Christian Berkel (born 28 October 1957) is a German actor. He is known for his appearances in '' Downfall'' (2004), ''

Valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ( or ; from ) is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become ('single fighters' or 'once fighters').Orchard (1997:36) and Li ...

'' (2008), ''

Inglourious Basterds ''Inglourious Basterds'' is a 2009 epic film, epic war film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger ...

'' (2009) and '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (2015).

Life and career

Berkel was born on 28 October 1957 in Berlin. His father had been a military doctor in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. His

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

fled ''Fled'' is a 1996 American Buddy film, buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Hooks. It stars Laurence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as two prisoners chained together who flee during an escape attempt gone bad. Plot An interrogator prepa ...

to Argentina and returned to Germany after the end of the war. From the age of 14 Berkel lived in Paris where he took drama lessons with

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundi ...

and Pierre Berlin. He then trained at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin and appeared on stage in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Vienna and at the Schiller Theater. Berkel has appeared in many German television productions before starring in the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-nominated film '' Downfall'' (2004) as Dr. Ernst-Günther Schenck. He has followed this with roles in

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch filmmaker, who has worked variously in the Netherlands, the United States, and in France. He is known for directing genre films with strong satirical elements, often featuring graphic violence and ...

's film '' Black Book'' (2006) and the American films '' Flightplan'' (2005), ''

'' (2008) and ''

'' (2009).

Personal life

In addition to his native German, Berkel speaks English and French. Berkel met actress Andrea Sawatzki in 1998. They were married in 2011. The couple have two sons. The family live in Berlin.

Filmography

*1977: ' - Karol Djudko *1977: '' The Serpent's Egg'' - Student *1978: ''

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

- Rot, rot, tot'' (TV) - Doc Decker / Dr. Alfred Waller / Erik Steinbeck / Rainer Wenisch / Uwe Pfandler *1982: '' Frau Jenny Treibel'' (TV) - Leopold Treibel *1983: ''

Derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its Guy-wire, guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower ...

'' - Season 10, Episode 06: "Tödliches Rendezvous" - Manfred Kessler *1989: ''Der Bastard'' (TV series) - Felix Dennison *1991: ' - Man #2 (voice) *1993: ''Das Schicksal der Lilian H.'' (TV) - Josef *1993: ''Ein unvergeßliches Wochenende ... in Salzburg'' (TV) *1996: '' Der Mann ohne Schatten'' (TV series) - Bruno Kuhlin *1996: ''Lautlose Schritte'' (TV) - Simon Sundermann *1997: ' - Weich *1997: ''Umarmung mit dem Tod'' (TV) - Lefevre *1998: ''Vicky's Nightmare'' (TV) - John Nadolny *1998: ''Tod auf Amrum'' (TV) - Rolf Spiekermann *1999: ''Sweet Little Sixteen'' (TV) - Thomas Reiner *2000: ''Verzweiflung'' *2000: ''Blondine sucht Millionär fürs Leben'' (TV) - Dietrich *2001: '' Das Experiment (The Experiment)'' - Robert Steinhoff Nr. 38 *2002: ''

Safe Conduct Safe conduct, safe passage, or letters of transit, is the situation in time of international conflict or war where one state, a party to such conflict, issues to a person (usually, an enemy state's subject) a pass or document to allow the enemy ...

'' - Dr. Greven *2002: '' Die Affäre Semmeling'' (TV series) - Fred Kiefer *2002: ''Der Unbestechliche'' - Harald Kittler *2003: ''Erste Liebe'' (TV) *2004: '' Soundless'' - Lang *2004: '' Der Untergang (Downfall)'' - Prof. Ernst-Günther Schenck *2004: '' Männer wie wir (Guys and Balls)'' - Rudolf *2005: ' (TV) - Dr. Klaus Merbold *2005: ''

- Leerstand'' (TV) - Doc Decker *2005: '' Flightplan'' (film) - Mortuary Director *2006: ' (TV) - Innensenator

Helmut Schmidt Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. He was the longest ...

*2006: ''Eine Frage des Gewissens (A Question Of The Conscience)'' (TV) - Martin Beltz *2006: '' Black Book'' - General Käutner *2006: '' Der Kriminalist'' (TV) - Kriminalhauptkommissar Bruno Schumann *2007: ''The Other Boy'' - Jakob Wagner *2008: '' Flame & Citron'' (film) - Hoffmann *2008: '' Mogadischu'' (film) - Chancellor

*2008: '' Haber'' (film) - Fritz Shimon Haber *2008: '' Miracle at St. Anna'' (film) - Captain Eichholz *2008: ''

'' (film) - Colonel

Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim (25 March 1905 – 21 July 1944) was a German Army colonel and a resistance fighter in Nazi Germany involved in the 20 July plot against Adolf Hitler. Early life Quirnheim was born in Munich, the son of Herm ...

*2009: ''

'' (film) - Proprietor Eric *2009: '' Attack on Leningrad'' (film) - Vinkelmayer *2010: ' - David Böttcher *2011: ' - Heinrich Bockelmann *2013: ' (film) - Martin *2014: ' (TV) -

Ernst Udet Ernst Udet (26 April 1896 – 17 November 1941) was a German pilot during World War I and a ''Luftwaffe'' Colonel-General (''Generaloberst'') during World War II. Udet joined the Imperial German Air Service in April 1915 at the age of 19 ...

*2015: '' Traumfrauen'' - Herr Hegemann *2015: '' Anti-Social'' - Philip *2015: '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (film) - Dr. Udo Teller *2015: '' Trumbo'' (film) -

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( ; ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian Americans, Austrian-American film and theatre director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the the ...

*2016: ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'' (film) - Robert *2016: ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'' - King Louie (German

dubbing Dubbing (also known as re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and the video production process where supplementary recordings (known as doubles) are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production audio to cr ...

, originally performed by

Christopher Walken Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Christopher Walken on stage and screen, His work on stage and screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Christopher Walken, accolades includin ...

) *2020: '' The Magic Kids: Three Unlikely Heroes'' - Louis Ziffer *2020: '' Enfant Terrible''

References

External links

*
Carola Studlar Agency Munich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkel, Christian 1957 births Living people 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors 21st-century German male writers 21st-century German novelists Französisches Gymnasium Berlin alumni German male film actors German male novelists German male television actors German people of Jewish descent Male actors from Berlin Writers from Berlin