Heino Ferch (born 18 August 1963) is a German film, theatre and television actor. His notable film roles include

Albert Speer Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of World War II. A close ally of Adolf Hitler, he ...

in '' Downfall'' (2004) and Harry Melchior in ''The Tunnel'' (2001).

Biography

The son of a merchant sea captain, Heino Ferch was on stage at the age of 15, while still attending grammar school. As a member of the stage ballet company in the musical Can-Can, he performed the tumbling acrobatics at the

Stadttheater Bremerhaven The Stadttheater Bremerhaven (Bremerhaven municipal theatre) is a theatre in Bremerhaven, Germany. Founded in 1867, it serves three genres: opera and other musical theatre, spoken plays, and dance. A theatre built on the present site in 1911 was la ...

in his home town. During this time, he also traveled through Europe as a federal member of the National League of Gymnastics. Ferch studied acting at the University of Music and Performing Arts "

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Moz ...

" in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He graduated in 1987. In addition to his main subject,

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, he also took courses in

tap dancing Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, and

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

. Between 1987 and 2006, Ferch lived in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, a city whose division after

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and reunification in 1989 is repeatedly reflected in his work as a movie actor (''The Tunnel'', ''Mord am Meer'', ''The Airlift'', ''The Wall - Berlin 1961'' and ''The Miracle of Berlin''). After his wedding in 2005, he moved his main residence to

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. Until 1999, he was in a nine-year relationship with actress

Suzanne von Borsody Suzanne von Borsody (; born 23 September 1957 in Munich) is a German actress. She comes from a prominent theatre family, being the daughter of actress Rosemarie Fendel and actor Hans von Borsody. Her grandfather, Eduard von Borsody, was a famou ...

but in 2000 he met Dr. Julia von Pufendorf, the daughter of the former under-secretary of state for cultural affairs for the city of Berlin. From this relationship, he fathered a daughter (Louisa, born 2000). In 2002, Ferch met Marie-Jeanette Steinle, a National League Member of the military eventing squad, at the Bavarian Television Award celebration. Three years later, in 2005, Ferch and Steinle married during the world's biggest sailing ship unification event, ''Sail 2005''. The ceremony took place in the captain's lounge of the three-mast sailing ship

Dar Młodzieży ''Dar Młodzieży'' ( pl, Gift of the Youth) is a Polish sail training ship designed by Zygmunt Choreń. A prototype of a class of six, the following five slightly-differing units were built subsequently by the same shipyard for the merchant fleet ...

in Bremerhaven. A church wedding followed ten days later in Munster ''St. Maria Ascension'' in Dießen, Bavarian Ammersee. On 10 November 2008 Marie-Jeanette and Heino Ferch became parents to a daughter named Ava Vittoria Mercedès. The couple also became parents to a boy, Gustav Theo Cian on 4 November 2013. The couple are highly active in polo sports - as players and in the promotion to the young. Both have DPV-Handicap of 0 (season 2010). Ferch can speak

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

fluently, as well as some

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Work

Theatre

Ferch's first job after completing his studies was at the ''Freie Volksbühne'' Berlin. He was an ensemble player from 1987 to 1990, under the direction of Hans Neuenfels amongst others. From 1990 to 1994 he was ensemble player at the ''Schiller Theatre'', Berlin (''Die Räuber''; ''Mockinpott''; ''Kasimir und Karoline''; ''As you like it'' - director: Katharina Thalbach). In 1992 he appeared at the ''Theater des Westens'' in ''Der Blaue Engel'' (screenplay after a novel by Heinrich Mann) under the direction of Peter Zadek. He also appeared as guest actor at the ''Salzburg Festival'' (''Un re in ascolto''; ''Jedermann''; ''Macbeth''; ''Il ritorno d´Ulisse''), at the ''Scala Milan'' and at the ''Burgtheater Vienna'' (Die Geisel).

Film

In 1987 Ferch made his feature film debut with a brief appearance in ''Schloß Königswald'' (directed by Peter Schamoni). In 1989 he played his first leading part in ' (which is the name of a Berlin working class quarter), as runner gone amok Klaus Asmus (director: Heiko Schier). In 1994 he followed among many others works, a part in the notable TV-mini production ''Deutschlandlied'' (directed by Tom Toelle) where he played the part of Hanno Schmidbauer, a young cabinet maker at the end of World War II. In 1996 he appeared as Napola-Commander Obersturmbannfuehrer Raufeisen in ''The Ogre'' (quote by Oscar award winner, director Volker Schloendorff: "…''the young sympathetic social climber Raufeisen, wonderfully portraied by Heino Ferch''..“). 1997 was the year of his breakthrough as a film actor with his appearance as Jewish singer Roman Cycowski in ''The Harmonists'' (director: Josef Vilsmaier), a famous German a cappella singing ensemble of the early 1930s. In 1997 he also played the leading part in ''Winter Sleepers'', an early work by director Tom Tykwer (''Run Lola Run'', ''The Parfume'') In 1997 Ferch portrayed no less than nine different movie characters. In seven of these he played the leading role or co-lead. (''Comedian Harmonists'', ''Winter Sleepers'', ''Life is All You Get'', ''Play for your life'', ''The Guardian Angel'', ''Coma'', ''Buddies'', ''Lucie Aubrac'', ''It happened at broad daylight'') In 1998 he starred as gangster Ronnie in Tom Tykwer`s breakthrough movie ''

Run Lola Run ''Run Lola Run'' (german: Lola rennt}, lit. "Lola Runs") is a 1998 German experimental thriller film written and directed by Tom Tykwer. The story follows a woman named Lola (Franka Potente) who needs to obtain 100,000 Deutschmarks in twenty min ...

''. In 2001 the TV-mini series ''The Tunnel'' (director: Roland Suso Richter) focused on the dramatic escape of 32 persons from the

GDR 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 ...

. It received seven film awards and was sold to more than 28 countries. Ferch received the ''Golden Camera'' award as best actor for his role as Harry Melchior, a fictional figure based on real-life escapee Hasso Herschel. In 2004 the film ''The Downfall'' (director: Oliver Hirschbiegel) was released. It received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

nomination and was subsequently sold to 145 countries around the world. In this film Ferch played Hitler's architect and Minister for Armaments,

. After the turn of the millennium the German film production company ' started a new TV-format: the so-called ''event movies''. Striking events form German history are combined with semi fictional story telling „''making the past come alive''“ ('-claim) (e.g. ''The Tunnel'', ''The Airlift'', ''Dresden'', ''Storm Tide''). Heino Ferch repeatedly spearheaded this format as featuring lead actor. In 2005 eight million German viewers watched the TV-event ' with Heino Ferch starring as American General Philipp Turner, a fictional character after General

William H. Tunner William Henry Tunner (July 14, 1906 – April 6, 1983) was a general officer in the United States Air Force and its predecessor, the United States Army Air Forces. Tunner was known for his expertise in the command of large-scale military airlif ...

, the organizer of the air-supply bridge in 1948/49 for the locked-in city of Berlin. The film received the ''Golden Camera award'' as best TV film of the year and was sold for transmission into 43 countries. Heino Ferch Marquis de Caulaincourt

In 2007 he starred in the ' production of ', the story of German businessman and amateur archeologist

Heinrich Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeologi ...

's search for the treasures of Homer's ancient Troy. The film aired in 32 countries. Ferch played the title role. Heino Ferch also appears regularly in leading parts in smaller productions – often high quality thrillers. Most of these received various film awards. (e.g. ''The lawyer and his guest'', ''The account'', ''Hell in the head'', ''Killing at seaside'', ''Hunt for Justice''.) Now (2013) gets his role in the Italian serie ''My Heaven Will Wait'' as Frederick Khoner. He also has character parts in European co-productions and in Canada, namely as ''Lucie Aubrac'' (directed by Claude Berri), ''Julius Caesar'' (directed by Uli Edel), ''Napoléon'' (dir.: Yves Simoneau), ''The Seagull's Laughter'' (dir: Ágúst Guðmundson), ' (dir.:

Charles Binamé Charles Binamé (born May 25, 1949) is a Quebec director. He was born in Belgium and came to Montreal with his family at a young age. He joined the National Film Board of Canada as an assistant director in 1971, but soon left for the private sect ...

) ''The Trojan Horse – H2O Part II'' (dir: Charles Binamé) and ''D´Artagnan et les trois Mousquetaires'' (dir.: Prierre Aknine) helped to establish the German actor's visibility in an international setting. Ferch also did voice acting, performing the German

dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...

voices for Agent Classified (

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence O ...

) in ''The Penguins of Madagascar'' and Ernesto de la Cruz (

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has worked in film and on television. He had supporting roles in the 1990s in such box office hits as ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), ...

) in '' Coco''.

Selected filmography

*1988: ''Schloß Königswald'' - Funker *1990: ' - Klaus *1991: ''

Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue ''Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue'' is a series of four large-scale paintings by Barnett Newman painted between 1966 and 1970. Two of them have been the subject of vandalistic attacks in museums. The series' name was a reference to ''Who's ...

'' - Müller *1991: ''

Death Came As a Friend Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

'' (TV film) - young Korten *1992: ' - Representative *1995: ''Küß mich!'' - Johannes *1996: '' The Ogre'' - SS-Officer Raufeisen *1997: '' Life Is All You Get'' - Hoffmann *1997: ''

Lucie Aubrac Lucie Samuel (29 June 1912 – 14 March 2007), born Lucie Bernard, and better known as Lucie Aubrac (), was a French history teacher and member of the French Resistance during World War II. In 1938, she earned an agrégation of history (somethi ...

'' - Barbie *1997: ''

Winter Sleepers ''Winter Sleepers'' (german: Winterschläfer meaning "hibernators") is a 1997 German film directed by Tom Tykwer. It was premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival. Plot The film is set in the deeply snowy alpine winter resort of Berc ...

'' - Marco *1997: '' The Harmonists'' - Roman Cycowski *1998: ''Widows – Erst die Ehe, dann das Vergnügen'' - Vince Travelli *1998: ''

Four for Venice ''Four for Venice'' (german: 2 Männer, 2 Frauen - 4 Probleme!?) is a 1998 comedy film directed by Vivian Naefe. Plot The film involves two married couples: Nick and Charlotte and Luis and Eva. Nick and Charlotte are more than busy earning mone ...

'' - Nick *1998: ''

'' - Ronnie *1998: ''Mortal Friends'' - Max Klausmann *1998: ''

Tower of the Firstborn ''Tower of the Firstborn'' ( it, I Guardiani del Cielo) is a 2000 Italian-French adventure television film directed by Alberto Negrin and starring Ben Cross, Peter Weller, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Marco Bonini, Ione Skye and Heino Ferch. It wa ...

'' - Léon *1999: '' Straight Shooter'' - Volker Bretz *1999: ''The Green Desert'' - Simon *2000: ''

Marlene Marlene may refer to: People * Marlene (given name), including a list of people with the name * Marlene (Burmese businesswoman), Nang Kham Noung (born 1991) * Marlene (Japanese singer) (born 1960), a Filipina jazz singer active in Japan Film * ...

'' - Carl Seidlitz *2000: '' The Unscarred'' - Johann *2001: ''

Der Tunnel ''Der Tunnel'' is a made-for-television German film released in 2001 and loosely based on true events in Berlin following the closing of the East German border in August 1961 and the subsequent construction of the Berlin Wall. Roland Suso Rich ...

'' - Harry Melchior *2001: ''

The Seagull's Laughter ''The Seagull's Laughter'' ( is, Mávahlátur) is a 2001 Icelandic film directed by Ágúst Guðmundsson. It stars Ugla Egilsdóttir as Agga, an orphaned preteen distrusting of her cousin Freyja, played by Margrét Vilhjálmsdóttir, who turns h ...

'' - Björn Theódór *2002: ''Nachts im Park'' - Steffen Hennings *2002: ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

'' (TV miniseries, FR) -

Armand de Caulaincourt Armand-Augustin-Louis de Caulaincourt, Duke of Vicenza (, 9 December 177319 February 1827), was a French military officer, diplomat and close advisor to Napoleon I. Early life and family Armand de Caulaincourt was born into a noble family in the ...

*2002: ''

Extreme Ops ''Extreme Ops'' is a 2002 action thriller film directed by Christian Duguay, written by Michael Zaidan, Timothy Scott Bogart, and Mark Mullin, and starring Devon Sawa, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Rupert Graves, and Rufus Sewell. The film's plot cent ...

'' - Mark *2002: ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'' (TV film, USA, IT, FR) -

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...

*2003: ' (TV film) - Franz Wolbert *2004: '' Downfall'' -

*2005: ' - Hermes - Aphrodite *2005: ''D'Artagnan et les trois mousquetaires'' (TV film, FR) - Athos *2005: ' (TV film, CAN) - Keller *2005: ' (TV film) - General Philipp Turner *2006: ''Ghetto'' - Gens *2006: ''The Wall – Berlin ´61'' (TV film) - Hans Kuhlke *2007: ' (TV film) -

*2007: ''

Messy Christmas ''Messy Christmas'' (german: Meine schöne Bescherung) is a 2007 German comedy film directed by Vanessa Jopp.https://www.programmkino.de/content/links.php?link=586 Cast and characters * Martina Gedeck as Sara Meinhold * Heino Ferch as Jan Mein ...

'' - Jan Meinhold *2008: ' (TV film) - Jürgen Kaiser *2008: '' The Trojan Horse'' (TV film, CAN, US) - Christian Kruse *2008: ''

Der Baader Meinhof Komplex ''The Baader Meinhof Complex'' (german: Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, ) is a 2008 German drama film directed by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck, and Johanna Wokalek. The film is base ...

'' - Horst Herold Assistant *2008: ' (TV film) - Manuel Aranda *2009: ''

Vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain un ...

'' - Mönch Volmar *2010: ''

Jerry Cotton Jerry Cotton is the fictional character in a series of pulp magazine-type crime novels. The novels have been written by many different writers in German-speaking countries and in Finland over the course of several decades. Overview The novels ...

'' - Klaus Schmidt *2010: ''

Vincent Wants to Sea ''Vincent Wants to Sea'' (german: Vincent will Meer, ) is a 2010 German drama film directed by Ralf Huettner. An American remake, '' The Road Within'' was released in 2014. Plot Vincent, a 27-year-old man with Tourette's syndrome, is instituti ...

'' - Robert *2010: ''

Hanni & Nanni ''Hanni & Nanni'' is a 2010 German film directed by Christine Hartmann. The screenplay of the film was written by Jane Ainscough based on the '' St. Clare's''-books by Enid Blyton. Plot Hanni and Nanni are twins and mischievous children. They a ...

'' - George Sullivan *2010: ''

Max Schmeling Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (, ; 28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxing, boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cul ...

'' - Max Machon *2010: ' - Professor Mohr *2012: ' - Ralf Tanner *2012: ''Hanni & Nanni 2'' - George Sullivan *2013: ' (TV miniseries) - Louis Adlon *2013: ' (TV film) -

Houston Stewart Chamberlain Houston Stewart Chamberlain (; 9 September 1855 – 9 January 1927) was a British-German philosopher who wrote works about political philosophy and natural science. His writing promoted German ethnonationalism, antisemitism, and scientific ra ...

*2014: ''

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

'' - Dr. Herbert Sattler *2014: ''

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

'' - Michael *2014: '' Suite Française'' - Major *2014: ''

The Penguins of Madagascar ''The Penguins of Madagascar'' is an American computer-animated television series co-produced by DreamWorks Animation and Nickelodeon. It stars nine characters from DreamWorks' animated film ''Madagascar'': the penguins Skipper ( Tom McGrath) ...

'' - Agent Classified (voice, German version) *2015: ' (TV film) - Simon Kessler *2015: ' - Dr. Thurisaz *2016: ''Fritz Lang'' -

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

*2016: ''Conni & Co'' - Schuldirektor *2017: '' Coco'' - Ernesto de la Cruz (voice, German version) *2018: ''Hot Dog'' - Hedmann

Awards

Adolfe Grimme Award *Adolf Grimme Award for series/miniseries (A Light in Dark Places / ''Das Wunder von Lengede'') Bambi Awards *Bambi Award for national film (''Downfall'') *Bambi Award for TV event of the year (A Light in Dark Places / ''Das Wunder von Lengede'')

Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards (german: Bayerischer Filmpreis) have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are the ...

*1997 Special Award (''The Harmonists / Comedian Harmonists'') Bavarian TV Awards *Bavarian TV Award (''Der Tunnel'') Golden Camera *Golden Camera (''Der Tunnel'') Jupiter Award *Jupiter Award (''The Wall - Berlin ´61'')

References

External links

* * Heino Ferch Filmography o
www.filmszenen.net
* Scene photos of Heino Ferch in different film roles
from kino.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferch, Heino 1963 births Living people People from Bremerhaven German male television actors German male film actors 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors International Emmy Award for Best Actor winners German polo players