Wolfgang Petersen was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for the World War II submarine warfare film Das Boot (1981). His other films include The NeverEnding Story (1984), Enemy Mine (1985), In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1995), Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000), Troy (2004), and Poseidon (2006).
Early life
| Name | Wolfgang Petersen |
| Net Worth | $20 million |
| Occupation | Film director, Producer, Screenwriter |
| Age | 81 years |
| Height | 1.75m |
Wolfgang Petersen net worth 2022
Wolfgang Petersen was born on March 14, 1941, until his death on August 12, 2022, at age 81 years. He was born and raised in Emden, Germany. From 1953 to 1960, Petersen attended the Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums in Hamburg. In the 1960s he was directing plays at Hamburg’s Ernst Deutsch Theater. After studying theater in Berlin and Hamburg, Petersen attended the Film and Television Academy in Berlin (1966–1970).
Petersen’s first film productions were for German television, and it was during his work on the popular German Tatort (Crime Scene) TV series that he first met and worked with the actor Jürgen Prochnow — who would later appear as the U-boat captain in Petersen’s famous Das Boot.
Career
Wolfgang Petersen made his first theatrical feature film in 1974, the psychological thriller One or the Other of Us, based on the novel Einer von uns beiden by Horst Bosetzky and published anonymously under his pseudonym and starring Jürgen Prochnow.
Petersen next directed the 1977 film Die Konsequenz, a black/white adaptation of Alexander Ziegler’s autobiographical novel of homosexual love. In its time, the film was considered so radical that when the first broadcast in Germany, the Bavarian network Bayerischer Rundfunk turned off the transmitters rather than broadcast it.
His next feature was the World War II epic Das Boot, released in early 1982. The film chronicles the experiences of a German submarine crew engaged in the “Battle of the Atlantic”. Though not an immediate financial success, the film received highly positive reviews and was nominated for six Academy Awards, two of which (for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay) went to Petersen.
Wolfgang Petersen was also nominated for a BAFTA Award and DGA Award. The film starred Jürgen Prochnow as the U-boat Captain, who became a good example of Petersen’s action characters, a man at war and who dares danger and fate at sea.
After The NeverEnding Story (1984), Petersen’s first English-language film, he directed Enemy Mine (1985), which was not a critical nor box office success. He hit his stride in 1993 with the assassination thriller In the Line of Fire. Starring Clint Eastwood as an angst-ridden presidential Secret Service guard, In the Line of Fire gave Petersen the box office clout he needed to direct another suspense thriller, Outbreak (1995), starring Dustin Hoffman.
The 1997 Wolfgang Petersen blockbuster Air Force One did very well at the box office, with generally positive critical reviews from movie critics. For both Air Force One and Outbreak, Petersen teamed up with the German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, who has also worked frequently with director Martin Scorsese.
Wolfgang Petersen was an established Hollywood director by 1998, with the power to both re-release his classic Das Boot in a new director’s cut and to helm star-studded action-thrillers. As such, he was originally considered to direct the first movie in the Harry Potter film series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Petersen pulled out of the running in March 2000.
In the 2000s, Petersen continued to direct two summer blockbusters, the films The Perfect Storm (2000) and Troy (2004). The success of the former helped his Radiant Productions company to sign a deal with Warner Bros.
Wolfgang Petersen’s $160 million epic film Poseidon, a re-telling of the 1969 Paul Gallico novel The Poseidon Adventure (previously adapted for the 1972 disaster film), was released by Warner Bros. in May 2006. The film performed poorly in the US, barely cracking $60 million in domestic box office receipts by early August, although international sales surpassed $121 million.
Although hired to direct the film adaptation of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card that was scheduled for release in 2008, he later “moved on” from the project. His potential projects include a live-action adaptation of the 2006 anime film Paprika and a film adaptation of the science fiction novel Old Man’s War.
Cause of death
Wolfgang Petersen died on 12 August 2022. His cause of death was from pancreatic cancer. The film director and producer died at his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles. However, After a ten-year hiatus, Petersen returned in 2016 as director of the heist comedy Vier gegen die Bank, his first German-language film since Das Boot in 1981.
Wife
Wolfgang Petersen was married to his first wife Ursula Sieg from 1970 to 1978. After divorcing, he dated Maria Borgel-Petersen and they married in 1978. He stood at an appealing height of 1.75m and has a good body weight which suited his personality.
Wolfgang Petersen net worth
How much was Wolfgang Petersen worth? Wolfgang Petersen net worth was estimated at around $20 million. His main source of income was from his career as a film director and producer. Wolfgang Petersen’s salary per month with other career earnings was over $2 million annually. His successful career earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy car trips. He is one of the richest and most influential film directors in Germany and the United States.
