Dietmar Bär (born 5 February 1961) is a German actor. Since 1997 he has starred as ''Freddy Schenk'' in the popular television crime series and in ''Ärzte'' (a TV series in 1994). He has been in several films, including ''Männer'' by
Doris Dörrie. He is a narrator of many audiobooks translated into German.
Early life
In 1981, Bär graduated from the Dortmund Leibniz-Gymnasium. During his schooling, he became a member of the
Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterjugend (SDAJ). He was noticed for his acting talent in various school theater projects. Later, he became a singer of a Dortmund-based punk band, ''Planlos,'' through the 80s. He then trained as an actor from 1982 to 1985 at the
Westfälische Schauspielschule Bochum. One of his first acting roles was in 1984, as a football club hooligan for
MSV Duisburg
Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...
in the crime series (episode ''Two kinds of blood'').
Career
Bär received his first lead role in 1984, appearing
Dominik Graf's hit (TV movie) ' as 'Franz'. Then in 1985, he played a minor role 'Lothar' in ''
Men...'' (German: ''Männer'') directed by
Doris Dörrie. Also in 1985, followed by an acting commitment to the
Landestheater Tübingen. From 1988 to 1990 and from 1992 to 1994 he appeared at the
Wuppertal
Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...
theatres. Alongside veteran actor
Willy Millowitsch, he played 'Mike Döpper' in detective series of ''Kommissar Klefisch'' between 1990-1996. Also between 1994 and 1996, he had another well-known role as the sports physician 'Conny Knipper' in ' (TV Series). Bär is best known as Commissioner 'Freddy Schenk', whom he has been playing since 1997 alongside 'Max Ballauf', played by
Klaus J. Behrendt.
At the
Gandersheim Cathedral Festival in the summer of 2007 and 2008, Bär played the village judge 'Adam' in
Kleist's comedy play ''
The Broken Jug''. Since 2010, he has performed at the
Schauspielhaus Bochum, in the play ''Eisenstein'' as Vincent Hufnagel (old) and Lothar.
Bär also has
narrated many
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 sch ...
s into
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, for various authors, including
Mo Hayder,
Håkan Nesser
Håkan Nesser (born 21 February 1950) is a Swedish author and teacher who mainly writes crime fiction. He has won Best Swedish Crime Novel Award three times, and his novel ''Carambole'' won the prestigious Glass Key award in 2000. His books ha ...
,
Jacques Berndorf,
Thomas Krugerand and
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland "Stieg" Larsson (, ; 15 August 1954 – 9 November 2004) was a Swedish writer, journalist, and far-left activist. He is best known for writing the ''Millennium'' trilogy of crime novels, which were published posthumously, sta ...
.
Personal life
Together with the Berlin association ''pro futura'', Bär supports the future prospects of young people and the long-term unemployed. In addition, he founded with members of the show ''Tatort'' ''Roads of the World e. V. '' in 1998, which campaigns for
Filipino street children. This was inspired by the much-acclaimed ''Tatort'' episode 'Manila' filmed in 1998, which dealt with the fate of Filipino street children and child maltreatment. For this, he and
Klaus J. Behrendt received from ''Kinderlachen Eingetragener Verein'' which cares for sick and poor children mainly in Germany, the ''KIND Award''. He regularly tours with the Irish Father
Shay Cullen, who cares for street children in the Philippines, through Germany, promoting fair trade as a concept of success against poverty and discrimination of the people in the Philippines and elsewhere.
In addition, Bär is committed to the German
bone marrow
Bone marrow is a semi-solid biological tissue, tissue found within the Spongy bone, spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It i ...
donor database, through
poster advertising campaigns. He has also appeared in a campaign for the victims of crime as part of the Weisser Ring.
Bär is also a member of the Bundesverband Schauspiel (Federal Association of Acting, BFFS).
Since 15 April 2009, Bär has been married to Maren Geissler. He is an avowed fan of the football club
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...
, a love also shared by his Tatort character ''Freddy Schenk''.
Selected filmography
*1984: '
*1985: '
*1985: ''
Men...''
*1991: ''Leo und Charlotte'' (TV film)
*1996: ''Wer hat Angst vorm Weihnachtsmann?'' (Short)
*1998: ''
The Big Mambo''
*1998: ''
Kai Rabe gegen die Vatikankiller''
*1999: ''Das Gelbe vom Ei'' (TV film)
*1999: ' (TV film)
*2000: ''Nie mehr zweite Liga'' (TV film)
*2002: ''Pest – Die Rückkehr'' (TV film)
*2002: ''
If It Don't Fit, Use a Bigger Hammer''
*2004: ''
Guys and Balls''
*2004: ' (TV film)
*2006: ''
The Trip to Panama'' (Voice)
*2006: ' (TV film)
*2010: '
*2011: ' (TV film)
*2014: ''
Die Pilgerin'' (TV film)
*2015: ' (TV film)
*2016: ''
Das Sacher'' (TV film)
References
External links
Interviewwith Dietmar Bär
with Klaus J. Behrendt and Dietmar Bär
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bar, Dietmar
1961 births
Living people
German male television actors
German male film actors
20th-century German male actors
21st-century German male actors
Male actors from Dortmund
Audiobook narrators