Armin Mueller-Stahl (born 17 December 1930) is a retired German film actor, painter and author, who also appeared in numerous English-language films since the 1980s. He was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while work ...

for his role in '' Shine''. In 2011, he was awarded the Honorary Golden Bear.

Early life

Mueller-Stahl was born in

Tilsit Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography ...

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1 ...

(now

Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography S ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

). His mother, Editta, was from an upper-class family and became a university professor in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. His father, Alfred Müller, was a bank teller who changed the family's surname to "Mueller-Stahl". The rest of the family moved to Berlin while his father fought on the Eastern Front in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Mueller-Stahl was a concert violinist while he was a teenager and enrolled at an

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as West Berlin. From 13 August 1961 u ...

acting school in 1952.

Career

Mueller-Stahl was a film and stage actor in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, performing in such films as ''

Her Third ''Her Third'' () is a 1972 East German (then GDR) film directed by Egon Günther and starring Jutta Hoffmann, Barbara Dittus, Rolf Ludwig and Armin Mueller-Stahl. The film is based on the short story ''Unter den Bäumen regnet es zweimal'' by Eb ...

'' and '' Jacob the Liar''. For that country's television, he played the main character of the popular series '' Das unsichtbare Visier'' from 1973–1979, a spy thriller program designed, in co-operation with the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maintaining state author ...

, as a counterpart to the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 19 ...

films. After protesting against

Wolf Biermann Karl Wolf Biermann (; born 15 November 1936) is a German singer-songwriter, poet, and former East German dissident. He is perhaps best known for the 1968 song " Ermutigung" and his expatriation from East Germany in 1976. Early life Biermann was ...

denaturalization Denaturalization is the loss of citizenship against the will of the person concerned. Denaturalization is often applied to ethnic minorities and political dissidents. Denaturalization can be a penalty for actions considered criminal by the state ...

in 1976 he was

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

by the government. Emigrating in 1980 to West Germany, he found regular work in films. These included

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's mai ...

's ''

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lol ...

'' (1981) and '' Veronika Voss'' (1982),

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of th ...

's '' A Love in Germany'' (1984), ''

Angry Harvest ''Angry Harvest'' (german: Bittere Ernte) is a 1985 West German film directed by Agnieszka Holland. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is based on a novel written by Hermann Field and Stanislaw Mierzenski w ...

'' and '' Colonel Redl'' (both 1985), the latter about the scandal surrounding

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

Colonel Alfred Redl. Mueller-Stahl played the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

general in charge of the occupied United States in the 1987 ABC television miniseries '' Amerika''. He made his American feature film debut as

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. She is the 13th actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, along with a Screen Actors G ...

's character's father in ''

Music Box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae ...

'' (1989). His performance as a Jewish immigrant to the United States in the 1990 film ''

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in th ...

'' was widely praised. He subsequently took

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

roles in ''

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typ ...

'' by

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direct ...

and ''

Night on Earth ''Night on Earth'' is a 1991 art comedy-drama film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It is a collection of five vignettes, taking place during the same night, concerning the temporary bond formed between taxi driver and passenger in five ...

'' by

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including '' Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), ''Down by Law'' (19 ...

(both 1991). Mueller-Stahl won the

Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Darsteller) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen b ...

at the

42nd Berlin International Film Festival The 42nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1992. The festival opened with '' The Inner Circle'' by Andrei Konchalovsky. The Golden Bear was awarded to American film ''Grand Canyon'' directed by Lawrence K ...

for his performance in '' Utz'' (1992). Mueller-Stahl was nominated for an

for his performance as the abusive father of pianist David Helfgott in the 1996 film '' Shine''. Mueller-Stahl was also in '' A Pyromaniac's Love Story'' (1995) and the 1997 remake of the film ''

12 Angry Men ''Twelve Angry Men'' is an American courtroom drama written by Reginald Rose concerning the jury of a homicide trial. It was broadcast initially as a television play in 1954. The following year it was adapted for the stage. It was adapted for a ...

''. ''

Conversation with the Beast ''Conversation with the Beast'' (german: Gespräch mit dem Biest) is a 1996 German film directed by Armin Mueller-Stahl, and written by Mueller-Stahl and Tom Abrams. The film is about an American researcher (played by Bob Balaban), who intervi ...

'' (1996) was his first film as director. In 1998, he played the German scientist and syndicate member, Conrad Strughold, in the feature film ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

''. In 1999 he played the mastermind of a criminal gang opposite

Ray Liotta Raymond Allen Liotta (; December 18, 1954 – May 26, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Shoeless Joe Jackson in '' Field of Dreams'' (1989) and Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's ''Goodfellas'' (1990). He was a Pri ...

and

Gloria Reuben Gloria Elizabeth Reuben is a Canadian-American actress, producer, and singer. She is well-known for her role as Jeanie Boulet on the medical drama '' ER'' (1995–1999, 2008), for which she was twice nominated for an Emmy Award, and for portrayi ...

in ''

Pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

'', also distributed under the title ''Inferno''. In the early 2000s, Mueller-Stahl received a positive response for his portrayal of

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

in a German miniseries about the Mann family called ''

Die Manns - Ein Jahrhundertroman Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicond ...

''. In 2004, Mueller-Stahl made a foray into American television, guest-starring in four episodes on the television drama series ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

'' as the

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

. In 2006, he played the role of reclusive Russian artist Nikolai Seroff in ''

Local Color Local color/colour may refer to: * ''Local Color'' (book), a 1950 note and sketch study by Truman Capote * ''Local Color'' (Mose Allison album), 1958 * ''Local Color'' (University of Northern Iowa Jazz Band One album), 2015 * ''Local Color'' (film ...

''. He had a role in

David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformatio ...

's crime drama '' Eastern Promises'' (2007) and the thriller '' The International'' (2009), both of which co-starred British-Australian actress

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama ''For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

. In 2008, he won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Eastern Promises'', and Mueller-Stahl played the role of Cardinal Strauss, Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Papal conclave, in ''

Angels & Demons ''Angels & Demons'' is a 2000 bestselling mystery-thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books and then by Corgi Books. The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who recurs as the protagonist of Bro ...

'' (2009). In 2011, he was awarded the Honorary Golden Bear at the

61st Berlin International Film Festival The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film '' True Grit'' opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total ...

. Since the creation of the

Freya von Moltke Stiftung In Norse paganism, Freyja ( Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a char ...

, working out of Berlin and Krzyżowa, he has been a supporter and linked with their work.

Filmography

* '' Heimliche Ehen'' (1956), as Norbert * '' Die Flucht aus der Hölle'' (1960), as Hans Röder * '' Five Cartridges'' (1960), as Pierre Gireau * '' Star-Crossed Lovers'' (1962), as Michael * ''… und deine Liebe auch'' (1962), as Ullrich Settich * '' Naked among Wolves'' (1963), as André Höfel * ''Christine'' (1963) * ''Preludio 11'' (1964), as Quintana * ''Alaskafüchse'' (1964), as Sowjetischer Arzt * '' Wolf Among Wolves'' (1965, TV series), as Wolfgang Pagel * '' Ein Lord am Alexanderplatz'' (1967), as Dr. Achim Engelhardt * '' Ways across the Country'' (1968), as Jürgen Leßtorff * ''Tödlicher Irrtum'' (1970), as Chris Howard * ''

'' (1972), as The Blind Man * ''Januskopf'' (1972), as Dr. Brock * ''Die Hosen des Ritters von Bredow'' (1973), as Dechant von Krummensee * ' (1974), as Mr. Slavovitz * '' Jacob the Liar'' (1974), as Roman Schtamm * ''Nelken in Aspik'' (1976), as Wolfgang Schmidt * '' Das unsichtbare Visier'' (1973–1976, TV series), as Werner Bredebusch * ''Die Flucht'' (1977), as Schmidt * ''

'' (1981), as Von Bohm * ' (1981, TV film), as Andreas Roth * '' Veronika Voss'' (1982), as Max Rehbein * ' (1982), as 'Gandhi' * ' (1982), as Harald Liebe * ''Die Flügel der Nacht'' (1982), as Goedel * ''

Embers ''Embers'' is a radio play by Samuel Beckett. It was written in English in 1957. First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme on 24 June 1959, the play won the RAI prize at the Prix Italia awards later that year. Donald McWhinnie directed Ja ...

'' (1983), as François Korb / Andres Korb * ' (1983), as Tetzlav * ' (1983), as The Lawyer * ''

The Wounded Man The Wound Man is a surgical diagram which first appeared in European medical manuscripts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The illustration acted as an annotated table of contents to guide the reader through various injuries and diseases ...

'' (1983), as Henri's Father * '' A Love in Germany'' (1983), as Mayer * ' (1983), as Sam * ''Rita Ritter'' (1984) * ' (1984), as Arnold * '' Colonel Redl'' (1985), as

Archduke Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

* ''

'' (1985), as Leon Wolny * ''Die Mitläufer'' (1985) * '' Forget Mozart'' (1985), as Graf Pergen * ''

The Assault of the Present on the Rest of Time ''The Assault of the Present on the Rest of Time'' () is a film made in West Germany in 1985. It is written and directed by Alexander Kluge. The entire film was filmed in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen, Germany. The film's working title was ''Unheiml ...

'' (1985), as Blind Director * ''

Close-Up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production, still photography, and the comic strip medium is a type of shot that tightly frames a person or object. Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium and long ...

'' (1985, TV film), as Dold * '' Momo'' (1986), as Leader of the Men in Grey * '' Franza'' (1987, TV film), as Jordan * '' Amerika'' (1987, TV miniseries), as General Petya Samanov * ' (1987), as Lutz Kehlmann * '' Jokehnen'' (1987, TV miniseries), as Karl Steputat * ''

Lethal Obsession ''Lethal Obsession'' (german: Der Joker, also known as ''The Joker'') is a 1987 German crime-thriller film written and directed by Peter Patzak and starring Peter Maffay, Tahnee Welch, Michael York, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elliott Gould Ell ...

'' (1987), as Axel Baumgartner * '' Midnight Cop'' ''Killing Blue'' (1988), as Inspector Alex Glass * ''

Spider's Web A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spid ...

'' (1989), as Baron von Rastchuk * ' (1989), as Maxwell * ''A hecc'' (1989), as Marnó, kabinos, Tamás barátja * ''

'' (1989), as Mike Laszlo * ''

'' (1990), as Sam Krichinsky * ''

'' (1991), as Helmut Grokenberger * ''

'' (1991), as Grubach * ' (1991), as Aaron * '' Utz'' (1992), as Baron Kaspar Joachim von Utz * '' The Power of One'' (1992), as Doc * ''Far from Berlin'' (1992), as Otto Lindner * '' Red Hot'' (1993), as Dimitri * ' (1993), as Movie Teller * ''

The House of the Spirits ''The House of the Spirits'' ( es, La casa de los espíritus, 1982) is the debut novel of Isabel Allende. The novel was rejected by several Spanish-language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982. It became an instant best-s ...

'' (1993), as Severo * '' Taxandria'' (1994), as Karol / Virgilus * '' Holy Matrimony'' (1994), as Wilhelm * '' The Last Good Time'' (1994), as Joseph Kopple * '' A Pyromaniac's Love Story'' (1995), as Mr. Linzer * '' Theodore Rex'' (1995), as Elizar Kane * '' Shine'' (1996), as Peter * ''

'' (1996), as

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

* ''

The Ogre The Ogre may refer to: * Baintha Brakk, a mountain in the Karakoram range of the Himalayas nicknamed The Ogre * ''The Ogre'' (1989 film), 1989 Italian horror film directed by Lamberto Bava * ''The Erl-King'' (novel), a 1970 novel also published a ...

'' (1996), as Count von Kaltenborn * '' In the Presence of Mine Enemies'' (1997, TV Movie), as Rabbi Adam Heller * ''

'' (1997, TV Movie), as Juror #4 * ''

The Game The Game or The Games may refer to: Sports and games * The Game (dice game) (German: ''Das Spiel''), a dice game designed by Reinhold Wittig * The Game (mind game), a mind game, the objective of which is to avoid thinking about The Game itself * ...

'' (1997), as Anson Baer * ''The Assistant'' (1997), as Mr. Morris Bober * '' The Peacemaker'' (1997), as Dimitri Vertikoff * '' The Commissioner'' (1998), as Hans Koenig * ''

'' (1998), as Strughold * '' The Thirteenth Floor'' (1999), as Hannon Fuller / Grierson * '' The Third Miracle'' (1999), as Werner * '' Jakob the Liar'' (1999), as Kirschbaum * ''

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

'' (1999, TV film), as Joseph * ''

Mission to Mars ''Mission to Mars'' is a 2000 American science fiction adventure film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Jim Thomas, John Thomas, and Graham Yost, and suggested by Disney's theme park attraction of the same name. The film depicts the first ...

'' (2000), as Ray Beck (uncredited) * ''

'' (2000), as Mac * '' The Long Run'' (2001), as Bertold 'Barry' Bohmer * '' Die Manns – Ein Jahrhundertroman'' (2001, TV miniseries), as

* '' The Story of an African Farm'' (2004), as Otto * ''

'' (2004, TV series, 4 episodes), as Israeli Prime Minister Efraim 'Eli' Zahavy * '' The Dust Factory'' (2004), as Grandpa Randolph * ''

'' (2006), as Nicholi Seroff * ' (2006), as Karl Winter * '' Eastern Promises'' (2007), as Semyon * ''

Buddenbrooks ''Buddenbrooks'' () is a 1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in the ...

'' (2008), as Johann 'Jean' Buddenbrook * '' The International'' (2009), as Wilhelm Wexler * ''

'' (2009), as Cardinal Strauss * ''

Attack on Leningrad ''Attack on Leningrad'', or just ''Leningrad'', is a 2009 war film written and directed by Aleksandr Buravsky, set during the Siege of Leningrad. Plot In 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union and their troops besieged the city of Len ...

'' (2009), as

Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb (5 September 1876 – 29 April 1956) was a German field marshal and war criminal in World War II. Leeb was a highly decorated officer in World War I and was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph which gr ...

* '' Knight of Cups'' (2015), as Fr. Zeitlinger

Awards

* Berlin Film Festival **

at the

** Berlinale Camera at the 47th Berlin International Film Festival ** Honorary Golden Bear at the

*Lifetime Achievement Award of

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, secon ...

(2015) * Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (2007) * Honorary citizen of Sovetsk (2011)Armin Mueller-Stahl Ehrenbürger seiner Heimatstadt

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (, ''Berlin Newspaper'') is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since reunification. It is published by Berliner ...

, 8 December 2011

References

External links