Best living German Actors
by rose-taylor | created - 04 Dec 2010 | updated - 08 Oct 2013 | Publicno ranking
On this list are actors who appear often in German movies, they can also be Austrian or from other countrys.
1. August Diehl
Actor | Inglourious Basterds
August Diehl was born on January 4, 1976 in Berlin, Germany. He is an actor and writer, known for Inglourious Basterds (2009), A Hidden Life (2019) and 23 (1998). He has been married to Julia Malik since 1999. They have two children.
2. Anna Maria Mühe
Actress | Mitten in Deutschland: NSU
Anna Maria Mühe (born 1985) is a German actress.
Born in Berlin to actor Ulrich Mühe (1953-2007) and actress Jenny Gröllmann (1947-2006), she was invited by director Maria von Heland to a casting for Big Girls Don't Cry. She also played in a video of Schiller's song "Sehnsucht". After making her ...
3. Julia Jentsch
Actress | Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage
After school, Jentsch turned to acting. She attended the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. Jentsch then began her acting career in the theater. In 2001 she joined the ensemble of the Munich Kammerspiele, where she masterfully interpreted Desdemona in Shakespeare's "Othello", Sophocles...
4. Daniel Brühl
Actor | Rush
Daniel Brühl was born in Barcelona, Spain. His father was German TV director Hanno Brühl (1937-2010), who was born in São Paulo, Brazil. His Spanish mother was a teacher. He also has a brother and a sister, Oliver and Miriam. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Cologne, Germany, where he ...
5. Nadja Uhl
Actress | Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Nadja Uhl was born on May 23, 1972 in Stralsund, German Democratic Republic. She is an actress, known for The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), Operation Sugar (2012) and Divided We Stand (2022).
6. Jasmin Tabatabai
Actress | Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
She played in the woman-band "Even Cowgirls get the blues", which also helped her to play her part in the movie Bandits (1997). She wrote most of the songs for the Soundtrack of "Bandits". On 3rd December 2002, her first child, a girl named Angelina Sherri Rose, was born. Father of the child is the...
7. Matthias Schweighöfer
Actor | Army of the Dead
Grimme-Preis award winner, Matthias Schweighöfer, is one of Germany's most successful actors and is quickly becoming an international phenomenon.
Schweighöfer was most recently seen in Christopher Nolan's film, "Oppenheimer," Netflix's "Heart of Stone" opposite Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan and "The ...
8. Christoph Waltz
Actor | Django Unchained
Christoph Waltz is an Austrian-German actor. He is known for his work with American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, receiving acclaim for portraying SS-Standartenführer Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds (2009) and bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained (2012). For each performance, he won...
9. Hannelore Hoger
Actress | Bella Block
Hannelore Hoger was born on August 20, 1942 in Hamburg, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Bella Block (1993), Die zweite Heimat: Chronik einer Jugend (1992) and Die Bertinis (1988).
10. Katharina Thalbach
Actress | Die Blechtrommel
Katharina Thalbach was born on January 19, 1954 in East Berlin, East Germany. She is an actress and director, known for The Tin Drum (1979), Der Minister (2013) and I've Never Been to New York (2019). She is married to Uwe Hamacher.
11. Robert Stadlober
Actor | Sommersturm
Robert Stadlober was born on August 3, 1982 in Friesach, Carinthia, Austria. He is an actor and producer, known for Summer Storm (2004), Enemy at the Gates (2001) and Engel & Joe (2001).
12. Julia Hummer
Actress | Die innere Sicherheit
Her parents soon lived apart. The girl first grew up with her mother, but then attended a high school in Itzehoe. Hummer was also on Trebe for some time and was placed in a youth home. After the 11th grade she dropped out of school to go to Hamburg. Hummer came to film by chance: after her portrait...
13. Martina Gedeck
Actress | Das Leben der Anderen
Martina Gedeck was born in Munich. After spending a year in the US, she studied drama at the Berlin University of the Arts. Martina's film career began while she was still at drama school. Her filmography covers practically all genres of film.
Gedeck has won a total of 23 major cinema and TV awards....
14. Moritz Bleibtreu
Actor | Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Moritz Bleibtreu is a German actor born on August 13, 1971 in Munich growing up in Hamburg. He first appears in children's television series Neues aus Uhlenbusch (1977) at the age of six. His breakthrough was the role called "Abdul" in the movie Knockin' on Heaven's Door (1997). He also became ...
15. Jessica Schwarz
Actress | Romy
Jessica Schwarz was born on May 5, 1977 in Erbach im Odenwald, Hesse, Germany. She is an actress, known for Romy (2009), Nichts bereuen (2001) and Buddenbrooks (2008).
16. Franka Potente
Actress | Lola rennt
Franka Potente was born on 22 July 1974 in the German city of Münster, to Hildegard, a medical assistant, and Dieter Potente, a teacher, and raised in the nearby town of Dülmen. After her graduation in 1994, she went to the Otto-Falckenberg-Schule, a drama school in Munich, but soon broke off to ...
17. Elmar Wepper
Actor | Kirschblüten - Hanami
Elmar Wepper was born on April 16, 1944 in Augsburg, Germany. He was an actor, known for Cherry Blossoms (2008), Zwei Münchner in Hamburg (1989) and Unsere schönsten Jahre (1983). He was married to Anita Schlierf. He died on October 31, 2023 in Planegg, Bavaria, Germany.
18. Stipe Erceg
Actor | Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei
Stipe Erceg was born on October 30, 1974 in Split, Croatia, Yugoslavia [now Croatia]. He is an actor and producer, known for The Edukators (2004), Unknown (2011) and The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008).
19. Joachim Król
Actor | Der bewegte Mann
Joachim Król was born on June 17, 1957 in Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He is an actor, known for Maybe... Maybe Not (1994), Tatort (1970) and Run Lola Run (1998).
20. Axel Prahl
Actor | Tatort
His stepfather was a chief petty officer in the Navy. He spent his childhood and youth in Neustadt, Holstein. After secondary school, he attended secondary school, switched to vocational school and then to technical high school, where he completed his technical high school diploma. He then studied ...
21. Jan Josef Liefers
Actor | Tatort
Jan Josef Liefers was born on August 8, 1964 in Dresden, East Germany [now Saxony, Federal Republic of Germany]. He is an actor and director, known for Tatort (1970), The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) and The Tower (2012). He has been married to Anna Loos since August 5, 2004. They have two ...
22. Andreas Schmidt
Actor | Pigs Will Fly
Andreas Schmidt was born on November 23, 1963 in Heggen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was an actor and writer, known for Pigs Will Fly (2002), Plus-minus null (1998) and Fleisch ist mein Gemüse (2008). He was married to Jennifer. He died on September 28, 2017 in Berlin, Germany.
23. Horst Krause
Actor | Schultze Gets the Blues
Horst Krause was born on December 18, 1941 in Bönhof, West Prussia, Germany [now Benowo, Pomorskie, Poland]. He is an actor, known for Schultze Gets the Blues (2003), No More Mr. Nice Guy (1993) and Der Leutnant vom Schwanenkietz (1974).
24. Fritzi Haberlandt
Actress | Kalt ist der Abendhauch
Fritzi Haberlandt was born in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic on 6th June. She is a theater and television actor known for her roles in Kalt ist der Abendhauch (2000), Babylon Berlin (2017), Summer Window (2011), Liegen lernen (2003), Deutschland 86 (2018) and Deutschland 89 (2020). She won...
25. Uwe Steimle
Actor | Polizeiruf 110
Steimle grew up in Dresden-Trachau. Both parents were unofficial employees of the Ministry of State Security of the GDR. His father was a professional non-commissioned officer (last as a staff sergeant) in the tank troop of the National People's Army, then in the Bundeswehr gatekeeper; the mother ...
26. Veronica Ferres
Actress | Crisis
After playing a lead role in Oscar and Golden Globe nominated movie "Schtonk!" by Helmut Dietl 1992, Veronica Ferres became one of the most well-known German actresses. She has worked in over one hundred and fifty feature films; more than thirty of which were American / English productions. Two ...
27. Bibiana Beglau
Actress | Die Stille nach dem Schuss
Bibiana Beglau was born on July 16, 1971 in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is an actress, known for The Legend of Rita (2000), Unter dem Eis (2005) and Luna's Revenge (2017).
28. Anneke Kim Sarnau
Actress | The Constant Gardener
Anneke Kim Sarnau was born on February 25, 1972 in Elmshorn, Germany. She is an actress, known for The Constant Gardener (2005), Police Call 110 (1971) and Final Hope (2002).
29. Katja Riemann
Actress | Fack ju Göhte
Katja Riemann was born on November 1, 1963 in Kirchweyhe, Weyhe, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Suck Me Shakespeer (2013), Rosenstrasse (2003) and Bandits (1997).
30. Juliane Köhler
Actress | Der Untergang
Juliane Köhler was born on August 6, 1965 in Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is an actress, known for Downfall (2004), Aimee & Jaguar (1999) and Nowhere in Africa (2001). She has been married to Michael Rösch since 1996. They have two children.
31. Devid Striesow
Actor | Im Westen nichts Neues
Devid Striesow was born on October 1, 1973 in Bergen auf Rügen, East Germany [now Germany]. He is an actor, known for All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), The Counterfeiters (2007) and Before the Fall (2004). He has been married to Francine since 2008. They have two children.
32. Hannah Herzsprung
Actress | The Reader
Hannah Herzsprung was born on September 7, 1981 in Hamburg, West Germany. She is an actress, known for The Reader (2008), Who Am I (2014) and Four Minutes (2006).
33. Maren Kroymann
Actress | Verfolgt
Maren Kroymann was born on July 19, 1949 in Walsrode, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is an actress and writer, known for Verfolgt (2006), Free Fall (2013) and Mein Leben & ich (2001).
34. Karoline Herfurth
Actress | Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Karoline Herfurth was born on May 22, 1984 in Berlin, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), Text for You (2016) and Einfach mal was Schönes (2022).
35. Armin Mueller-Stahl
Actor | Eastern Promises
Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German actor with a relatively long film career. He was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as an abusive father in the biographical drama "Shine" (1996).
In 1930, Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. The town developed ...
36. Hannelore Elsner
Actress | Die Kommissarin
One of the pre-eminent divas of post-war German cinema, Hannelore Elsner (born 'Elstner') was the consummate actress: a gifted and versatile performer with a penchant for intense roles, often as emancipated, strong-willed women. A Bavarian engineer's daughter (her father died of tuberculosis when ...
37. Burghart Klaußner
Actor | Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei
Burghart Klaußner was born on September 13, 1949 in Berlin, Germany. He is an actor and producer, known for The Edukators (2004), The White Ribbon (2009) and The People Vs. Fritz Bauer (2015). He is married to Jenny. They have two children.
38. Johanna Gastdorf
Actress | Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage
Johanna Gastdorf was born on March 17, 1959 in Hamburg, Germany. She is an actress, known for Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005), The Wave (2008) and The Miracle of Bern (2003). She is married to Jan-Gregor Kremp. They have one child.
39. Nina Hoss
Actress | Phoenix
Nina Hoss was born on July 7, 1975 in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. She is an actress, known for Phoenix (2014), Tár (2022) and A Most Wanted Man (2014). She has been married to Alex Silva since 2015.
40. Ulrich Matthes
Actor | Der Untergang
Ulrich Matthes was born on May 9, 1959 in West Berlin, West Germany. He is an actor, known for Downfall (2004), A Hidden Life (2019) and Feuerreiter (1998).
41. Johanna Wokalek
Actress | Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Johanna Wokalek was born on March 3, 1975 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany. She is an actress, known for The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), Pope Joan (2009) and Barefoot (2005). She is married to Thomas Hengelbrock. They have one child.
42. Alice Dwyer
Actress | Ma folie
Alice Dwyer was born on June 8, 1988 in West Berlin, West Germany. She is an actress, known for Ma folie (2015), Höhere Gewalt (2008) and Was du nicht siehst (2009).
43. Sibel Kekilli
Actress | Gegen die Wand
Sibel Kekilli is a German actress of Turkish origin. With her debut in Fatih Akin's movie "Head On" she gained major public attention. The film won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2004 and her acting performance received several national and international prizes, among them the highly ...
44. David Kross
Actor | The Reader
David Kross was born on July 4, 1990 in Bargteheide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany next to Hamburg. He attended Eckhorst High School in Bargteheide till 2007. In this period, he first appears in the German movie Verzauberte Emma oder Hilfe, ich bin ein Junge... ! (2002). He also receives his first ...
45. Ken Duken
Actor | Max Manus
Ken Duken was born on the 17th of April 1979 as a son of an actress and a doctor in Heidelberg / Germany. He started to learn acting from his stage actress mother Christina Loeb. Later he took courses by James Reynolds and Bruce McDonald but he never attended drama school.
Before starting his career...
46. Alexander Fehling
Actor | Inglourious Basterds
Alexander Fehling was born on March 29, 1981 in Berlin, Germany. He is an actor and director, known for Inglourious Basterds (2009), Labyrinth of Lies (2014) and Homeland (2011).
47. Sophie Rois
Actress | Enemy at the Gates
Sophie Rois was born on 1 June 1961 in Ottensheim, Austria and studied acting at the Max-Reinhardt-Seminar in Vienna from 1982 to 1985. In the following years, she played at several theaters in Berlin, since 1992 she has been ensemble member at the city's Freie Volksbühne. Appearing also on ...
48. Sandra Hüller
Actress | Anatomie d'une chute
Sandra Hüller was born in Suhl. She studied acting at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin. For her performance of Anneliese Michel in Hans-Christian Schmid's drama Requiem she won The Silver Bear for Best Actress. She is internationally known for her starring role in Maren Ade's Toni...
49. Corinna Harfouch
Actress | Der Untergang
Growing up as the daughter of the teacher Wolfgang Meffert and his wife Marianne née Kleber, she attended school in Großenhain from 1961 to 1973. She completed her Abitur at the extended high school. After training as a nurse, she began studying textile engineering at the TU Dresden in 1976. From ...
50. Lena Lauzemis
Actress | Wer wenn nicht wir
Lena Lauzemis was born on January 15, 1983 in Berlin, Germany. She is an actress, known for If Not Us, Who? (2011), Hidden Reserves (2016) and Tatort (1970).
51. Sabine Timoteo
Actress | L'amour, l'argent, l'amour
Sabine Timoteo was born on March 25, 1975 in Berne, Switzerland. She is an actress and writer, known for Love, Money, Love (2000), The Chronicles of Melanie (2016) and Drift (2015). She is married to ? Timoteo. They have two children.
52. Misel Maticevic
Actor | Im Angesicht des Verbrechens
Misel Maticevic was born on July 28, 1970 in West-Berlin, Germany. He is an actor, known for In the Face of Crime (2010), Exile (2020) and The Vow (2007).
53. Max Riemelt
Actor | Napola - Elite für den Führer
Max Riemelt was born on January 7, 1984 in Berlin, Germany. He is an actor, known for Before the Fall (2004), Free Fall (2013) and Berlin Syndrome (2017).
54. Jasna Fritzi Bauer
Actress | Barbara
Jasna Fritzi Bauer (born in 1989) is a Swiss actress. Since her debut on screen in Pia Marais "At Ellens Age" she has appeared in more than thirty film and TV productions.
In 2012 she graduated from the well known Highschool of Performing Arts "Ernst Busch" in Berlin where she studied acting for ...
55. Sebastian Urzendowsky
Actor | The Way Back
Sebastian Urzendowsky was born on May 28, 1985 in Berlin, Germany. He is an actor and director, known for The Way Back (2010), Mitten in Deutschland: NSU (2016) and The Tower (2012).
56. Florian David Fitz
Actor | Jesus liebt mich
Florian David Fitz was born on November 20, 1974 in Munich, Bavaria, West Germany. He is an actor and writer, known for Jesus Loves Me (2012), The Most Beautiful Day (2016) and Oskars Kleid (2022).
57. Florian Lukas
Actor | Good Bye Lenin!
Florian Lukas was born on March 16, 1973 in East Berlin, East Germany. He is an actor and producer, known for Good Bye Lenin! (2003), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Weissensee Saga (2010).
58. Ulrich Noethen
Actor | Der Untergang
Ulrich Noethen was born on November 18, 1959 in Munich, Germany. He is an actor, known for Downfall (2004), Das Sams (2001) and Das fliegende Klassenzimmer (2003). He was previously married to Friederike Wagner.
59. Ulrich Tukur
Actor | Das Leben der Anderen
He spent his childhood and youth in Hesse, Westphalia and Lower Saxony. As a teenager he lived in the Wedemark region of Lower Saxony near Hanover. He spent his school years there, completing his high school diploma as an exchange student for the American Field Service AFS in Boston (USA). In 1977 ...
60. Sebastian Koch
Actor | Das Leben der Anderen
Sebastian Koch is one of the most internationally sought-after German actors of his generation. After stage engagements in Berlin, Bochum and Darmstadt, the Karlsruhe native was twice awarded the "Grimme Prize" in 2002 for the title role in Peter Keglevic's "Der Tanz mit dem Teufel - Die Entführung...
61. Bernadette Heerwagen
Actress | Die kommenden Tage
Bernadette Heerwagen was born on June 22, 1977 in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany. She is an actress, known for The Coming Days (2010), Grüße aus Kaschmir (2004) and An die Grenze (2007). She is married to Ole Puppe. They have one child.
62. Heike Makatsch
Actress | Love Actually
Born on 13 August 1971 in Düsseldorf, Germany, as the daughter of former German national ice hockey keeper Rainer Makatsch. After studying politics and sociology at the University of Düsseldorf for two years and an apprenticeship as dressmaker, she was hired by newborn TV music channel VIVA in 1993...
63. Edgar Selge
Actor | Polizeiruf 110
Edgar Selge was born on March 27, 1948 in Brilon, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He is an actor, known for Police Call 110 (1971), The Experiment (2001) and The Poll Diaries (2010). He has been married to Franziska Walser since 1985. They have two children.
64. Richy Müller
Actor | xXx
Richy Müller was born on September 26, 1955 in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany. He is an actor, known for xXx (2002), Tatort (1970) and The Poll Diaries (2010).
65. Maria Dragus
Actress | Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte
Maria Dragus was born in 1994 in Romania. She is an actress, known for The White Ribbon (2009), Mademoiselle Paradis (2017) and Mary Queen of Scots (2018).
66. Fabian Hinrichs
Actor | Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage
Fabian Hinrichs was born in 1974 in Hamburg, West Germany. He is an actor, known for Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005), Tatort (1970) and Divided We Stand (2022).
67. Tom Schilling
Actor | Oh Boy
Tom Schilling was born on February 10, 1982 in Berlin, Germany. He is an actor and producer, known for A Coffee in Berlin (2012), Before the Fall (2004) and Who Am I (2014).
68. Josefine Preuß
Actress | Türkisch für Anfänger
Josefine Preuß was born on January 13, 1986 in Zehdenick, Brandenburg, Germany. She is an actress, known for Türkisch für Anfänger (2012), Türkisch für Anfänger (2006) and Sapphire Blue (2014).
69. Volker Bruch
Actor | Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Volker Bruch was born on March 9, 1980 in Munich, Germany. He is an actor, known for The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008), The Reader (2008) and Babylon Berlin (2017).
70. Sylvester Groth
Actor | Inglourious Basterds
Sylvester Groth was born in Jerichow, German Democratic Republic on March 31st, 1958. He is an actor with an extensive television and theater career, well known for portraying Goebbels in Inglourious Basterds (2009), Clausen in Dark (2019) and starring in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015), Stalingrad ...
71. Ronald Zehrfeld
Actor | Barbara
Ronald Zehrfeld was born on January 15, 1977 in East Berlin, East Germany. He is an actor, known for Barbara (2012), The People Vs. Fritz Bauer (2015) and In the Face of Crime (2010).
72. Katharina Schüttler
Actress | Freier Fall
Katharina Schüttler started acting for film and television when she was 11 years old. Her breakthrough in Germany was the International Emmy Award winning Mini-Series "Generation War" ("Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter") in which she portrayed singer Greta del Torres. She appeared in many films for ...
Tell Your Friends