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).
Movies & TV Shows
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The Third Man (1949) — Actor at Josefstadt Theater (uncredited)
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The Fallen Idol (1948) — First Secretary
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Anastasia (1956) — Mikhail Vlados
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The Heroes of Telemark (1965) — Hartmuller
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Our Man in Havana (1960) — Dr. Braun
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Sink the Bismarck! (1960) — Admiral Lutjens - 'Bismarck'
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Operation Crossbow (1965) — Prof. Hoffer
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No Highway in the Sky (1951)
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Affair in Trinidad (1952) — Walters
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Devil Doll (1964) — Dr. Heller
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The Cockleshell Heroes (1955) — Assistant Gestapo Officer
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The Frozen Dead (1966) — General Lubeck
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The Captive Heart (1946) — Forster
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Conspirator (1949) — Radek
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City Beneath the Sea (1953) — Dwight Trevor
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Berlin-Alexanderplatz: The Story of Franz Biberkopf (1931)
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Walk East on Beacon (1952) — Alexi Laschenkov / Gregory Anders
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Never Let Me Go (1953) — Commissar
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The File of the Golden Goose (1969) — Mueller
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State Secret (1950) — Dr. Revo
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Man of the Moment (1955) — Lom
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Operation Amsterdam (1959) — Diamond Merchant
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They Met in the Dark (1943) — Riccardo
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Give Us This Day (1949) — Jaroslav
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Before Winter Comes (1969) — Count Kerassy
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Brainwashed (1960) — Baranow
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Secret Mission (1942) — Major Lang
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A Prize of Gold (1955) — Dr. Zachmann
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The Games (1970) — Kubitsek
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The Third Visitor (1951) — Richard Carling
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Broken Journey (1948) — Swiss Officer (uncredited)
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Cairo Road (1950) — Edouardo Pavlis
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Tomorrow We Live (1943) — Seitz
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Counterblast (1948) — Professor Inman
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Rough Shoot (1953) — Diss
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The Leghorn Hat (1939) — Felix, Diener bei Farina
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Armchair Theatre (1956)
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The Traitor (1957) — Friederich Suderman
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Murderers Club of Brooklyn (1967) — Dyers
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The Bat (1937) — Attaché Baranoff / Orlovsky