German Talent

Background:

A formerly trained Olympic swimmer, German actor Thomas Kretschmann began acting on stage in his country in the late 1980s and has since starred in numerous European films and television series. In the new millennium, he received attention from American audiences for his roles in such films as “U-571” (2000; as Nazi officer Gunther Wassner), “Blade II” (2002; as ancient vampire leader Damaskinos), “The Pianist” (2002; as Wilm Hosenfeld, a Nazi officer who saved Polish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman, played by Adrien Brody, from death in the ruins of Warsaw), “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” (2004; as Major Cain), “Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II” (2005; TV; as the titular role), “King Kong” (2005; as the rough and heroic Captain Englehorn) and “Next” (2007; as the leader of terrorists).

On the small screen, Kretschmann has appeared in the TV series “Karen Sisco,” “24” and “Total Recall 2070.” He will next be seen in the upcoming films “In Tranzit,” “Transsiberian,” “Eichmann,” “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army” (voice), “Dare to Love Me,” “High Midnight,” “The Trunk,” and “The Filthy War.”

The 6' tall actor currently lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and their three children.

Tough Upbringing

Childhood and Family:

In Dessau, German Democratic Republic (now Federal Republic of Germany), Thomas Kretschmann was born on September 8, 1962. He left East Germany at age 19 and began a month-long trek to West Germany to escape the East German Communism regime. He lost part of a finger during that time, but it was later surgically reattached. He only had his passport and the equivalent of $100 in his possession while trying to cross the four borders.

As of 2000, Kretschmann lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend Lena and their three children: Nicolas, Stella and Sascha.

Nazi Officer Roles

Career:

Initially trained to be an Olympic swimmer, German-born Thomas Kretschmann turned to acting and began his acting career on stage in Berlin as part of the Schiller Ensemble in the late 1980s. He also made his film debut in “Westler” (1985), a historical drama by director Wieland Speck.

By 1989, Kretschmann started working steadily both on German-language stage and screen. He starred in the made-for-television movie “Mitwisser, Der,” which won him Germany's prestigious Max Ophül prize for Best Young Actor in 1991. He also guest starred in an episode of the crime/drama series "Alte, Der" and appeared in the miniseries "Radiofieber."

Kretschmann made a move to Vienna, Austria, in 1991 and was cast in his first American film the next year, “Shining Through,” writer-director David Selzer's adaptation of the novel by Susan Isaacs. The movie starred Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith. Afterward, he starred in a string of films in his home country, including the comedy “Engel ohne Flügel” (1993), the war drama “Stalingrad” (1993; as Nazi officer Hans von Witzland), the dramatic “Ratte, Die” (1993), the comedy “Affären” (1994) and the French-German-Italian film “La Reine Margot” (1994; aka “Queen Margot”), director Patrice Chéreau's Oscar-nominated adaptation of the 1845 historical novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas.

The mid 1990s saw Kretschmann in European films like the dramatic “Marciando nel buio” (aka “Marching in Darkness”), the 12-minute “Nachtbus” (aka “Night Bus”), the based-on-novel “Brennendes Herz” (aka “Burning Heart”) and the romantic comedy “Ainsi soient-elles.” While spending the rest of the decade in TV movies and TV series, Kretschmann also continued to add to his acting resume with roles in films, including his second American film, director Phillip J. Roth's independent sci-fi action, “Total Reality” (1997). Additionally, he played lead roles in such European films as Dario Argento's crime/horror/thriller “Sindrome di Stendhal, La” (1996; aka “The Stendhal Syndrome”), the dark comedy “Tocco: la sfida, Il” (1997; aka “Rack Up”), the adventure/fantasy “Prince Valiant” (1997) and the thriller “Coppia omicida” (1998), as well as playing the recurring role of Kurt Reiner (1999-2001), Sydney's (played by Tia Carrere) ex-partner turned rival, in the American/Canadian/French TV series "Relic Hunter."

In the new millennium, Kretschmann began appearing in more English-language projects. After appearing in the TV movies “Green Sails” and “Poison” (a thriller/mystery starring Rosanna Arquette), he received his first starring role in a Hollywood film as a Nazi officer called Capt.-Lt. Gunther Wassner, opposite Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton and Harvey Keitel, in Jonathan Mostow's Oscar-winning submarine war-film, “U-571.”

Kretschmann returned to Germany in 2001 to star in the crime/action/thriller film “Feindliche Übernahme - althan.com” (aka “Hostile Takeover”), and then in Pupi Avati's Italian/French film adapted from his own novel, “Cavalieri che fecero l'impresa, I” (aka “The Knights Who Made the Enterprise”). The next year, he went back to Hollywood to support Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristofferson in Guillermo del Toro's vampire action movie based on the Marvel Comics, “Blade II,” in which he portrayed ancient vampire leader Eli Damaskinos, the film's primary villain.

Also in 2002, Kretschmann co-starred with Adrien Brody in Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning film adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman, “The Pianist.” In the film, he earned international acclaim as Wilm Hosenfeld, a Nazi officer who saved Polish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman (played by Brody) from death in the ruins of Warsaw. Afterward, TV audiences could catch Kretschmann in two episodes of Fox's award-winning series starring Kiefer Sutherland, "24," and in an episode of ABC's crime/drama series starring Carla Gugino, "Karen Sisco." His fans in Europe could also watch him starring as the young man who was beaten up in school, tolerated by his teachers and treated like a ghost, in the dramatic “My Father, Rua Alguem 5555” (2003).

During 2004, Kretschmann appeared in Tony Giglio's World War II submarine film, “In Enemy Hands” (starring William H. Macy, originally aired on the ABC Family Channel), “The Karate Dog” (starring Chevy Chase, Simon Rex, Jon Voight, and Jaime Pressly), Bob Clark's disappointing comedy film “SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2,” Alexander Witt's action/horror film “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” (starring Milla Jovovich), and writer-director John Duigan's sweeping romantic drama set in 1930's England, Paris and Spain, “Head in the Clouds” (with Charlize Theron, Penélope Cruz and Stuart Townsend; Kretschmann portrayed a Nazi officer named Major Franz Bietrich). That same year, he starred in the German/Russian WWII movie based on the books by Joachim Fest and Traudl Junge, “Untergang, Der” (aka “The Downfall”), and portrayed Victor Helios in the TV movie “Frankenstein.” He was also nominated for Best Actor at the European Film Awards for his turn as Alcide Nikopol, a rebel whose body was partially controlled by Horus (played by Thomas M. Pollard), in Enki Bilal's English language, but French-produced, science fiction film set in the year 2095, “Immortel (ad vitam),” based upon his graphic novel “La Foire aux immortels” (aka “The Carnival of Immortals”).

The following year, TV audiences remembered Kretschmann as Pope John Paul II in the biographical drama TV-movie “Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II.” Meanwhile, moviegoers could watch him in Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of the original 1933 film, “King Kong,” in which he was cast alongside Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Back in Germany, Kretschmann starred in the romantic drama film based on the novel by Elisabeth Rynell, “Schneeland” (aka “Snowland”).

Kretschmann won a Best Actor award at the Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival in 2006 for his turn as a cannibal killer who is researched by a graduate student (played by Keri Russell) in Martin Weisz's drama/thriller/horror, “Rohtenburg” (aka “Grimm Love”). He also co-starred in Armand Mastroianni's film version of James Redfield's novel about the search for a sacred manuscript in the Peruvian rain forest, “The Celestine Prophecy,” and was selected as the new face for the new scent by Hugo Boss.

More recently, in 2007, Kretschmann appeared in a Germany film based on Cornelia Funke's novel, “Wilden Hühner und die Liebe, Die.” He also shared the screen with Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore and Jessica Biel in Lee Tamahori's sci-fi thriller loosely based on the short story "The Golden Man" by Philip K. Dick, “Next,” playing the leader of the terrorists who goes by the name of Mr. Smith.

As for his upcoming film projects, Kretschmann has completed Tom Roberts' WWII drama “In Tranzit,” and will soon wrap up Brad Anderson's crime/drama/thriller “Transsiberian” (with Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson and Ben Kingsley) and Robert Young's historical drama based upon the final confession of Adolf Eichmann, “Eichmann,” in which he will portray the title role. He is currently filming Mary Lambert's western thriller “High Midnight,” alongside William Baldwin and Ted Raimi, and writer-director Laszlo Hege's “The Filthy War,” with Gary Cairns II and Vinnie Jones. He will also lend his voice to character Johann in Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of Mike Mignola's comic books, “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,” starring Ron Perlman. Additionally, he will star in Alfonso Arau's romantic musical, “Dare to Love Me,” and Sylvain White's drama, “The Trunk.”

Awards:

• Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival: Best Actor, “Rohtenburg,” 2006

• Max Ophüls Festival: Best Young Actor, “Mitwisser, Der,” (TV), 1991