Urs Rechn is a German

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, most famous for his appearance in the 2015 Cannes Grand Prix-winning

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

drama ''

Son of Saul ''Son of Saul'' ( hu, Saul fia) is a 2015 Hungarian historical drama film directed by László Nemes, in his feature directorial debut, and co-written by Nemes and Clara Royer. It is set in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, a ...

''.

Biography

Urs Günther Rechn was born on January 18, 1978, in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

, then

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, now

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, 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 fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...

, the family relocated to

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

, 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 ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1995), ''The Beaver Coat'' (1996), and ''Steig'in das Traumboot der Liebe'' (1996) and as a chorister in the opera ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'' (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 Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, 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 Theater Chemnitz is the municipal theatre organization in Chemnitz, Germany. Performances of opera, ballet, plays, symphonic concerts, and puppet theatre take place in its three main venues: the Opernhaus Chemnitz (for opera, ballet and musical th ...

, (Chemnitz Opera) e.g.: ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'' - Treblev; '' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' - Brick; ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' - Antonio; ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

'' - Marcus Antonius; '' Caligula'' - Caligula; ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...

'' - Stanley Kowalski; ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...

'' - Jonathan Peachum. Rechn attracted international attention for his role of the Jewish

Oberkapo A kapo or prisoner functionary (german: Funktionshäftling) was a prisoner in a Nazi camp who was assigned by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) guards to supervise forced labor or carry out administrative tasks. Also called "prisoner self-administrat ...

Biedermann in the film ''

'' by Hungarian director László Nemes which won the Grand Prix at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 2015. Joel and Ethan Coen were the Presidents of the Jury for the main competition. It was the first time that two people chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers each received a separate ...

as well as several further international awards. In June 2015,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

announced its submission of ''Son of Saul'' as their candidate for the foreign language film

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

at the 2016

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

. On February 28, ''Son of Saul'' won the Oscar.

Filmography

TV (selection)

* 1999: ''

Die Strandclique ''Die Strandclique'' is a German television series. See also *''Gegen den Wind'' (1994 – 1997) *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * '' 4 Blocks'' ( TNT Serie ...

'' – Dir.: Wolfgang Münstermann * 2000: ''Powderpark'' – Dir.: Christian Stier * 2001: '' Klinikum Berlin Mitte'' – Dir.: Ullrich Zrenner * 2002: '' Our Charly'' – Dir.: Franz Josef Gottlieb * 2003: '' Die Kommissarin'' (''Lady Cop'') – Dir.: Rolf Liccini * 2007: '' GSG 9'' (''Special Unit'') – Dir.: Florian Kern * 2003: ''

Der Ermittler ''Der Ermittler'' is a German television series. See also *List of German television series The following is a list of television series produced in Germany: Current Drama * ''4 Blocks'' (TNT Serie, 2017–2019) * ''Alarm für Cobra 11 ...

: Stadt, Land, Mord'', ZDF * 2004: ', TV movie * 2005: ''

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed b ...

– Freischwimmer'', ARD (MDR) * 2015: ''

Polizeiruf 110 ''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series likened to Poirot. The name links to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the ...

– Im Schatten'', ARD (MDR) * 2016: ''

X Company ''X Company'' is a Canadian/Hungarian spy thriller television series created by '' Flashpoint's'' Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern which premiered on February 18, 2015, on CBC Television. The series takes place during World War II, and foll ...

'', "Black Flag", CBC Television, Dir.:

Kelly Makin Kelly Makin is a Canadian television and film director. He directed episodes of ''The Kids in the Hall'' comedy television series and also directed several episodes of ''Queer as Folk'' including the series finale. More recently, Makin has dire ...

* 2018: ''

Dogs of Berlin ''Dogs of Berlin'' is a streaming television series and the second German series produced for Netflix after ''Dark (TV series), Dark''. First pictures of the ongoing production were shown in April 2018, after production started in November 2017. ...

'' –

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

, Dir.:

Christian Alvart Christian Alvart (born 28 May 1974 in Jugenheim) is a German filmmaker and screenwriter. Prior to working in the film business Christian Alvart worked in various positions, most recently as a senior editor at Filmmagzin X-TRO. In 1999, he mad ...

Cinema (selection)

* 2003: ''Broad Hit'', Dir.: Gennadi Poloka, RUS * 2004: ''Juraan'', Dir.: Andrej Kudinenko, RUS * 2006: ''

Eight Miles High "Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band the Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn (a.k.a. Roger McGuinn), and David Crosby. It was first released as a single on March 14, 1966. Musically influenced by sitar player Ravi Sh ...

'', Dir.: Achim Bornhak, GER * 2013: '' Run Boy Run'', Dir.: Pepe Danquart, GER * 2014: ''

The King's Surrender ''The King's Surrender'' (german: Wir waren Könige) is a 2014 German thriller film directed by Philipp Leinemann. Cast * Ronald Zehrfeld - Kevin * Mišel Matičević - Mendes * Thomas Thieme Thomas Thieme (born 29 October 1948) is a German ...

'', Dir.: Philipp Leinemann, GER * 2015: ''

'', Dir.: László Nemes, HUN * 2019: '' Inside Man: Most Wanted'', Dir.: Michael J. Bassett, USA * 2020: '' Waiting for Anya'', Dir.: Ben Cookson, UK, BEL

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 Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...

, Dir.: Rudolf Donath * ''

'' (Treblev) Anton Tchechov, Dir.: Tom Quaas * ''

'' (Antonio)

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, Dir: Holk Freitag * '' 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 Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

, Dir.. Holk Freitag * ''

'' (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 "A Report to an Academy" (German: "Ein Bericht für eine Akademie") is a short story by Franz Kafka, written and published in 1917. In the story, an ape named Red Peter, who has learned to behave like a human, presents to an academy the story of ho ...

'' (Red Peter)

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

, 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 * ''

'' (Red Peter)

, 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 * ''

'' (Peachum), Bertolt Brecht, Dir.: Philip Tiedemann

Awards

* 2016

at the

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 Chemnitz

References

External links

Website of Urs Rechn
*
"Son of Saul" on indiewire.com

Portrait of Urs Rechn (German

Portrait of Urs Rechn (German)

Portrait of Urs Rechn (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rechn, Urs 1978 births Living people 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors German male film actors People from Halle (Saale)