Karl Stepanek

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

68

Gender

Male

Birthday

1899-10-27

Day of death

1980-12-25 (81 years old)

Place of Birth

Brünn, Moravia, Austria-Hungary [now Brno, Czech Republic]

Karl Stepanek

Biography

Though born in Czechoslovakia, actor Karel Stepanek was generally regarded as a German actor due to his extensive film work in Germany (as Karl Stepanek) in the years before World War II. Stepanek fled to England in 1940, where, like many European refugee actors, he specialized in portraying Teutonic villains. He tried to stay away from out-and-out Nazi roles, but his predilection for wearing black uniforms and barking out guttural commands left little doubt as to the political preferences of Stepanek's screen characters. One of his most typical characterizations could be found in the 1946 POW drama, The Captive Heart; Stepanek also registered well as a friendlier foreigner in The Fallen Idol (1949). Commuting between London and Hollywood, Karel Stepanek continued to fight World War II, usually on the wrong side, into such '60s films as Sink the Bismarck! (1960), I Aim at the Stars (1960) and Operation Crossbow (1965).

Known For

  • No Hiding Place

    No Hiding Place

  • The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway

    The Heroes of Telemark: Location report from Norway

  • The Games

    The Games

  • Klatovští dragouni

    Klatovští dragouni

  • Waltz War

    Waltz War

  • Sperrbezirk

    Sperrbezirk

  • No Highway in the Sky

    No Highway in the Sky

  • Das Kriminalmuseum

    Das Kriminalmuseum

  • Our Film

    Our Film

  • Operation Crossbow

    Operation Crossbow

  • Operation Amsterdam

    Operation Amsterdam

  • Secret Mission

    Secret Mission

  • Anastasia

    Anastasia

  • Dangerous Cargo

    Dangerous Cargo

  • Counterblast

    Counterblast

  • State Secret

    State Secret

  • Broken Journey

    Broken Journey

  • The Third Man

    The Third Man

  • The Traitor

    The Traitor

  • Secret Venture

    Secret Venture

  • The Unknown

    The Unknown

  • Devil Doll

    Devil Doll

  • Conspirator

    Conspirator

  • Sink the Bismarck!

    Sink the Bismarck!

  • Hotel Sacher

    Hotel Sacher

  • The Fallen Idol

    The Fallen Idol

  • The Heroes of Telemark

    The Heroes of Telemark

  • Rough Shoot

    Rough Shoot

  • Cairo Road

    Cairo Road

  • Pozdní láska

    Pozdní láska

  • Brainwashed

    Brainwashed

  • A Song for You

    A Song for You

  • Murderers Club of Brooklyn

    Murderers Club of Brooklyn

  • A Prize of Gold

    A Prize of Gold

  • The Cockleshell Heroes

    The Cockleshell Heroes

  • Our Man in Havana

    Our Man in Havana

  • The Man in the Road

    The Man in the Road

  • City Beneath the Sea

    City Beneath the Sea

  • Never Let Me Go

    Never Let Me Go

  • Give Us This Day

    Give Us This Day

  • The Frozen Dead

    The Frozen Dead

  • The File of the Golden Goose

    The File of the Golden Goose

  • The Captive Heart

    The Captive Heart

  • Spione im Savoy-Hotel

    Spione im Savoy-Hotel

  • Tomorrow We Live

    Tomorrow We Live

  • Escape to Danger

    Escape to Danger

  • Tale of Three Women

    Tale of Three Women

  • Walk East on Beacon

    Walk East on Beacon

  • They Met in the Dark

    They Met in the Dark

  • The Leghorn Hat

    The Leghorn Hat

  • Man of the Moment

    Man of the Moment

  • Overseas Press Club - Exclusive!

    Overseas Press Club - Exclusive!

  • Before Winter Comes

    Before Winter Comes

  • West of Suez

    West of Suez

  • Na růžích ustláno

    Na růžích ustláno

  • Five from the Jazzband

    Five from the Jazzband

  • Affair in Trinidad

    Affair in Trinidad

  • Licensed to Kill

    Licensed to Kill

  • Hermine and the Seven Upright Men

    Hermine and the Seven Upright Men

  • Golden Arrow

    Golden Arrow

  • Here's Berlin

    Here's Berlin

  • The Third Visitor

    The Third Visitor

  • Berlin-Alexanderplatz: The Story of Franz Biberkopf

    Berlin-Alexanderplatz: The Story of Franz Biberkopf

  • War es der im 3. Stock?

    War es der im 3. Stock?

  • Die Fledermaus

    Die Fledermaus

  • Narren im Schnee

    Narren im Schnee

  • Aufstand der Gehorsamen

    Aufstand der Gehorsamen

  • Der Außenseiter

    Der Außenseiter