Why Colonel Weber From Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny Looks So Familiar
After over a decade of rest, fans are preparing to go on another high-flying adventure with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny." The film will see Indy now in the late 1960s, as he works to decipher the involvement of former Nazis who are helping the US Government during the Space Race.
Along with Ford returning to the beloved titular role, the film will see an A-list cast of such talents as Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, and Antonio Banderas fill the adventure with another great selection of heroes and villains. Amongst the latter group is none other than Nazi official Colonel Weber. Not much is known about the character as of yet, other than that he and Jones crossed paths in 1944 when the snake-fearing archeologist halted Weber's operations.
From the look of the trailers, it appears that Weber will mostly be featured in flashback sequences featuring a de-aged Harrison Ford. What we do know for certain, however, is that Weber will be portrayed by none other than actor Thomas Kretschmann, who's made a career of playing some notable real-life and fictional characters.
He led the undead in Blade II
From Major Timothy Cain in "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" to Professor Z in "Cars 2," there's no shortage of diabolical roles that Kretschmann ate up in some major franchises. One of his most despicable parts, however, can be seen in his comic book movie appearances. The first came in 2002 when he portrayed the vampire overlord Eli Damaskinos in "Blade II."
Practically unrecognizable beneath the extensive makeup, Kretschmann's character sought to help vampires overcome their weaknesses, only for his plan to backfire when the bloodsuckers are instead transformed into the human and vampire-devouring race known as the Reapers. His son, Nomak (Luke Goss), is the first to be infected with the virus that created the new army, and he holds resentment towards his father for making him this way.
With few options, Damaskinos teams up with Blade (Wesley Snipes) to stop the threat. Kretschmann throws himself into the eccentric role with ease. Not only is he terrifying, but his tragic story manages to leave an undeniable impression that few other actors could make work so effectively.
The Pianist is one of Kretschmann's most cherished projects
It's perhaps no surprise that Thomas Kretschmann was chosen to play the Nazi Colonel Weber in "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," as a good chunk of the actor's resume has seen him portray Nazi officers. But unlike his fictional "Indiana Jones" persona, many of these roles were based on real-life figures, such as Commander Hermann Fegelein in "Downfall," Holocaust organizer Adolf Eichmann in "Eichmann," and Nazi propagandist Joesph Goebbels in "American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally."
Perhaps his best-known real-life portrayal came in the 2002 Oscar-winner "The Pianist," where Kretschmann starred as Wilm Hosenfeld, a German captain who aids the Jewish pianist Władysław Szpilman (Adrien Brody). While he doesn't have the biggest role in the film, his impact is undeniable as he shows the suffering Szpliman hospitality and even goes out of his way to bring him comfort in the midst of the chaos around them.
He set sail in Peter Jackson's King Kong
Thomas Kretschmann has worked alongside pretty big co-stars throughout his career, from James McAvoy in 2008's "Wanted" to Song Kang-ho in 2017's "A Taxi Driver." But perhaps no co-star of his was quite as big as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
For the 2005 "King Kong," Kretschmann took to the seas as Captain Englehorn, a role originally played by Frank Reicher in the 1933 classic that the Peter Jackson-directed version is based on. Manning the great ship the SS Venture, Englehorn begrudgingly agrees to take filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black) to the uncharted Skull Island where Denham aims to film the mysterious God of the land, Kong.
After Ann Darrow (Namoi Watts) is taken by the 25-foot gorilla, Englehorn awaits the return of Denham's search party. Eventually, with the urging of Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler), he and the others rescue the search party from certain doom as they struggle in a spider-filled chasm. Kretschmann's Englehorn has a memorable presence — especially in any scene where he and Black are interacting, as their constant tension adds dramatic weight to the film's lengthy runtime.
He met an untimely demise in the MCU
The actor returned to the world of comic book cinema in another big-budget sequel, this time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His first appearance as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker came in the mid-credits scene for "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," where it is revealed that the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent-turned-HYDRA leader is making plans to use Loki's Scepter to perform experiments on people, including Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Pietro Maximoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson).
Strucker would eventually come face-to-face with Earth's mightiest heroes in "Avengers: Age of Ultron" when the team attacked his HYDRA Base. Despite trying to avert the Avengers' attention, there was little he could do to defend himself and he was taken down by Captain America (Chris Evans). Strucker was eventually thrown into prison, where he met his demise at the hands of the A.I. Ultron (James Spader), who initially came to said prison to learn where he could find Vibranium.
Kretschmann may not have had the biggest impact in the MCU, but his knack for portraying the nasty shines through in his more subtle, cold-hearted mannerisms.