Received the Max Ophüls Prize for best young actor in 1991
Started working as an actor at the age of 25, after being trained to be an Olympic swimmer
Has played a Nazi officer in six different, completely unrelated films: Stalingrad (1993), U-571 (2000), The Pianist (2002), In Enemy Hands (2004), Untergang, Der (2004) and Head in the Clouds (2004).
Will collaborate again with his "The Pianist" co-star Adrien Brody in "King Kong." Incidentally, both of Kretschmann's roles with Brody are as captains, albeit of a very different type (in Pianist, he played a Nazi officer with a conscience, in Kong he plays a tough boat captain guiding a film crew).
He has three children: one son named Nicolas and one daughter named Stella and an another child, with his girlfriend Lena.
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.
He played a Nazi in 'The Pianist', and, in 'Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II', he played Pope John Paul II, who (as the movie shows) fought against and tried to protect people from the Nazis.
Made his stage debut in "Macbeth", directed by Katharina Thalbach.
Thomas Kretschmann Detailed Biography
Thomas Kretschmann will next be seen in John Duigan's drama Head in the Clouds, starring Charlize Theron, Penélope Cruz and Stuart Townsend. Currently, he is filming the drama Celestine Prophecy for director Amrand Mastroianni with Hector Elizondo and Annabeth Gish. Most recently, he co-starred in the feature films In Enemy Hands with William H. Macy and Lauren Holly, and Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning The Pianist. Kretschmann's additional credits include U-571 with Matthew McConaughey and Harvey Keitel for director Jonathan Mostow, and Blade II, among others. On television, Kretschmann had a recurring role on 24 and was a guest star on Karen Sisco. In addition, he co-starred in the cable movie Esther for TNT.
While training as a swimmer in East Germany, Kretschmann decided to purse an acting career and escaped the Communist country via three different countries before being granted political asylum in West Berlin. After three years of studying acting, he was invited to be a member of Schillertheatre, the national theatre of Berlin. 1n 1991, Kretschmann made his film debut in Der Mitwisser, which earned him Germany's prestigious Max Ophüls Prize as Best Up-and-Coming Actor. When he appeared in the World War II epic Stalingrad, his performance launched him into the international limelight. He went on to star in Queen Margot, Marching in the Dark, Dario Argento's The Stendahl Syndrome and Prince Valiant.
