Thomas Kretschmann

Overview

Born
September 8, 1962 · Dessau, German Democratic Republic [now Saxony-Anhalt, Federal Republic of Germany]
Height
5′ 9″ (1.76 m)

Biography

Family

Children

Trivia

Aged 19, he began a month-long trek from East to West Germany to escape Communism, during which he lost part of his finger to frostbite. He crossed 4 borders with nothing other than a passport and the equivalent of $100 in his possession.
Has played a German nazi officer in 11 different, completely unrelated films: The Warrior's Heart (1992), Stalingrad (1993), U-571 (2000), The Pianist (2002), In Enemy Hands (2004), Downfall (2004), Head in the Clouds (2004), Eichmann (2007), Valkyrie (2008), The Sinking of the Laconia (2010) and Stalingrad (2013).
Started working as an actor at the age of 25, after being trained to be an Olympic swimmer.
Collaborated again with his The Pianist (2002) co-star Adrien Brody in King Kong (2005). Incidentally, both of Kretschmann's roles with Brody are as captains, albeit of a very different type. In The Pianist (2002), he played a Nazi officer with a conscience; in King Kong (2005) he plays a tough boat captain guiding a film crew.
Now living and working in Los Angeles

Quotes

Leaving [home] is kind of a strange thing - the world opens up but, at the same time, it gets smaller. The more you see of the world, the smaller it seems. After I did the film Stalingrad (1993), I left Germany, and I did a couple of films in France and lived there for about three years, and a couple of films in Italy, and lived there for two years. Then I came over here. The more you get familiar with different countries, the more you think, "Where am I going to live for the rest of my life?" You think, "OK, Germany sucks - don't want to live there; France, no; Italy - the food is nice, but I don't want to live there". In the end, you have nowhere to go anymore.
[on his title role in Eichmann (2007)] I was born long after the war but I still carry this collective guilt around. It's not as much fun for a German to play a part like this than it would be for, say, Ralph Fiennes. It's a very juicy part, but I couldn't get myself excited to go and play Eichmann. Strangely, I have lots of Jewish friends in LA. My wife is Jewish. They were all excited that I play him, so I wanted to do it for them.
I don't let anyone tell me to shut up, but I have never brawled.
[on fleeing the GDR] I ran until I could run no more. It was midnight, I've been running for six hours straight.
Well, I only auditioned at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts because I didn't know what else to do with my life. I actually wanted to do architecture and design and something like that and then a friend had asked me if I'm stupid, what I would want to design *here*. That was while I was still living in the GDR.