Thomas Kretschmann

Thomas Kretschmann (German pronunciation: [ˈtoːmas ˈkrəʧman] ; born 8 September 1962) is a German actor.

Kretschmann was born in Dessau, former German Democratic Republic. Before he became an actor, Kretschmann trained to become an Olympic swimmer. At the age of 19, he left East Germany and began a month-long trek to West Germany to escape the East German state. During this trek he lost part of a finger, but it was surgically reattached. Kretschmann crossed four borders with nothing other than his passport and the equivalent of $100 in his possession.

At the age of 25, he began acting, starring in numerous European films and television series. In 1991, Kretschmann was awarded the Max Ophüls Prize for best young actor for his role in Der Mitwisser. He went on to star in his first full length feature, the 1993 film Stalingrad. He achieved international recognition for his role as a rapist/murderer in Dario Argento's The Stendhal Syndrome.

His best known roles are Hermann Fegelein in Der Untergang, Karl Dönitz in The Sinking of the Laconia, Captain Englehorn in the 2005 remake of King Kong, and Professor Zündapp in Cars 2.

He is well know for playing many German characters: Lieutenant Hans Von Witzland in the 1993 film Stalingrad, Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist, Otto Ernst Remer in the 2009 film Valkyrie, Adolf Eichmann in the 2007 movie Eichmann, Gunther Wassner in U-571, etc.