Josef Sommer

Biography

Maximilian Josef Sommer (born June 26, 1934) is a German-American retired stage, television, and film actor. His best known roles are as The President in X-Men: The Last Stand, Senator Jessup in The Sum of All Fears, Peter Lassiter in The Family Man, Curtis Flemming in Shaft, Dr. Eaton in Patch Adams, Phelps Bowen in The Chamber, Clive Peoples Jr. in Nobody's Fool, Mr. Duckworth in The Mighty Ducks, Chief Paul Schaefer in Witness, Max Richter in Silkwood, Sam Taylor in Independence Day, Rothko in Dirty Harry, and narrator for the film Sophie's Choice.

Known For

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Law & Order

Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Without a Trace

The West Wing

Great Performances

All Movies (77)

The Other Guys2010 · as District Attorney Radford (uncredited)
Stop-Loss2008 · as Senator Orton Worrell
The Invasion2007 · as Dr. Henryk Belicec
X-Men: The Last Stand2006 · as The President
The Elephant King2006 · as Bill Hunt
Searching for Paradise2002 · as Carl Greenslate
The Sum of All Fears2002 · as Senator Jessup
The Family Man2000 · as Peter Lassiter
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Winds of Change2000 · as Woodrow Wilson
Shaft2000 · as Curt Flemming
The Next Best Thing2000 · as Richard Whittaker
The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer1999
Patch Adams1998 · as Dr. Eaton
Bulworth1998 · as Doctor (uncredited)
The Proposition1998 · as Dryer
Hidden in America1996 · as Edward Millerton
Mistrial1996 · as Nick Mirsky
The Chamber1996 · as Phelps Bowen
Strange Days1995 · as Palmer Strickland
Moonlight and Valentino1995 · as Thomas Trager
Letter to My Killer1995
Kansas1995 · as Joseph 'Joe' Farley
Nobody's Fool1994 · as Clive Peoples Jr.
Don't Drink the Water1994 · as Ambassador Magee
The Enemy Within1994 · as Defence Secretary Charles Potter
Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker1994 · as Col. Morrow
Malice1993 · as Atty. Lester Adams
An American Story1992 · as Henry Meade
The Mighty Ducks1992 · as Mr. Ducksworth
Hostages1992 · as Tom Sutherland
Citizen Cohn1992 · as Albert Cohn
Shadows and Fog1991 · as Priest
Before the Storm1991 · as Stewart Merriman
Under Cover1991 · as Stewart Merriman
When Will I Be Loved?1990 · as Martin Ransil
William Shakespeare's Hamlet1990 · as Polonius
Money, Power, Murder.1989 · as Jack Finley
Bloodhounds of Broadway1989 · as Waldo Winchester
Forced March1989 · as Richard Kline
Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman1989 · as Charles Estiman
Bridge to Silence1989 · as Al Duffield
Chances Are1989 · as Judge Fenwick
Dracula's Widow1988 · as Lannon
The Rosary Murders1987 · as Lieutenant Koznicki
A Special Friendship1987 · as General Winder
The Betty Ford Story1987 · as President Gerald Ford
Double Image1986 · as James Angleton
The Execution of Raymond Graham1985 · as Jim Neal
Target1985 · as Barney Taber
D.A.R.Y.L.1985 · as Dr. Jeffrey Stewart
Brotherly Love1985 · as Mr. Rafferty
Witness1985 · as Schaeffer
Iceman1984 · as Whitman
Silkwood1983 · as Max Richter
Saigon: Year of the Cat1983 · as Jack Ockham
Sparkling Cyanide1983 · as George Barton
Independence Day1983 · as Sam Taylor
Sophie's Choice1982 · as Narrator (voice)
Still of the Night1982 · as George Bynum
Hanky Panky1982 · as Adrian Pruitt
Reds1981 · as State Department Official
Absence of Malice1981 · as McAdam
Rollover1981 · as Roy Lefcourt
The Henderson Monster1980 · as Dr. Martin Grossman
Hide in Plain Sight1980 · as Jason R. Reid
Doctor Franken1980 · as Mr. Parker
Too Far to Go1979 · as Henry Mills
Oliver's Story1978 · as Dr. Dienhart
Close Encounters of the Third Kind1977 · as Larry Butler
The Front1976 · as Committee Chairman
Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys1976 · as Pomeroy
Valley Forge1975 · as Brig. Gen. Varnum
The Stepford Wives1975 · as Ted Van Sant
Man on a Swing1974 · as Pete Russell
Enemies1974 · as Nikolai
The Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope1972 · as Proctor
Dirty Harry1971 · as Rothko

All TV Shows (24)

Without a Trace2002 · as Peter Ducek
Law & Order: Criminal Intent2001 · as Spencer Durning
The West Wing1999 · as Steve Gaines
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit1999 · as Patrick Rumsey
The Hunt For The Unicorn Killer1999
Providence1999 · as Thomas Wheelock
Ally McBeal1997 · as Henry Thompson
Early Edition1996 · as John Dobbs
A Woman Named Jackie1991 · as Joseph Kennedy Sr.
Under Cover1991 · as Stewart Merriman
Law & Order1990 · as Defense Attorney Patrick Rumsey
Law & Order1990 · as Judge Lawrence Hellman
The Kennedys of Massachusetts1990 · as Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hothouse1988 · as Dr. Sam Garrison
The Equalizer1985 · as Ernest Rasher
Screen Two1985 · as James Angleton
Scarecrow and Mrs. King1983
The Scarlet Letter1979 · as Nathaniel Hawthorne
Mourning Becomes Electra1978 · as Ezra Mannon
The Andros Targets1977 · as Benson Fisher
The Adams Chronicles1976 · as Charles Lee
Great Performances1971 · as Nikolai
Great Performances1971 · as Polonius
Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Brig. Gen. Varnum