Daniel Zapognikof, better known as Daniel Emilfork (7 April 1924 – 17 October 2006), sometimes credited as Daniel Emilfork Berenstein, was a Chilean-born French character actor.
His parents were Jewish Ukrainians who fled pogroms during the Russian Civil War/Ukrainian War of Independence and settled in Chile. Daniel later settled in France at the age of 25 to study acting, and he would work there for most of his life. He was also a member of the Balachova theatre company, performing in plays of Federico García Lorca, William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov and Fyodor Dostoevsky. His very unusual gaunt build and face (basically a real life example of Looks Like Orlok) landed him a variety of supporting roles on film and television, including villains.
He was friends with fellow Chilean Alejandro Jodorowsky. He married French actress Denise Péron (1925-1996), and he is the father of actress and stage director Stéphanie Loïk. Nonetheless, he was openly gay and left Chile to escape the homophobia there.
Selected roles:
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956) as Andry le Rouge
- The Triumph of Michael Strogoff (1961) as Ben Routh
- OSS 117 is unleashed (1963) as Sacha
- What's New Pussycat? (1965) as the gas station man
- Fellini's Casanova (1976) as Marquis du Bois
- The Thief of Baghdad (1978 TV film) as the Genie
- Deux heures moins le quart avant Jésus-Christ (1982) as Tatouius
- Roman Polanski's Pirates (1986) as Hendrik
- The City of Lost Children (1995) as Krank
- The Accursed Kings (2005 Mini Series) as Maître Martin
