Rufus Beck (born 23 July 1957) is a German theater, film, and voice actor. Besides his work on stage, on film, and on television, Beck is also a well known reader of

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

s, having worked as the narrator of the German translations of the

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

series. He is also well known for his role in the

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

Der bewegte Mann ''Der bewegte Mann'' (international title: ''The Most Desired Man'', U.S. title: ''Maybe ... Maybe Not'') is a 1994 German comedy film directed by Sönke Wortmann and starring Til Schweiger, Rufus Beck, Joachim Król and Katja Riemann. The film ...

'', and as the narrator of ''Wächter der Wüste - Auch kleine Helden kommen ganz groß raus''.

Life

Beck was born in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. After his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in 1976 (roughly equivalent to an associate degree, or A-Levels in England) and completing his

Zivildienst Zivildienst is the German denomination for the alternative civilian service for conscripted persons who are conscientious objectors to fulfill their national service, typically in the fields of social work (e.g. hospitals, retirement homes, emer ...

(alternative to required military service), he studied

Islamic Studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

Ethnology Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural anthropology, cultural, social anthropolo ...

, and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. During his studies he also performed on stage in Heidelberg. He also appeared onstage at the Sauerländischen State Theater, the State Theater Tübingen,

Schauspiel Frankfurt The Schauspiel Frankfurt is the municipal theatre company for plays in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is part of Städtische Bühnen Frankfurt. History In the late 1770s the theatre principal Abel Seyler was based in Frankfurt, and established th ...

Schauspiel Köln Schauspiel Köln is a theatre and company in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It forms together with the Cologne Opera and other houses the Bühnen der Stadt Köln (Stages of the city of Cologne). The listed building has 830 seats in th ...

, and the Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel. In 1989, Beck was named Young Actor of the Year by ''

Theater heute ''Theater heute'' (German: ''Theatre Today'') is a German language monthly magazine with a special focus on theatre. The magazine is based in Berlin, Germany, and has been in circulation since 1960. History and profile ''Theater heute'' was foun ...

''. He also won that year the Young Actor Prize of the Association of the Friends of Bavarian Theater. Beck began touring in the early 1990s and was very successful. Then in 1994, he acted in the film ''Der bewegte Mann'', a role for which he won a

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten. ...

. In 1998 he was nominated for a German Film Prize for his role in ''Jimmy the Kid''. Since 1998 his career highlights include a return to the stage as a guest in the famed

Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langhoff ...

and the role of

Mephisto Mephisto or Mephistopheles is one of the chief demons of German literary tradition. Mephisto or Mephistopheles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Méphisto'', a 1931 French film * Mephisto (1981 film), ''Mephisto'' (1981 film), a German- ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

at the

Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast ...

er Festival. He won the

Hersfeld-Preis The Hersfeld-Preis is an award for an actor. It has been awarded annually since 1962 as part of the Bad Hersfelder Festspiele of the ''Gesellschaft der Freunde der Stiftsruine'' and the city of Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersf ...

(Großer Hersfeld-Preis) in 2006. He is the father of actor

Jonathan Beck Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

Dubbing roles

* ''

A Bug's Life ''A Bug's Life'' is a 1998 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was the second feature-length film produced by Pixar. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Andrew Stant ...

'' - Hopper * ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenso ...

'' - Lord Farquaad * ''

Cats & Dogs ''Cats & Dogs'' is a 2001 spy-comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman and written by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. It stars Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins and Alexander Pollock, with the voices of (among others) Tobey Maguire, Alec Baldwin, ...

'' - Mr. Tinkles

Audiobooks (excerpt)

* ''His Dark Materials: Der Goldene Kompass - Die Trilogie'', publisher: ''Silberfisch'', (2011) * ''

'' (complete edition) by

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...

, publisher: ''Der Hörverlag'', (2013) *

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), ''The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and ''The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follows ...

: ''Über den wilden Fluss'' by

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''The ...

(''La Belle Sauvage''), publisher: ''Silberfisch'', (2017) *

4: ''Ans andere Ende der Welt'' (''The Secret Commonwealth'') by

, publisher: ''Silberfisch'', (2020) * ''Tale of Magic – Eine geheime Akademie'' by

Chris Colfer Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical ''Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received crit ...

(Tale of Magic 1), publisher: Argon Verlag,

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 ...

, (2021) * ''TALE OF MAGIC: DIE LEGENDE DER MAGIE: Eine geheime Akademie & Eine dunkle Verschwörung'' by

, publisher:

Argon Verlag S. Fischer Verlag is a major German publishing house, which has operated as a division of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group since 1962. The publishing house was founded in 1881 by Samuel Fischer in Berlin, but is currently based in Frankfurt am Main ...

, Berlin 2022, (

Audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

-Download)

External links

* *
Rufus Beck
at the German Dubbing Card Index

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Rufus Living people 1957 births German male television actors German male stage actors German male film actors Male actors from Heidelberg 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors