Which actor played ,in your opinion,the most convincing/impressive German in a war movie?

Max von Sydow

Adolf Hitler!

He wasn’t bad for an Austrian!

@ChazMaz The perennial german officer.

How about Richard Thomas (Paul Baumer) in All Quiet on the Western Front?

Mel Brooks FTW. (I couldn’t find his signature performance in History of the World, Part I).

@SomNinja He was at his mercurial best in The Kid alongside Jackie Gleeson for me.

In a fiction setting. Movie: Lives of others- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/
Actor: Sebastian Koch.

@shilolo Good one ,although Madeline Kahn’s german whore in Blazing Saddles was more hilarious.

Jurgen Prochnow pulled it off pretty well in “Das Boot.”

Definitely NOT Werner Klemperer! :-)

I totally agree with Ralph Fiennes in Schindler’s list. Awesome performance.
Although Mel Brooks in HOFT and Madeline Kahn in Blazing Saddles come in close behind

Erich von Stroheim. I think he was born in Austria. Hell, even the “von” was fake.

My serious answer would have to be Ralph Fiennes. After seeing Schindler’s List, if I had encounterd him on the street, I would have probably tried to hurt/maim him, such was the depth of evil portrayed by his character.

I think ralph Fiennes was amazing too, but I’ve seen him as Heathcliff so many times, and Lenny in Strange Days that I wasn’t left with the negative side effects that others have mentioned. Something about those eyes. I also am impressed with his dedication to his craft in that he had to gain 30 or 40 pounds for the role.
I don’t know who the actor was in Band of Brothers, but he was the surrendering officer near the end of the movie. I thought he embodied the honorable German Officer who had never wanted anything but what was good for his country. I know that not all the German soldiers were Nazis and simply tried to make the best of a bad situation. He managed to capture this spirit, whoever he is.

Although it was not featured in a war movie, I found Arte Johnson’s work in the genre verrry interesting.

@Blondesjon hehehe, (peeks out from behind a potted palm)

@Trillian . . . I see we had the same babysitter growing up, or perhaps the same penchant for marijuana and Nick at Nite

Seth MacFarlane as Johann Krauss in “Hell Boy II”

Robert Shaw in some movie I saw.He was so hot,it should be against the law.Totally raw!Woof lol!

You may be thinking of Battle of the Bulge & no it’s not a dietary aid dvd. He did ooze menace.

@Pretty_Lilly I had no idea that was McFarlane!

John Banner

@Dr_C Johann Krauss

@Blondesjon I hate to admit this, but I was your damn babysitter. Now get back in bed…a…a…and gimme that joint!

christoph waltz in inglourious basterds, simply amazing!

Conrad Veidt in Casablanca.
Michael Byrne in Indiana Jones and the Last Cruisade.

Tom Cruise in ‘Valkyrie’ as Colonel Von Stauffenberg was pretty good.

Bruno Ganz in ‘The Downfall’ as Adolf Hitler was pretty good too.

Jürgen Prochnow in ‘Das Boot’. His character had such great depth.