Sebastian Koch

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Sebastian Koch

Born May 31, 1962 (1962-05-31) (age 46)
Karlsruhe, Germany
Official website

Sebastian Koch (born May 31, 1962 in Karlsruhe) is a German actor. Koch grew up in Stuttgart, and studied acting at the respected Otto-Falckenberg-Schule in Munich from 1982 to 1985. He is the only actor to have won two Adolf Grimme Awards for two different productions in one year (2002).

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[edit] Life

Koch was born in Karlsruhe in 1962. His mother raised him alone, and he spent some time in the children's home where she worked. From 1982 to 1985 Koch studied at the Otto-Falckenberg-Schule in Munich, and performed during this time with the Theater der Jugend (Youth Theatre).

After working on productions at the municipal theatres of Ulm and Darmstadt, Koch started appearing in Berlin theatres in 1990. There he took on roles in works including Schiller's The Robbers, Goethe's Iphigenie auf Tauris and Dirty Dishes by Nick Whitby. Besides numerous film and TV roles, Koch also made frequent guest appearances on TV shows during this time, including several popular German crime series.

Following his acclaimed portrayal of Andreas Baader in Heinrich Breloer's docudrama Todesspiel, he appeared in many full-length television dramas.

In 2001 came the final breakthrough with the portrayal of the kidnapped industrialist's son Richard Oetker in Dance with the Devil - The Kidnapping of Richard Oetker, and of the writer Klaus Mann in Heinrich Breloer's docudrama The Manns - A Novel of the Century. Koch received the Adolf Grimme Award for both roles. For his portrayal of Hitler's would-be assassin, the title character in Jo Baier's Stauffenberg, Koch was nominated for the German Television Awards and the Grimme Award, and received the Golden Gong award from the media magazine Gong.

In 2004 Koch appeared in a production directed by Heinrich Breloer for the third time. This time he played the Nazi architect Albert Speer in Speer und Er ("Speer and He", released as Speer and Hitler: The Devil's Architect). 2006 saw the premiere in German cinemas of the drama Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), winner of the 2007 Academy Award for best international film, in which Koch played a leading role.

Since February 2006 he has been appearing at Bochum Theatre after a 12-year absence from the stage. He plays Lord Goring in Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband. In his most recent role (as of September 2006) he portrayed Reinhard Mohn in the film adaptation of his life.

Koch lives in Berlin and has a daughter, Paulina, by the journalist Birgit Keller. He also had a long-term relationship with the actress Anna Schudt. His current companion, since working together on the film Zwartboek, is Dutch actress Carice van Houten.

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] Awards

  • 2001 - German Television Awards nomination for best supporting actor in Der Tunnel.
  • 2002 - Grimme Award for his portrayal of Klaus Mann in Die Manns; Bavarian Television Award ("Blue Panther") for the same role; Grimme Award for his portrayal of Richard Oetker in Dance with the Devil.
  • 2003 - DIVA Award; nominated for best German actor at the Verleihung der Goldenen Kamera for his role in Napoleon.
  • 2004 - Golden Gong award for Stauffenberg; German Television Awards nomination for best leading actor in Stauffenberg.
  • 2005 - "Blue Panther" award for his portrayal of Albert Speer in Speer und Er; German Television Award for best leading role in Speer und Er.
  • 2006 - Die Quadriga award for The Lives of Others (shared with Ulrich Mühe and the film's director, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck); Bambi award for best actor (national).

[edit] External links