Günter Lamprecht grew up in Berlin-Kreuzberg. After finishing elementary school, he started as a roofer"s apprentice, worked at a button factory, and for three years as a trained orthopaedic technician. Lamprecht was also an amateur boxer who trained with famous boxer Bubi Scholz. In 1953, Lamprecht took acting lessons in Berlin and made his stage debut at Schillertheater in 1955. From 1955 to 1985, Lamprecht performed at theatres in Bochum, Oberhausen, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg, Essen, Cologne, Hamburg, at Berlin"s Freie Volksbühne and at Recklinghausen Festival and Schwäbisch Hall Festival. Lamprecht also appeared in radio plays. From 1968 on, Lamprecht was regurlarly seen on TV in character roles such as alcoholic Manfred Burger in "Rückfälle" by Peter Beauvais.

He made his movie debut in 1975 in Ottokar Runze"s "Das Messer im Rücken" ("Knife in the Back") and became known to a larger audience for his role as bankrupt baker Georg Baum in Erwin Keusch"s "Das Brot des Bäckers" ("Baker"s Bread"). Furthermore, Lamprecht worked for director Rainer Werner Fassbinder as Wetzel in "Die Ehe der Maria Braun" ("The Marriage of Maria Braun") and also as Franz Biberkopf in the multi-part TV movie "Berlin Alexanderplatz". Lamprecht also played the title role in "Milo Barus – der stärkste Mann der Welt", a film about the Viennese strongman Emil Bahrus.

In 1982, Lamprecht won the actor"s prize "Chaplin-Schuh". His numerous parts include the role of captain of the "Weser" in Wolfgang Petersen"s "Das Boot" ("The Boat") and the role of a Nazi captain in Jerzy Hoffman"s "Zu Freiwild verdammt" ("After Your Decrees"). Lamprecht played debt collector Kosinksi in the TV series "Roncalli" who in the end stands in for the whiteface clown and starred as Berlin based inspector Franz Markowitz in the "Tatort" series. In 1997, Lamprecht was Eric Charell in "Comedian Harmonists" and starred alongside Mario Adorf and Bruno Ganz in "Epsteins Nacht" ("Epstein"s Night") as Reverend Groll who is unmasked as former SS member Giesser. In 2000, Lamprecht published his autobiography "Und wehmütig bin ich immer noch".