Justus von Dohnányi (born 2 December 1960) is a German actor, best known for portraying

Wilhelm Burgdorf Wilhelm Emanuel Burgdorf (15 February 1895 – 2 May 1945) was a German general during World War II, who served as a commander and staff officer in the German Army (Wehrmacht), German Army. In October 1944, Burgdorf assumed the role of the chief ...

in 2004 film ''

Der Untergang ''Downfall'' (german: Der Untergang, it, La caduta – Gli ultimi giorni di Hitler) is a 2004 German-language historical war drama film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel from a screenplay by its producer, Bernd Eichinger. It is set during the ...

''.

Life and career

Born in

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, von Dohnányi is the son of conductor

Christoph von Dohnányi Christoph von Dohnányi (; born 8 September 1929) is a German conducting, conductor. Biography Youth and World War II Dohnányi was born in Berlin, Germany to Hans von Dohnanyi, a German jurist of Hungarian ancestry, and Christine von Dohnanyi ...

and actress Renate Zillessen and a member of the well-known Dohnányi family. His grandfather was

Hans von Dohnanyi Hans von Dohnanyi (; originally ''Johann von Dohnányi'' ; 1 January 1902 – 8 or 9 April 1945) was a German jurist. He used his position in the Abwehr to help Jews escape Germany, worked with German resistance against the Nazi régime, a ...

, German jurist and

German resistance German resistance can refer to: * Freikorps, German nationalist paramilitary groups resisting German communist uprisings and the Weimar Republic government * German resistance to Nazism * Landsturm, German resistance groups fighting against France d ...

fighter and his great-uncle was

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

pastor and a co-founder of the

Confessing Church The Confessing Church (german: link=no, Bekennende Kirche, ) was a movement within German Protestantism during Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to unify all Protestant churches into a single pro-Nazi German E ...

, both of whom were executed by the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. His great-grandfather was

Ernst von Dohnányi Ernst von Dohnányi (Hungarian: ''Dohnányi Ernő'', ; 27 July 1877 – 9 February 1960) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor. He used a German form of his name on most published compositions. Biography Dohnányi was born in Pozsony ...

, a notable composer of Hungarian origin. Dohnányi studied acting at the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg The Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg is one of the larger universities of music in Germany. It was founded 1950 as ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik'' (Public college of music) on the base of the former private acting school of Annem ...

."Justus von Dohnányi – Biographie und Filmographie"
Kino-Zeit. Retrieved April 8, 2011 He appeared on the

legitimate stage Legitimate theatre is live performance that relies almost entirely on diegetic elements, with actors performing through speech and natural movement.Joyce M. Hawkins and Robert Allen, eds. "Legitimate" entry. ''The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dicti ...

in Hamburg,

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

, and

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

before working in television, where he appeared in several television movies. He appeared in the 2004 film '' Downfall'' (german: Der Untergang) as

. He had a prominent role in the 2001 movie ''

The Experiment ''The Experiment'' is a 2002 BBC documentary series in which 15 men are randomly selected to be either "prisoner" or guard, contained in a simulated prison over an eight-day period. Produced by Steve Reicher and Alex Haslam, it presents the fi ...

'' as a prison guard, opposite

Moritz Bleibtreu Moritz Johann Bleibtreu (; was born in Munich, Germany on August 13, 1971. He has worked over the years as a film actor, voice actor, and film director. Bleibtreu has been a successful actor in many movies such as '' Run Lola Run, Das Experimen ...

and

Christian Berkel Christian Berkel (born 28 October 1957) is a German actor. He is known for his appearances in '' Downfall'' (2004), ''Valkyrie'' (2008), ''Inglourious Basterds'' (2009) and ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (2015). Life and career Berkel was born on 2 ...

, who also appeared in ''Downfall''. He received the 2001

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 * Lola (fo ...

for Best Supporting Actor. In 2014 he appears alongside

Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...

Jean Dujardin Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...

and others in the movie ''

The Monuments Men ''The Monuments Men'' is a 2014 war film directed by George Clooney and written and produced by Clooney and Grant Heslov. The film stars an ensemble cast including Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh ...

''. He is featured in the 2015 film '' Woman in Gold'' as the representative of the

Belvedere Gallery Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa *Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zim ...

who attempts to keep the title-painting, stolen by the Nazis, from being returned to its rightful owner,

Maria Altmann Maria Altmann (née Maria Victoria Bloch, later Bloch-Bauer; February 18, 1916 – February 7, 2011) was an Austrian-American Jewish refugee from Austria, who fled her home country after it was annexed to the Third Reich. She is noted for her ul ...

Selected filmography

*''

Jakob the Liar ''Jakob the Liar'' is a 1999 American war comedy-drama film directed by Peter Kassovitz, produced by Steven Haft, Marsha Garces Williams and written by Kassovitz and Didier Decoin. The film is based on the book of the same name by Jurek Becker ...

'' (1999) – Preuss *''

The World Is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an ori ...

'' (1999) – Captain Nikolai *' (2000) –

Eberhard Bethge Eberhard Bethge (August 28, 1909 – March 18, 2000) was a German theologian and pastor, best known for being the close friend and biographer of the theologian and anti-Nazi Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Early life Bethge was born in Rosenau (Branden ...

*''

Das Experiment ''Das Experiment'' (English: ''The Experiment'') is a 2001 German drama thriller film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. It is based on Mario Giordano's novel ''Black Box'' and deals with a social experiment which resembles Philip Zimbardo's Sta ...

'' (2001) – Berus – Strafvollzugsbeamter / Guard *''

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 ...

'' (2002) – Göran von Otter *''

September September is the ninth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the fourth of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. September in the Northern H ...

'' (2003) – Philipp Scholz *''

Blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

'' (2003) – Thomas Weber *'' Before the Fall'' (2004) – Gauleiter Heinrich Stein *'' Downfall'' (2004) – General

*' (2005) – Harry *' (2005) – Erik Larsen *''Vineta'' (2006) – Lutz Born *' (2007) – Richter (segment "Artikel 5") *' (2007, also director) – Sven Hansen *''

Hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as case-bound) book is one bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other cloth, heavy paper, or occa ...

'' (2008) – Chico Waidner *'' 1½ Knights – In Search of the Ravishing Princess Herzelinde'' (2008) – Bernd *''

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 Hanseaten (class), Hanseatic ...

'' (2008) – Bendix Grünlich *''

Men in the City ''Men in the City'' (german: Männerherzen; literally "Men's Hearts") is a 2009 German comedy film directed by Simon Verhoeven with Christian Ulmen, Nadja Uhl and Wotan Wilke Möhring. The film was followed by ' in 2011. Plot Five men attend the ...

'' (2009) – Bruce Berger *''Der grosse Kater'' (2010) – Magun *'' Jew Suss: Rise and Fall'' (2010) –

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film ''Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversial ...

*' (2010) – Johannes *''

Lessons of a Dream ''Lessons of a Dream'' (german: Der ganz große Traum) is a German drama film directed by Sebastian Grobler, loosely based on the life of German football pioneer Konrad Koch in the late 19th-century. In the film, Koch is one of the first English ...

'' (2011) – Richard Hartung *' (2011) – Bruce Berger *''Yoko'' (2012) – Prof. Kellerman *' (2012) – Joachim Ebling *''

A Coffee in Berlin ''A Coffee in Berlin'', also titled ''Oh Boy'', is a 2012 German tragicomedy film directed by Jan-Ole Gerster. It is in black-and-white. It is the director's debut film, and thesis project for the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin. The ...

'' (2012) – Karl Speckenbach *''

Ludwig II Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...

'' (2012) – Johann (Freiherr von) Lutz *''Hanni & Nanni 3'' (2013) – Hugh Gordon *' (2013, TV film) –

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

*''

'' (2014) – Viktor Stahl *''

Frau Müller muss weg! ''Frau Müller muss weg!'' is a 2015 German comedy film directed by Sönke Wortmann. Cast * Gabriela Maria Schmeide - Frau Müller * Justus von Dohnányi - Wolf Heider * Anke Engelke - Jessica Höfel * Ken Duken - Patrick Jeskow * Mina Tander - ...

'' (2015) – Wolf Heider *'' Woman in Gold'' (2015) – Dreimann *' (2015) – Ed *' (2015) – Schulrat Henning *''Der Hund begraben'' (2016) – Hans *' (2017) – Baron Lefuet *''

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

'' (2017, TV series, 6 episodes) –

Robert Koch Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch ( , ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the Vibrio ...

*' (2017) – Ulrich Dattelmann *' (2018) – René König *' (2022) – René König

References

External links

* 1960 births Living people 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors Actors from Lübeck

Justus Justus (died on 10 November between 627 and 631) was the fourth Archbishop of Canterbury. He was sent from Italy to England by Pope Gregory the Great, on a mission to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons from their native paganism, probably arrivin ...

German male film actors German people of Hungarian descent Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg alumni Male actors from Hamburg {{Germany-film-actor-stub