- Werner Stocker (actor)
Infobox actor
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name = Werner Stocker
imagesize =
caption = Werner Stocker as Darius in
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1955|4|7|mf=y
location = Flintsbach am Inn,Bavaria ,Germany
deathdate = death date and age|1993|5|27|1955|4|7|mf=y
deathplace =Munich ,Bavaria ,Germany
height =
othername =
yearsactive = 1982—1993
spouse =
website =
academyawards =
emmyawards =
tonyawards =
awards = Bavarian Film Award for Best Young Actor 1988 "Herbstmilch "Werner Stocker (b.
April 7 ,1955 inFlintsbach am Inn ,Bavaria ,Germany -d.May 27 ,1993 inMunich ) was a Germanactor . He studied acting at theMunich Acting School and at the Otto Falkenberg school.Stocker appeared in the 1987 American tv movie "".
"Highlander: The Series"
Werner Stocker also featured in the fantasy hit "" as Darius, a 2,000 year old immortal priest.
The script of "" describes Darius as a monk with a "hideously ugly face",Episode "Band of Brothers", Final shooting script, p. 1, in "Highlander the Series" (season 1) (DVD, Davis-Panzer Productions, Inc., 2001), disc 9.] but when the producers cast the part, they chose Stocker, who did not fit this description. Creative Consultant David Abramovitz explains, "Darius, originally in the script, was written as almost to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, to be physically ugly and with a glorious soul. And when I got to France, I noticed that they cast this young, handsome German actor named Werner Stocker. I said, 'Wait a minute. What's going on here? He's supposed to be ugly.' And it seemed that the Germans, who were putting up a great deal of money, didn't want the only German actor in the show to be ugly; so he wasn't ugly. And this was one of the cases where politics won out and it didn't hurt anything because he was wonderful in the part."David Abramovitz, at [http://web.archive.org/web/20030829102021/www.highlandercatalog.com/s1ep13.shtml Highlander: The Official Site] , archived on
December 3 ,2002 by theInternet Archive , last accessedFebruary 1 ,2007 ]Associate Creative Consultant Donna Lettow says about Darius' character development, "It was always planned that Darius would die in "". The original plan for Darius was that he would reappear in flashbacks, much like Fitzcairn does now." [Donna Lettow, at [http://www.highlanderworldwide.com/conventions/prev/hldu2-lettow.shtml Highlander_Worldwide] , last accessed
January 26 ,2007 ] Abramovitz confirms, "Darius would have played a bigger part in the show, but Werner passed away."David Abramovitz, in Scott Thomas, "There Can Be Only One", "Retrovision", n°1, November 1997 issue, p. 47.] Stocker's unexpected illness effectively prevented this. Producer Bill Panzer remembers that Stocker "had annonced that he had a brain tumor," [Episode "Band of Brothers", Bonus Material, Bill Panzer's interview, in "Highlander: The Series" (season 1) (DVD, Davis-Panzer Productions, Inc., 2001), disc 5.] and that it happened "before we started shooting ["The Hunters"] , just before. It involved a tremendous amount of rewriting." [Episode "The Hunters", Bonus Material, Bill Panzer's interview, in "Highlander: The Series" (season 1) (DVD, Davis-Panzer Productions, Inc., 2001), disc 8.] The season 1 promotional booklet recounts, "Just days before going into production actor Werner Stocker was stricken ill and was unable to work. By now the character of Darius had become an integral part of the story and the writers had to scramble to adjust the story line."Season 1 promotional booklet, in "Highlander: The Series" (season 1), (DVD, Davis-Panzer Productions, Inc., 2001)] Abramovitz recalls, "This was the episode when we learned that Werner Stocker was extremely ill. (...) I got a call at three o'clock in the morning, saying Werner would not be available, we were shooting in a day and a half, and there was fear if we were going to have to shut down. I went into work, wrote twenty-five straight hours, without a break, and got out a script and the show went on and it turned out pretty well." The promotional booklet further says, "Footage from previous episodes was successfully used to fill in for the absent actor and the season finale went on to mark a huge shift in the "Highlander" saga, forever altering the future of the series with the introduction of "Hunters" and "Watchers"."Commenting on Stocker's performance as Darius, Abramovitz says, "He had an elegance, presence, and I was happy with the episode "Band of Brothers"." Adrian Paul thinks, " [He] had a very ethereal quality himself and I think Werner played [Darius] very well."Adrian Paul, AOL Live Chat, May 1997, [http://www.angelfire.com/realm/highlander/aplive.doc transcript] , last accessed
February 1 ,2007 ] The promotional booklet reports that Darius was "played with soulful grace by (...) Stocker. Stocker was an instant hit with fans." Stocker died onMay 27 ,1993 . The episodes "Unholy Alliance" and "Unholy Alliance, Part II" are dedicated to him. [Episode "Unholy Alliance", in "Highlander: The Series" (season 2) (DVD, Davis-Panzer Productions and Gétévé, 2003), disk 5.] [Episode "Unholy Alliance, Part II", in "Highlander: The Series" (season 2) (DVD, Davis-Panzer Productions and Gétévé, 2003), disk 5.]Awards
*1983 German Actor Award ("Deutscher Darstellerpreis") as Best Young Actor
*1988 Bavarian Film Award ("Bayerischer Filmpreis") shared with Dana Vávrová for "Herbstmilch ", Best Young Actors [ [http://www.bayern.de/Wirtschaftsstandort/Medienstandort/Medienpreise/preistraeger_filmpreis.html Bavarian Film Awards official site] (in German), last accessedNovember 24 ,2007 ]Filmography
* 1982 - "Die Weiße Rose" directed by
Michael Verhoeven
* 1989 - "Herbstmilch " directed byJoseph Vilsmaier
* 1991 - "Rama dama" directed by Joseph Vilsmaier
* 1992 - "Rosenemil", mit Dana Vávrová, directed by Radu GabreaReferences
*german|Werner Stocker|2007-02-02
ee also
*
List of brain tumor patients External links
*imdb name|id=0830819|name=Werner Stocker
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