August Zirner (born 7 January 1956) is an American-Austrian actor, who starred in over 60 film productions. He is one of the most popular actors in Germany.

Biography

Zirner was born as son of Austrian Jewish immigrants in the United States in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

. His father had fled from the Nazis. In 1976 he studied drama at the

Max Reinhardt Seminar The Max Reinhardt Seminar (Reinhardt Seminar) is the School of Drama at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Palais Cumberland, Penzingerstraße 9, in Vienna's 14th district (). History A ''Lehr ...

in Vienna before he made his debut as an actor at the Volkstheater in Vienna. After that he was engaged in Hanover, Wiesbaden and at the

Munich Kammerspiele The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three venues: the main stage of ...

. His breakthrough into film was in '' The Promise'' in 1994. He has appeared in numerous films and television films, e. g. in ' (1990) by , '' Voyager'' (1991) by

Volker Schlöndorff Volker Schlöndorff (; born 31 March 1939 Friday) is a German film director, screenwriter and producer who has worked in Germany, France and the United States. He was a prominent member of the New German Cinema of the late 1960s and early 1970s, ...

, '' Talk of the Town'' (1995) by

Rainer Kaufmann Rainer Kaufmann (born 6 June 1959) is a German film director. He directed more than thirty films including ''The Pharmacist (1997 film), The Pharmacist'' and ', a film about human trafficking. Selected filmography *''Dann eben mit Gewalt'' (199 ...

, ''Winterkind'' (1997) by

Margarethe von Trotta Margarethe von Trotta (; born 21 February 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, and actress. She has been referred to as a "leading force" of the New German Cinema movement.

, '' The Pharmacist'' (1997) by Rainer Kaufmann and '' The Counterfeiters'' by

Stefan Ruzowitzky Stefan Ruzowitzky (born 25 December 1961) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. Early life Ruzowitzky was born in Vienna. He studied drama and history at the University of Vienna and started directing music videos, for example for 'N ...

, which was awarded with the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2008. For the film '' Rage'', he got the 2006

Grimme-Preis The Grimme-Preis ("Grimme Award"; prior to 2011: Adolf-Grimme-Preis) is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme.Austrian Service Abroad The Austrian Service Abroad is a non-profit organization founded by Andreas Hörtnagl, Andreas Maislinger and Michael Prochazka in 1998, which sends young Austrians to work in partner institutions worldwide serving Holocaust commemoration in f ...

as an advisor for the

Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service Gedenkdienst is the concept of facing and taking responsibility for the darkest chapters of one's own country's history while ideally being financially supported by one's own country's government to do so. Founded in Austria in 1992 by Andreas Ma ...

Awards

2006 - "Special Recognition" by the German Academy of Performing Arts on the Film Festival Baden-Baden for the production team of Wut.

Selected filmography

*1984: ' (directed by ) .... Wolfgang *1986: ' .... Paul *1988: ' .... Luci's Husband *1989: ' .... Lothar Fuchs *1990: ' .... Yobo *1991: ''Von Gewalt keine Rede'' (TV Movie, directed by ) .... Frank Götz *1991: '' Voyager'' .... Joachim Hencke *1991: '' Forever Young'' (TV Movie) .... Tomy *1994: ''Du bringst mich noch um'' (directed by

Wolfram Paulus Wolfram Paulus (12 August 1957 – 28 May 2020) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter.Film ...

) .... Simon Halm *1995: '' The Promise'' .... Konrad *1995: '' Talk of the Town'' .... Erik Kirsch *1996: '' Hannah'' (directed by

Reinhard Schwabenitzky Reinhard Schwabenitzky (23 April 1947 – 9 February 2022) was an Austrian film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Reinhard Schwabenitzky was born in his maternal grandmother's pub in the remote hamlet of Bucheben, a long wal ...

) .... Wolfgang Heck *1997: ''Der rote Schakal'' (TV Movie) .... Werner Leiser *1997: ''Der Wald'' (TV Movie, based on a novel by ) .... Karl Fürst *1997: '' The Pharmacist'' .... Pawel Siebert *1997: ''Winterkind'' (TV Movie, directed by

) .... Michael *1998: ''Suzie Washington'' (directed by ) .... Herbert Korn *1999: '' Annaluise & Anton'' .... Richard Pogge *2000: ''Kissing My Sister'' .... Jan Lomberg *2001: '' Mostly Martha'' .... Martha's Therapist *2001: '' Taking Sides'' (directed by

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian-speaking world since the la ...

) .... Captain Ed Martin *2001: ' .... Herr Oberstein *2002: ''

Amen. ''Amen.'' is a 2002 historical war drama film directed and co-written by Costa-Gavras. Based on the play ''The Deputy'' by Rolf Hochhuth, the film examines the political and diplomatic relationship between the Vatican and Nazi Germany during Wo ...

'' (directed by

Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

) .... Von Weizsäcker *2002: ''

Joe and Max ''Joe and Max'' is a 2002 American-German boxing film directed by Steve James (producer), Steve James and based on the true story of the Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, two boxing matches between American Joe Louis and German Max Schmeling. Plot In ...

'' (TV Movie) .... David Lewin *2002: ''

Gebürtig ''Gebürtig'' is a 2002 Austrian drama film directed by Robert Schindel and Lukas Stepanik. It was selected as the Austrian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 75th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. Cast * Peter Simonisc ...

'' .... Danny Demant *2002: ' (TV Movie, directed by

Gernot Roll Gernot Roll (9 April 193912 November 2020) was a German cinematographer, film director and script writer. He collaborated on several films with directors Edgar Reitz and Sönke Wortmann. He was regarded as an expert on literary adaptations and f ...

) .... König Friedrich II. *2003: ''Novaks Ultimatum'' (TV Movie) .... Dr. Günther Erhardt *2004: ' (TV Mini-Series, directed by

) .... Samuel Goldfisch *2004: ''Sergeant Pepper'' .... Dr. Theobald *2005: ''

Speer und Er ''Speer und Er'' (literally "Speer and He", released as ''Speer and Hitler: The Devil's Architect'') is a three-part German docudrama starring Sebastian Koch as Albert Speer and Tobias Moretti as Adolf Hitler. It mixes historical film materia ...

'' (TV Mini-Series) .... Dr. Gilbert *2005: ''Liebe nach dem Tod'' (TV Movie) .... Paul Markwart *2005: ''

A Sound of Thunder "A Sound of Thunder" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in '' Collier's'' magazine in the June 28, 1952, issue and later in Bradbury's collection ''The Golden Apples of the Sun'' in 1953. Pl ...

'' .... Clay Derris *2005: ''

Tara Road ''Tara Road'' is a novel by Maeve Binchy. It was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in September 1999. Plot introduction It is the story of two women, one from Ireland and one from America, who trade houses without ever having met. They' ...

'' .... Greg Vine *2005: ''

Der Todestunnel ''Der Todestunnel'', known in Italian as ''1200º: La Verità della Tunnel della Morte'' is a joint production television movie filmed in Austria and Italy, and has both Austrian and Italian actors speaking in their native languages. Plot The fi ...

'' (TV Movie) .... Manfred Grabowski *2005: ''Mutig in die neuen Zeiten'' (TV Movie, directed by

Harald Sicheritz Harald Sicheritz (born 25 June 1958 in Stockholm, Sweden) is an Austrian screenwriter and film director. Life and career Raised in a working-class district of Vienna, Harald Sicheritz studied Communication sciences and Political sciences. In 1 ...

) .... Paul Berkowitz *2006: ''Helen, Ted und Fred'' (TV Movie, directed by

Sherry Hormann Sherry Hormann (born 20 April 1960) is a German-American film director. Hormann is best known for her movies ''Guys and Balls'' (2004), '' Desert Flower'' (2009) and '' 3096 Days'' (2013). Hormann was born in the United States, but moved to Germa ...

) .... Peter Kowalski *2006: '' Rage'' (TV Movie) .... Simon Laub *2007: '' The Counterfeiters'' .... Dr. Klinger *2007: ''Herr Bello'' .... Herr Sternheim / Traugott Sternheim *2007: ''Meine böse Freundin'' (TV Movie) .... Robert Mahrtaler *2007: ''Contergan – Eine einzige Tablette'' (TV Movie) .... Dr. Gerd Naumann *2008: ' .... Richard Harms *2008: ''Ein starker Abgang'' (TV Movie) .... Dr. Kübler *2009: ' (TV Movie) .... Dr. Borchert *2009: ' (TV Movie) .... Dr. Martin Langhammer *2009: ''Dr. Hope – Eine Frau gibt nicht auf'' (TV Movie) .... Ludwig von Arnstetten *2009: ''

Berlin 36 ''Berlin 36'' is a 2009 German film telling the fate of Jewish track and field athlete Gretel Bergmann in the 1936 Summer Olympics. In the movie she was replaced by the Nazi regime with a fellow athlete which she befriended. The film, based on ...

'' .... Edwin Bergmann *2009: ''Ein Dorf sieht Mord'' (TV Movie) .... Martin Selig *2009: ''So ein Schlamassel'' (TV Movie) .... Ludwig Norderstedt *2009: ''Meine Familie bringt mich um'' (TV Movie) .... Peter *2010: ''

Klimawechsel ''Klimawechsel'' is a German television series. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * ''4 Blocks'' (TNT Serie, 2017–2019) * ''Alarm für Cobra 11 – ...

'' (TV Series) .... Dr. Dieter Dumont *2010: ''The Last 30 Years'' (TV Movie) .... Oskar Landrock *2010: ''Ein Praktikant fürs Leben'' (TV Movie) .... Ulf Kamprath *2011: ''Der Kardinal'' (TV Movie) ....

Franz König Franz König (3 August 1905 – 13 March 2004) was an Austrian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of Vienna from 1956 to 1985, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1958. The last surviving cardinal elevated by Pope John ...

*2012: ''Sams im Glück'' .... Herr Oberstein *2012: ' (TV Movie) .... Dr. Martin Langhammer *2012: ' (TV Movie) .... August Staudenmeyer *2012: ''Die Lebenden'' .... Lenzi Weiss, Sitas Vater *2013: ' .... Meier *2014: ' (TV Movie) .... Alexander Halbach *2014: ' (TV Movie) .... Philipp Immerwahr *2014: ''

Coming In ''Coming In'' is a 2014 German romantic comedy film directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner. Plot Tom Herzner, a notoriously hip hairdresser, falls in love with a beauty parlor owner named Heidi. The only problem is that Tom is gay and has never had sex w ...

'' .... Salvatore *2015: ' .... Georg *2015: ' (TV Movie) .... Andreas Niethammer *2015: ''

Colonia Dignidad Colonia Dignidad ("Dignity Colony") was an isolated colony of Germans established in post-World War II Chile by emigrant Germans which became notorious for the internment, torture, and murder of dissidents during the military dictatorship of G ...

'' .... German Ambassador *2017: ''

Euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

'' .... Frank *2018: ''Wackersdorf'' .... Innenminister *2018: ' .... Maximilian *2018: ''Das Wunder von Wörgl'' .... Direktor Nationalbank *2018: ' (TV Movie) .... Wilhelm Nolting-Hauff *2019: ''Das Ende der Wahrheit'' .... Dr. Grünhagen

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zirner, August 1956 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 20th-century Austrian male actors 21st-century Austrian male actors American male film actors American male television actors American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Austrian male film actors Austrian male television actors Austrian people of American descent Living people Male actors from Illinois