Biography
Urs Günther Rechn was born on January 18, 1978, in Halle (Saale), Halle an der Saale, then East Germany, German Democratic Republic, now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, to Günther Rechn (a renowned painter and graphic artist from East Germany) and his wife Beate Rechn, the second of their three children. From 1987 onwards, Rechn attended the Special Grammar School for Music "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" in Halle, where he excelled in violoncello, French horn, and singing. After the Fall of the Berlin Wall, the family relocated to Cottbus, Brandenburg, where Rechn attended the 1. Heinrich Heine Academic High School for Music and Fine Arts and the Konservatorium Cottbus, where he gained an outstanding reputation as junior conductor of the youth symphony orchestra and brass band. Despite having received no formal previous training in acting, Rechn segued into an acting career, encouraged by the honoured and renowned East German director and impresario Christoph Schroth. He appeared on the stage plays ''Hamlet'' (1995), ''The Beaver Coat'' (1996), and ''Steig'in das Traumboot der Liebe'' (1996) and as a chorister in the opera ''The Magic Flute'' (1995) at the State Theater Cottbus. In 1997, owing to conscription, Rechn served with the German paratrooper corps, and later in the German special forces. In the meantime, he appeared in several TV episodes thanks to an agreement with his colonel. Upon completion of the active service in 2002, Rechn attended the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, University of Music and Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Leipzig, and graduated in 2004. He became then – and still is – a visiting scholar at this institution. Rechn has spent most of his acting career on stage: 2003-2005 Staatsschauspiel Dresden, 2005-2007 Landestheater Tübingen, 2008-2013 Theater Chemnitz, (Chemnitz Opera) e.g.: ''The Seagull (theatre), The Seagull'' - Treblev; ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' - Brick; ''The Merchant of Venice'' - Antonio; ''Julius Caesar (play), Julius Caesar'' - Marcus Antonius; ''Caligula (play), Caligula'' - Caligula; ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' - Stanley Kowalski; ''The Threepenny Opera'' - Jonathan Peachum. Rechn attracted international attention for his role of the Jewish Kapo (concentration camp), Oberkapo Biedermann in the film ''Filmography
TV (selection)
* 1999: ''Die Strandclique'' – Dir.: Wolfgang Münstermann * 2000: ''Powderpark'' – Dir.: Christian Stier * 2001: ''Klinikum Berlin Mitte – Leben in Bereitschaft, Klinikum Berlin Mitte'' – Dir.: Ullrich Zrenner * 2002: ''Our Charly'' – Dir.: Franz Josef Gottlieb * 2003: ''Die Kommissarin'' (''Lady Cop'') – Dir.: Rolf Liccini * 2007: ''GSG 9 – Ihr Einsatz ist ihr Leben, GSG 9'' (''Special Unit'') – Dir.: Florian Kern * 2003: ''Der Ermittler: Stadt, Land, Mord'', ZDF * 2004: ', TV movie * 2005: ''Tatort – Freischwimmer'', ARD (MDR) * 2015: ''Polizeiruf 110 – Im Schatten'', ARD (MDR) * 2016: ''X Company'', "Black Flag", CBC Television, Dir.: Kelly Makin * 2018: ''Dogs of Berlin'' – Netflix, Dir.: Christian AlvartCinema (selection)
* 2003: ''Broad Hit'', Dir.: Gennadi Poloka, RUS * 2004: ''Juraan'', Dir.: Andrej Kudinenko, RUS * 2006: ''Eight Miles High (film), Eight Miles High'', Dir.: Achim Bornhak, GER * 2013: ''Run Boy Run (film), Run Boy Run'', Dir.: Pepe Danquart, GER * 2014: ''The King's Surrender'', Dir.: Philipp Leinemann, GER * 2015: ''Roles on stage since 2003 (selection)
Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Landestheater Tübingen, Schauspiel Chemnitz Chemnitz Opera * ''Man Equals Man'' (Galy Gay) Bertolt Brecht, Dir.: Küf Kaufmann * ''The Broken Jug'' (Adam) Heinrich von Kleist, Dir.: Rudolf Donath * ''The Seagull (theatre), The Seagull'' (Treblev) Anton Tchechov, Dir.: Tom Quaas * ''The Merchant of Venice'' (Antonio) William Shakespeare, Dir: Holk Freitag * ''Caligula (play), Caligula'' (Caligula) Albert Camus, Dir: Rudolf Donath * ''Draussen vor der Tür'' (Beckmann) Wolfgang Borchert, Dir: Mario Grünewald * ''Downfall of the Egotist Johann Fatzer'' (Koch) Bertolt Brecht/Heiner Müller, Dir.: Tim Grobe * ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (Brick) Tennessee Williams, Dir.. Holk Freitag * ''Julius Caesar (play), Julius Caesar'' (Marcus Antonius) William Shakespeare, Dir.: Rainer Flath * ''Mamma Medea'' (Jason) Tom Lanoye, Dir.: Simone Sterr * ''The Good Person of Szechwan'' (Yang Ssun) Bertolt Brecht, Dir.: Ralf Siebelt * ''A Report to an Academy'' (Red Peter) Franz Kafka, Dir.: Urs Rechn * ''The Prisoner's Dilemma (play), The Prisoner's Dilemma'', David Edgar, Dir.: Clemens Bechtel * ''Iphigenie auf Tauris'' (Orest) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Dir.: Alexander Nerlich * ''Innocence'' (Elisio) von Dea Loher, Dir: Tomas Krupa * ''A Streetcar Named Desire (play), A Streetcar Named Desire'' (Stanley Kowalski), Tennessee Williams, Dir.: Enrico Lübbe * ''A Report to an Academy'' (Red Peter) Franz Kafka, Dir.: Mario Grünewald, Urs Rechn * ''The Snow Queen'' (Märchenerzähler / Rabe / Räuber), Hans Christian Andersen/Jewgenij Schwarz * ''Amphitryon (Kleist), Amphitryon'' (Amphitryon), Heinrich von Kleist, Dir.: Kay Neumann * ''The Threepenny Opera'' (Peachum), Bertolt Brecht, Dir.: Philip TiedemannAwards
* 2016 Oscar (award), Oscar at the Academy Awards for ''Son of Saul'' * 2015 Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival) 2015 for ''Son of Saul'' * 2015 International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI Prize 2015 for ''Son of Saul'' * 2015 Prix Vulcain de l’Artiste Technicien/ Vulcan Award for ''Son of Saul'' * 2015 Prix François Chalais /François Chalais Prize for ''Son of Saul'' * 2013 Brüder-Grimm-Preis des Landes Berlin for ''Reiher'', Schauspiel ChemnitzReferences
External links