John Gottowt

John Gottowt (born Isidor Gesang; 15 June 1881 – 29 August 1942) was an Austrian actor, stage director and film director for theatres and silent movies.

Gottowt was born in Lemberg, Austria-Hungary (present-day Lviv, Ukraine) into a Jewish family. After his education in Vienna, he joined the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1905, working for Max Reinhardt as an actor and director. Gottowt was mainly active in different theatres in Berlin as a character actor and director.

His first silent film appearance was in Paul Wegener’s Der Student von Prag ("The Student of Prague") (1913). In 1920 he appeared in Robert Wiene's Genuine and took the main role in the early science fiction film Algol. In 1921 he played Professor Bulwer (Abraham van Helsing) in the classic silent film Nosferatu directed by F.W. Murnau.

Gottowt made also several films with his brother-in-law Henrik Galeen but, as a Jew, was banned in 1933 from working as a professional actor. After a few years in Denmark he moved to Kraków in Poland. He was murdered in 1942 by an SS officer while in hiding in Wieliczka, disguised as a Roman Catholic priest.

John Gottowt is known for work in acting across film and television. New Release currently presents 19 verified screen credits connected to this profile.

Selected work includes Nosferatu (1922), The Student of Prague (1913), Algol: Tragedy of Power (1920), Parisian Women (1921), The Flight in the Night (1926), Waxworks (1924), Radiohead X Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (2025), Genuine: The Tragedy of a Vampire (1920). The recorded credits span 1913 to 2025, including 19 movies and 0 TV shows.

The filmography below lists available titles, release years and known roles. This profile is updated as additional verified information becomes available.