German Male Film & Theater Personalities

Michael Fassbender is a critically-acclaimed Irish-German actor best known for playing a sex addict in the psychological erotic drama film Shame. Apart from being an actor, Michael is also a well-known racing driver; he started his auto racing career in 2017 and currently races for Proton Competition in the European Le Mans Series.

Spanish-German actor Daniel Brühl began his career with the soap Verbotene Liebe. Raised trilingual, he is now fluent in six languages. Hollywood knows him best as Fredrick Zoller from Inglourious Basterds, while he first made waves with the German film Good Bye, Lenin! He later co-owned two bars.

Arón Piper is a German-Spanish actor best known for his portrayal of Ander Muñoz in the Spanish thriller teen drama series, Elite. Apart from being an actor, Piper is also a musician. He joined hands with several other musicians to release a single titled Sigo. In 2020, he released another song titled Rosé.

Pantomime and clown Benedikt Negro hails from Germany and began performing at age 9, mastering tricks such as breathing fire, knife throwing, and juggling. Now, the lead attraction of O, the Cirque du Soleil water show, he has also recently worked with famed directors such as James Cameron.

Though German actor Klaus Kinski had gained fame with his stellar performances in the films of Werner Herzog, he had also been in the news for his eccentricity and volatile nature. He was once admitted to psychiatric facility for attempting to kill his sponsor, and his own daughter accused him of abuse.

While he initially trained to be an Olympic swimmer, Thomas Kretschmann turned to acting at age 25. Surprisingly, he was typecast as a Nazi officer and ended up playing one in 11 films, including The Pianist. He first gained fame with his Max Ophüls Prize-winning role in Der Mitwisser.

F. W. Murnau was a German film director best remembered for directing the 1922 silent horror film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which is widely regarded as a masterpiece of German Expressionist cinema. He also made Hollywood films like Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, which is often counted among the best movies ever made by critics and film directors.

Flula Borg is a German actor, comedian, musician, DJ, and YouTube personality. Despite being a German, Borg has managed to establish himself in the American film and TV industry; he has appeared in films like Pitch Perfect 2 and Bad Therapy. Popular on social media, Flula Borg was named in The Hollywood Reporter magazine's Top 25 Digital Stars list in 2015.

Max Riemelt is a German actor who achieved international recognition after portraying Wolfgang Bogdanow in the popular American science fiction TV series, Sense8. His performance in the series landed him opportunities to play important roles in German as well as international projects, such as Berlin Syndrome and World on Fire.

Til Schweiger is a German actor, filmmaker, and voice actor. Apart from playing important roles in German films, Schweiger has also appeared in several American films, such as Investigating Sex, King Arthur, and Already Dead. Til Schweiger is credited with establishing a production company named Barefoot Films.

Award-winning Austrian film director and screenwriter Michael Haneke, who teaches film direction at the Film Academy Vienna, is best-known for films like The Piano Teacher, Caché, The White Ribbon and Amour. Haneke has made films in English, French and German, and mostly deals with subjects that examine social issues and portrays feelings of individuals facing social alienation in modern society.

Wolfgang Petersen is a German film producer, director, and screenwriter. One of the most popular and critically acclaimed German filmmakers of all time, Petersen is credited with directing successful films like In the Line of Fire, Troy, and Outbreak. His 1981 West German war film Das Boot earned him two Academy Award nominations.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a German actor, filmmaker, and playwright. He grew up in the aftermath of World War II and had a tough childhood. He sought solace by watching films and took acting lessons. He began his career in theater and eventually entered films as well. He is considered a prominent figure of the New German Cinema movement. 

Wim Wenders is a German filmmaker and playwright. He is considered to be a major figure in New German Cinema.  Buena Vista Social Club and Pina are among his best-known works. He has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Besides filmmaking, he is also active as a photographer and has published several books. 

Matthias Schweighofer is a German actor, film director, voice actor, and producer. Over the course of his career, Schweighofer has received several prestigious awards like the German Television Prize, Adolf Grimme Award, and Bavarian Film Award. Matthias Schweighofer is also a fashion enthusiast; he is credited with co-founding a fashion label named German Garment along with television presenter Joko Winterscheidt.

Two-time Tony-nominated actor Samuel E. Wright is best known for his performances in The Lion King and The Tap Dance Kid. Fans also know him as the voice of Sebastian in The Little Mermaid, and his track Under the Sea, from the movie, won an Academy Award.

German actor Gert Fröbe is best remembered as Auric Goldfinger from the James Bond film Goldfinger and as Baron Bomburst from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He initially gained fame with German films such as Berliner Ballade. He was also part of the Canadian-German series The Little Vampire.

Numan Acar is a Turkish-German film producer and actor. A civil engineer by profession, Acar chose acting in the late 1990s and started appearing in German and Turkish films. In 2007, he began his own production company Acar Entertainment, which produces German-Turkish movies. Numan Acar achieved international fame in 2019 when he played Dmitri Smerdyakov in Spider-Man: Far From Home. 

Marc Forster is a Swiss filmmaker best known for directing popular and critically acclaimed films like Monster's Ball, Stranger than Fiction, Quantum of Solace, and The Kite Runner. Over the course of his career, Marc Forster has received nominations for prestigious awards like the BAFTA Award for Best Direction and Golden Globe Award for Best Director. 

William Alexander was a German painter, television host, and art instructor. He is credited with creating the popular television series, The Magic of Oil Painting, which he hosted from 1974 to 1982 on PBS in the USA. Bill Alexander is also credited with teaching Bob Ross his signature wet-on-wet technique.

Tom Tykwer is a German film producer, director, composer, and screenwriter. Tykwer is best known for directing thriller films like Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and Run Lola Run. The recipient of three Bavarian Film Awards, Tom Tykwer is also known for co-creating the popular German TV series Babylon Berlin.