Born in Emden, Lower Saxony, Germany. German director whose DAS BOOT (1981), a gripping story of a doomed U-boat during WW II, earned him international acclaim and also gave him the distinction of being the first director nominated for an Oscar for a German film. Petersen began his career directing plays in the early 1960s in Hamburg. He enrolled in film school and, shortly after graduating, began directing for German TV. Petersen moved to features with EINER VON UNS BEIDEN / ONE OF US TWO (1973). He followed up with the controversial gay love story DIE KONSEQUENZ / THE CONSEQUENCE (1977), which was banned in parts of Germany. After the success of DAS BOOT, Petersen moved toward Hollywood filmmaking with the German-American co-production of a charming Capra-style fairy tale, THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984). His subsequent outings in Hollywood (ENEMY MINE, 1985, SHATTERED, 1991) received lukewarm receptions from both critics and audiences, but Petersen rebounded with the taut thriller film IN THE LINE OF FIRE (1993), starring Clint Eastwood and John Malkovich, OUTBREAK (1995) and AIR FORCE ONE (1999), starring Harrison Ford. He directed the screen version of Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm in 2000. His most recent directing credits include the movie version of the Achilles and Helen story, TROY (2004) starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom, and the re-make POSEIDON (2006), with a cast headed by Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss. ENDER'S GAME (scheduled for 2008) is in pre-production as of this writing.  Nominated for Directing 1982: DAS BOOT  Nominated for Writing (Best Screenplay based on material from another medium) 1982: DAS BOOT 2 nominations