Gojko Mitić

Gojko Mitić (born June 13, 1940) is a Serbian-German actor and director. He gained great popularity in East Germany for his portrayal of historical and fictional Native American characters in numerous DEFA Indian films. His popularity may stem from the fact that both in East Germany and later in West Germany attempts were made to attach labels to him: "DEFA bosses" on the one hand, "Winnetou of the East" on the other. However, Mitić never portrayed the latter role in a film, although he did later at the Karl May Festival in Bad Segeberg. This Winnetou formulation refers more to the popularity of Mitić compared to the actor of the role from the West, the Frenchman Pierre Brice.