Juliette Lewis in Strange Days (1995)
    Strange Days
    7.2
    • Palmer Strickland
    • 1995
    Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Ben Foster, James Marsden, Hugh Jackman, and Elliot Page in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
    X-Men: The Last Stand
    6.6
    • The President
    • 2006

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actor



    • Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell in The Other Guys (2010)
      The Other Guys
      6.7
      • D.A. Radford (uncredited)
      • 2010
    • Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Channing Tatum in Stop-Loss (2008)
      Stop-Loss
      6.4
      • Senator Orton Worrell
      • 2008
    • Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig in The Invasion (2007)
      The Invasion
      5.9
      • Dr. Henryk Belicec
      • 2007
    • Famke Janssen, Halle Berry, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Ben Foster, James Marsden, Hugh Jackman, and Elliot Page in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
      X-Men: The Last Stand
      6.6
      • The President
      • 2006
    • The Elephant King (2006)
      The Elephant King
      6.2
      • Bill (Dad)
      • 2006
    • Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Anthony LaPaglia, Josh Hopkins, Enrique Murciano, Eric Close, Poppy Montgomery, and Roselyn Sanchez in Without a Trace (2002)
      Without a Trace
      7.0
      TV Series
      • Peter Ducek
      • 2004
    • Rob Lowe, Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Dulé Hill, Moira Kelly, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, and Bradley Whitford in The West Wing (1999)
      The West Wing
      8.9
      TV Series
      • Steve Gaines
      • 2004
    • Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe, Eric Bogosian, Julianne Nicholson, and Chris Noth in Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001)
      Law & Order: Criminal Intent
      7.6
      TV Series
      • Spencer Durning
      • 2003
    • Benjamin Franklin (2002)
      Benjamin Franklin
      8.0
      TV Mini Series
      • Cotton Mather
      • 2002
    • Searching for Paradise (2002)
      Searching for Paradise
      5.3
      • Carl Greenslate
      • 2002
    • Morgan Freeman and Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears (2002)
      The Sum of All Fears
      6.5
      • Senator Jessup
      • 2002
    • Melina Kanakaredes, Concetta Tomei, Paula Cale, Mike Farrell, and Seth Peterson in Providence (1999)
      Providence
      6.7
      TV Series
      • Thomas Wheelock
      • 2001
    • Calista Flockhart in Ally McBeal (1997)
      Ally McBeal
      6.9
      TV Series
      • Henry Thompson
      • 2001
    • Nicolas Cage, Téa Leoni, Jake Milkovich, Ryan Milkovich, and Makenzie Vega in The Family Man (2000)
      The Family Man
      6.8
      • Peter Lassiter
      • 2000
    • Samuel L. Jackson in Shaft (2000)
      Shaft
      6.0
      • Curt Fleming
      • 2000

    Videos6

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:21
    Official Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 2:29
    Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 2:29
    Trailer
    Trailer
    Trailer 1:27
    Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:19
    Official Trailer
    The Elephant King: Trailer
    Trailer 2:16
    The Elephant King: Trailer
    The Elephant King
    Featurette 1:33
    The Elephant King

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Alternative names
      • Josef Somer
    • Height
      • 6′ 3½″ (1.92 m)
    • Born
      • June 26, 1934
      • Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
    • Spouse
      • Nina Seely1984 - present (1 child)
    • Parents
        Clemens Ernst Joseph Adolf Sommer
    • Relatives
        Sebastian Clemens Sommer(Sibling)
    • Other works
      Played Anton Schill in Friedrich Dürrenmatt's play "The Visit" in Chicago in Goodman Theater's 1990-1991 season.

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      He has played 3 different historical American presidents; Gerald Ford in The Betty Ford Story (1987), Franklin D. Roosevelt in The Kennedys of Massachusetts (1990), Woodrow Wilson in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles - Paris, May 1919 (1993) as well as 1 fictional president in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).
    • Quotes
      There are two things that go on in a professional actor's life. The first is finding work, making a living, pursuing a career. The other thing is the art of acting. It's so easy to lose that in the urgency of a career. Sometimes the struggle is just staying active, when you wish the struggle would be over great roles and great plays. I'm not sure you ever reconcile the two things. I guess you just remind yourself that acting is worthwhile because there is always potentially great work to be done.

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