Lara Mandoki (born September 17, 1989, in Munich) is a German actress with a diverse career spanning television, film, and theatre. She began her acting career in 2006 and has since appeared in a variety of notable productions, including the

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

Series ''Das Boot'', the Emmy-winning thriller ''

Unterm Radar ''Unterm Radar'' is a 2015 German television film directed by . Plot Cast *Christiane Paul ... Elke Seeberg *Heino Ferch ... Heinrich Buch *Fabian Hinrichs ... Richard König *Inka Friedrich ... Anna Bittner * Matthias Matschke ... Tom Hensk ...

'', and the

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

Show ''Erzgebirgskrimi'' where she has been playing the lead detective since 2018. Her theatre work includes a significant role in the 240-hour performance installation ''Meat'' at the

Schaubühne The (Theatre on Lehniner Square) is a famous theatre in the Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, located on the Kurfürstendamm boulevard. It is a conversion of the ''Universum'' cinema, built according to plans designed by Erich Mendelsohn in 192 ...

Berlin. In 2015, Mandoki gained international recognition with her role in the Canadian-Hungarian co-production ''

X Company ''X Company'' is a Canadian/Hungarian spy thriller television series created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, the creators of the CTV series '' Flashpoint'', which ran from 2008 to 2012. The series premiered on February 18, 2015, on C ...

''. In 2023, Mandoki played a leading role in the ARTE international documentary drama-series ''A World Divided'' as Hedwig Höss.

Background, education, and theatre

Lara Mandoki, the daughter of Hungarian musician

Leslie Mandoki Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

, pursued her acting studies in Munich and Los Angeles. Next to German, Mandoki speaks Hungarian natively, as a result of her family's Hungarian origin. During her training, she gained experience in numerous theatre productions, including performances at the

Münchner Kammerspiele The Munich Kammerspiele (German: Münchner Kammerspiele) is a state-funded German-language theater company based at the ''Schauspielhaus'' on Maximilianstrasse in the Bavarian capital. The company currently has three venues: the main stage of ...

. Her involvement extended to significant projects such as the 240-hour performance installation ''Meat'' at the

Berlin and Dieter Wedel’s

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...

production ''Die Komödie der Irrungen'' at the

Bad Hersfelder Festspiele The Bad Hersfelder Festspiele is a German theatre festival in Bad Hersfeld, Hesse. The ''Bad Hersfelder Festspiele'' have been staged since 1951. The Festival The ''Bad Hersfeld Festival'' takes place every year from mid-June to early August in ...

, where she played the role of Maisha.

Film and television

Mandoki played her first film role in 2006 in the short film ''Lia.'' Her television career then gained momentum with her role as Herta Levin in the

historical drama ' (2012), where she appeared alongside

Christine Neubauer Christine Neubauer (born 24 June 1962 in Munich) is a German actress and author. Life and work Background and education Christine Neubauer is the daughter of a printer. Her ancestors came from Munich, Lower Bavaria and Swabia. She attended M ...

. Her versatility was showcased in 2014 when she hosted the ZDF documentary miniseries ''Nicht alles war schlecht'', in which the post-

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

generation attempts to understand what life was like in a divided Germany. Mandoki further established her reputation with roles in the Emmy Award-winning thriller ''

'' (2015) and Mira Thiel’s film comedy ''

Gut zu Vögeln Gut, GUT or guts may refer to: Anatomy * Abdomen or belly, the region of a vertebrate between the chest and pelvis * Abdominal obesity or "a gut", a large deposit of belly fat * Gastrointestinal tract or gut, the system of digestive organs * I ...

'' (2016). Her performance in Lars Montag’s tragicomedy ''Sex, Pity and Loneliness'' (2017) earned critical acclaim and multiple

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

nominations. She made her international breakthrough with her role in the highly successful Canadian-Hungarian co-production ''

'' (2017), an espionage thriller about

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 ...

. This success was followed by her appearance in Duncan Jones' '' Mute'' (2018) for

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. The year 2018 also saw her in ', directed by Alexander Adolph, where she portrayed Dolly alongside

Hannelore Elsner Hannelore Elsner (; born Hannelore Elstner; 26 July 1942 – 21 April 2019) was a German actress with a long career in television and film. She first performed on stage in Munich, and later starred in popular films and television series such as ' ...

, Florian Stadlhuber, and Sunny Melles. Additionally, she starred in the political thriller ' directed by

Marcus H. Rosenmüller Marcus H. Rosenmüller is a German film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed the films '' Grave Decisions'', ' and directed ', ' and '. Selected filmography * '' Grave Decisions'' (2006) * ' (2006) * ' (2007) * ' (2008) * ' (2008 ...

, and played the lead role in the

Sat.1 Sat.1 () is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. It is considered the first privately owned television network in Germany, having been launched in January 1984 as ''PKS'' ''(Programmgesell ...

comedy ''Babyboom'', directed by Kai Meyer-Ricks. Her role in the ARD drama ' involved portraying a young woman who must assume responsibility for her paralyzed friend after an accident. Since 2018, Mandoki has been widely recognized for her portrayal of Commissioner Karina Szabo in the ZDF Saturday night crime series '. Several films in the series have been successful, including notable films like ' by Thorsten M. Schmidt, which attracted nearly seven million viewers. In the same year, she made a guest appearance in the film ''Leberkäsjunkie'' from the Eberhofer crime series alongside Simon Schwarz and Sebastian Bezzel. In 2019, Mandoki starred in the thriller ''Jan Römer'' for ARD, directed by Felix Herzogenrath, as a young investigative journalist. Mandoki took a lead role in the

ZDFneo ZDFneo is a German free-to-air television channel, programmed for an audience aged 25 to 49 to complement the primarily older-skewing main channels of public broadcasters ZDF and ARD. It replaced ZDF's documentary channel ZDFdokukanal on 1 N ...

series ''Macht der Kränkung – Sunshine City'' (2020), directed by Umut Dag, and worked with

Wolfgang Murnberger Wolfgang Murnberger (born 13 November 1960) is an Austrian film director. He directed more than forty films since 1984. Selected filmography *'' I Promise'' (1994) *'' Komm, süßer Tod'' (2000) *'' Silentium'' (2004) *'' The Bone Man'' (2009) *' ...

in the ''Steirerkrimi'' in Graz, where she portrayed a Hungarian forced prostitute. Her 2021 projects included a lead role in the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

series ''Der Beischläfer'' and the highly acclaimed ZDF crime drama ''Tod einer Hoffnung''. The following year, she appeared in the ARD comedy ''Vätertage'', where she made her on-camera singing debut. Mandoki also worked on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

series '' Vienna Blood'', filming in Mandoki's second home, Budapest. In 2023, Mandoki was featured in the fourth season of ''Das Boot'' (Sky) as Dagmar Dewitt. She also starred as Hedwig Höss in the series ''The End of Dreams'' (ARTE), filmed at the

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

site under the direction of Olga Chajdow. Additionally, she worked on Simon Verhoeven’s '' Girl You Know It’s True'', which delves into the 80s/90s music scene. In the autumn of 2023, Mandoki continued her role as Commissioner Szabo in the ZDF prime time series ', filming two additional episodes. Her performance in the series, which includes episodes directed by Markus Imboden, has been well-received. Looking ahead, 2024 will see Mandoki in the crime drama ''Wintermord'' directed by Tim Trageser and in the dramatic film ''Über die Grenze'' with Thorsten M. Schmidt. She will also star in the dramedy ''Petra geht baden,'' directed by Rainer Kauffman in Prague, and in Vienna, she will take a leading role in the dark comedy ''Mama ist die Besti(e) (AT)'' alongside Adele Neuhaus, both for ZDF prime time.

Background, education, and theatre

Film and television

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre (selection)

References

External links