Film Director
Wolfgang Petersen
German film director
1941 - 2022
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Wolfgang Petersen
His biography is available in 51 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 50 in 2024). Wolfgang Petersen is the 92nd most popular film director (down from 87th in 2024), the 629th most popular biography from Germany (down from 551st in 2019) and the 8th most popular German Film Director.
Wolfgang Petersen is most famous for directing "The Perfect Storm" and "In the Line of Fire."
Memorability Metrics
360k
Page Views
Past 12 months
71.17
HPI
Historical Popularity Index
Data Insights
#92 / 2,296
Wolfgang Petersen ranks #92 of 2,296 Film Directors worldwide, placing them among the top 5% of the profession.
51
Wolfgang Petersen's biography appears in 51 language editions of Wikipedia, more than 93% of all Film Directors.
Page views of Wolfgang Petersen by language
Among Film Directors
Among film directors, Wolfgang Petersen ranks 92 out of 2,296. Before him are Howard Hawks, James Ivory, Terry Gilliam, Manoel de Oliveira, Carl Theodor Dreyer, and John Carpenter. After him are Aki Kaurismäki, Dario Argento, Christopher Nolan, Carlos Saura, Richard Attenborough, and David Lean.
Most Popular Film Directors in Wikipedia
Go to all Rankings
Howard Hawks
1896 - 1977
HPI: 71.46
Rank: 86
James Ivory
1928 - Present
HPI: 71.46
Rank: 87
Terry Gilliam
1940 - Present
HPI: 71.34
Rank: 88
Manoel de Oliveira
1908 - 2015
HPI: 71.28
Rank: 89
Carl Theodor Dreyer
1889 - 1968
HPI: 71.25
Rank: 90
John Carpenter
1948 - Present
HPI: 71.19
Rank: 91
Wolfgang Petersen
1941 - 2022
HPI: 71.17
Rank: 92
Aki Kaurismäki
1957 - Present
HPI: 71.17
Rank: 93
Dario Argento
1940 - Present
HPI: 71.13
Rank: 94
Christopher Nolan
1970 - Present
HPI: 71.08
Rank: 95
Carlos Saura
1932 - 2023
HPI: 71.07
Rank: 96
Richard Attenborough
1923 - 2014
HPI: 71.07
Rank: 97
David Lean
1908 - 1991
HPI: 71.06
Rank: 98
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1941, Wolfgang Petersen ranks 49. Before him are Michael D. Higgins, Theodor W. Hänsch, Charlie Watts, David Johnston, Bobby Moore, and Dennis Ritchie. After him are John E. Walker, Paul Simon, Ali Hassan al-Majid, Hank Marvin, George Clinton, and Nathalie Delon. Among people deceased in 2022, Wolfgang Petersen ranks 39. Before him are Angela Lansbury, James Caan, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Dietrich Mateschitz, Peter Brook, and Ray Liotta. After him are Bruno Latour, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Robert Curl, Sidney Altman, William Hurt, and Mylène Demongeot.
Others Born in 1941
Go to all Rankings
Michael D. Higgins
POLITICIAN
1941 - Present
HPI: 71.57
Rank: 43
Theodor W. Hänsch
PHYSICIST
1941 - Present
HPI: 71.55
Rank: 44
Charlie Watts
MUSICIAN
1941 - 2021
HPI: 71.44
Rank: 45
David Johnston
POLITICIAN
1941 - Present
HPI: 71.40
Rank: 46
Bobby Moore
SOCCER PLAYER
1941 - 1993
HPI: 71.39
Rank: 47
Dennis Ritchie
COMPUTER SCIENTIST
1941 - 2011
HPI: 71.29
Rank: 48
Wolfgang Petersen
FILM DIRECTOR
1941 - 2022
HPI: 71.17
Rank: 49
John E. Walker
CHEMIST
1941 - Present
HPI: 71.02
Rank: 50
Paul Simon
MUSICIAN
1941 - Present
HPI: 70.88
Rank: 51
Ali Hassan al-Majid
PUBLIC WORKER
1941 - 2010
HPI: 70.70
Rank: 52
Hank Marvin
MUSICIAN
1941 - Present
HPI: 70.50
Rank: 53
George Clinton
SINGER
1941 - Present
HPI: 70.49
Rank: 54
Nathalie Delon
ACTOR
1941 - 2021
HPI: 70.49
Rank: 55
Others Deceased in 2022
Go to all Rankings
Angela Lansbury
ACTOR
1925 - 2022
HPI: 72.07
Rank: 33
James Caan
ACTOR
1940 - 2022
HPI: 71.94
Rank: 34
Yusuf al-Qaradawi
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1926 - 2022
HPI: 71.85
Rank: 35
Dietrich Mateschitz
BUSINESSPERSON
1944 - 2022
HPI: 71.79
Rank: 36
Peter Brook
FILM DIRECTOR
1925 - 2022
HPI: 71.67
Rank: 37
Ray Liotta
ACTOR
1954 - 2022
HPI: 71.20
Rank: 38
Wolfgang Petersen
FILM DIRECTOR
1941 - 2022
HPI: 71.17
Rank: 39
Bruno Latour
PHILOSOPHER
1947 - 2022
HPI: 71.11
Rank: 40
Vladimir Zhirinovsky
POLITICIAN
1946 - 2022
HPI: 70.91
Rank: 41
Robert Curl
CHEMIST
1933 - 2022
HPI: 70.71
Rank: 42
Sidney Altman
CHEMIST
1939 - 2022
HPI: 70.50
Rank: 43
William Hurt
ACTOR
1950 - 2022
HPI: 70.43
Rank: 44
Mylène Demongeot
ACTOR
1935 - 2022
HPI: 70.41
Rank: 45
In Germany
Among people born in Germany, Wolfgang Petersen ranks 629 out of 8,184. Before him are Wolfgang Paul (1913), Henri Nestlé (1814), Georg Wittig (1897), Elsa Einstein (1876), Franz Boas (1858), and Ernst Mayr (1904). After him are Kurt Weill (1900), Walter Baade (1893), Adolf Galland (1912), Klaus Mann (1906), Helmut Newton (1920), and Hans Jonas (1903).
Others born in Germany
Go to all Rankings
Wolfgang Paul
PHYSICIST
1913 - 1993
HPI: 71.27
Rank: 623
Henri Nestlé
BUSINESSPERSON
1814 - 1890
HPI: 71.27
Rank: 624
Georg Wittig
CHEMIST
1897 - 1987
HPI: 71.26
Rank: 625
Elsa Einstein
POLITICIAN
1876 - 1936
HPI: 71.21
Rank: 626
Franz Boas
ANTHROPOLOGIST
1858 - 1942
HPI: 71.19
Rank: 627
Ernst Mayr
BIOLOGIST
1904 - 2005
HPI: 71.17
Rank: 628
Wolfgang Petersen
FILM DIRECTOR
1941 - 2022
HPI: 71.17
Rank: 629
Kurt Weill
COMPOSER
1900 - 1950
HPI: 71.16
Rank: 630
Walter Baade
ASTRONOMER
1893 - 1960
HPI: 71.15
Rank: 631
Adolf Galland
PILOT
1912 - 1996
HPI: 71.11
Rank: 632
Klaus Mann
WRITER
1906 - 1949
HPI: 71.10
Rank: 633
Helmut Newton
PHOTOGRAPHER
1920 - 2004
HPI: 71.10
Rank: 634
Hans Jonas
PHILOSOPHER
1903 - 1993
HPI: 71.09
Rank: 635
Among Film Directors In Germany
Among film directors born in Germany, Wolfgang Petersen ranks 8. Before him are Wim Wenders (1945), Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945), Michael Haneke (1942), Werner Herzog (1942), F. W. Murnau (1888), and Ernst Lubitsch (1892). After him are Volker Schlöndorff (1939), Max Ophüls (1902), Roland Emmerich (1955), Margarethe von Trotta (1942), Thea von Harbou (1888), and Mike Nichols (1931).
Wim Wenders
1945 - Present
HPI: 76.64
Rank: 2
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
1945 - 1982
HPI: 74.27
Rank: 3
Michael Haneke
1942 - Present
HPI: 73.07
Rank: 4
Werner Herzog
1942 - Present
HPI: 72.82
Rank: 5
F. W. Murnau
1888 - 1931
HPI: 72.18
Rank: 6
Ernst Lubitsch
1892 - 1947
HPI: 71.56
Rank: 7
Wolfgang Petersen
1941 - 2022
HPI: 71.17
Rank: 8
Volker Schlöndorff
1939 - Present
HPI: 68.98
Rank: 9
Max Ophüls
1902 - 1957
HPI: 68.15
Rank: 10
Roland Emmerich
1955 - Present
HPI: 68.07
Rank: 11
Margarethe von Trotta
1942 - Present
HPI: 67.54
Rank: 12
Thea von Harbou
1888 - 1954
HPI: 66.08
Rank: 13
Mike Nichols
1931 - 2014
HPI: 65.72
Rank: 14
