Max Riemelt (born 7 January 1984) is a German actor. He is known internationally for playing Wolfgang Bogdanow in the

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 ...

series ''

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''. In Germany, he is known for his many appearances on television and in films, including '' Before the Fall'', ''

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'' and the 2023 series ''

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''. He has appeared in many productions directed by Dennis Gansel and

Dominik Graf Dominik Graf (born 6 September 1952) is a German film director. He studied film direction at University of Television and Film Munich, from where he graduated in 1975. While he has directed several theatrically released feature films since the 198 ...

Early life and education

Max Riemelt was born on 7 January 1984 in

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

, which was in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

until he was six years old, and grew up in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany.

Career

Riemelt's career began in Germany in 1997 at the age of 13, in the TV productions ''Eine Familie zum Küssen'' and '' Praxis Bülowbogen''. The following year Riemelt played his first leading role in the ZDF Christmas series ''Zwei allein'', directed by Matthias Steurer. He also had a cameo appearance in the video for the title song "Two of a Kind" by the Hamburg duo "R & B". He starred in all of Dennis Gansel's feature films from '' Mädchen, Mädchen'' (2004) until '' The Fourth State'' (2012). In 2004 gained wide attention in Germany for his role in Gansel's World War II drama '' Before the Fall''. He starred in

's 2010 TV crime series '' In the Face of Crime'' (''Im Angesicht des Verbrechens''), and has collaborated numerous times with Graf as well as Dennis Gansel. In 2013, he starred in the romance ''

'', with Hanno Koffler, where he plays Kay, a police officer in training. The depicts a gay love story and has been compared to ''

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''. From 2015 to 2018, he starred in

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series ''

'', playing Wolfgang Bogdanow, a German safe cracker. The first season received positive reviews from critics. He starred in the 2017 psychological thriller '' Berlin Syndrome'' alongside Australian actress

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, which premiered at the

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. The film received generally favorable reviews, and both Palmer and Riemelt garnered praise for their performances. In 2020, he joined the cast of ''

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''. In 2023 he played a leading role '' Bonn – Alte Freunde, neue Feinde'', a political drama set in post-war

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in 1954.

Personal life

Riemelt completed his school career with a high school diploma and refused military service. Riemelt is the father of a daughter and lives in Berlin.

Awards

* 2004: Best Actor,

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

, for '' Before the Fall'' * 2006: Best Newcomer Actor,

Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

, for ' * 2006: Best Performance by an Actor in the Marrakech International Film Festival Awards, for his role in ''The Red Cockatoo''

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riemelt, Max 1984 births Living people Male actors from Berlin German male television actors German male film actors 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors Actors from East Berlin