Rolf Kanies (born 21 December 1957) is a German actor who played many high-profile roles on the stage before switching to a career in film and television in 1997. Since then Kanies has specialized in German and international film and television. Movies he has played in have been nominated for a variety of international awards, including an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

Early life and education

Born in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region () of Detmold (region), Detmold and the L ...

, Kanies studied at the Westfälische Schauspielschule Bochum and at the Universität der Künste (UdK)

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 ...

. Upon completing his studies, he embarked on a career in the theatre. His first engagement was at the Hebbel-Theater in Berlin, followed by other works at the Schauspielhaus Bochum, the Staatstheater Kassel and productions in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

(

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) and at the Garsington Opera Festival (

Oxford, England Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Career

Kanies' roles have included many

Shakespearean 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 nation ...

characters such as

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

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

Mercutio Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the ...

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

Theseus Theseus (, ; ) was a divine hero in Greek mythology, famous for slaying the Minotaur. The myths surrounding Theseus, his journeys, exploits, and friends, have provided material for storytelling throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes desc ...

/Oberon (''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''), Sir Toby (''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

''), Dromio of Ephesus ('' A Comedy of Errors'') and Lucio (''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604. It was published in the First Folio of 1623. The play centers on the despotic and puritan Angelo (Measure for ...

''). Other prominent roles were those of

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

, Orest (''

Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting and killing one of Artem ...

'') and Biff (''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a ...

''). He also played several lead roles in musicals. Starting in the 1990s, Kanies played in a large variety of German television series and movies and in eight feature films. His film debut was ''Dark Days'', directed by

Margarethe von Trotta Margarethe von Trotta (; born 21 February 1942)Hans Helmut Prinzler, ''Chronik des deutschen Films, 1895–1994'' (Stuttgart and Weimar: Verlag J. B. Metzler, 1995), p. 149. is a German film director, screenwriter, and actress. She has been ref ...

. In 1998, Rolf had his first international appearance in the science fiction series ''

Lexx ''Lexx'' (also known as ''LEXX: The Dark Zone Stories'' and ''Tales from a Parallel Universe'') is a science fiction television series created by Lex Gigeroff and brothers Paul Donovan (writer), Paul and Michael Donovan (producer), Michael Dono ...

'', in which he played Reginald J. Priest, a troubled alien who is also the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. In the same year Kanies played

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

in the American production '' Joe and Max'' directed by Steve James (STARZ! Pictures). In 2004, Kanies performed the role of Gen. Hans Krebs in

Oliver Hirschbiegel Oliver Hirschbiegel (born 29 December 1957) is a German film director. His works include and the Oscar-nominated film about Adolf Hitler, '' Downfall''. Early life and education Oliver Hirschbiegel was born in Hamburg, West Germany on 29 Dece ...

's '' Downfall'', which was nominated for an Oscar. In 2008, he played the war veteran Friedrich Hoch in '' A Woman In Berlin'', directed by Max Färberböck, which won the Best International Feature Award at the

Santa Barbara International Film Festival The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) is an eleven-day film festival held in Santa Barbara, California in February annually, since 1986. The festival screens over 200 feature films and shorts from different countries and regions. ...

in 2009. In 2008 Rolf also appeared in the movie '' The Countess'' as Count Krajevo, a film by Julie Delpy.

Filmography

Film

*2000: ''Mister Boogie'' *2001: ' - Daniel's Father *2002: '' Joe and Max'' -

*2003: ''Falling Grace'' - George *2004: '' Der Untergang'' - General Hans Krebs *2006: '' The Conclave'' - Cardinal Bessarion *2008: ''The Lord of Edessa'' - Eric Malik *2008: '' A Woman in Berlin'' - Friedrich Hoch *2008: '' 10 Sekunden'' - Ebi Koch *2009: '' The Countess'' - Count Krajevo *2009: ''Für Miriam'' - Martin Fleißer *2011: ' - Jürgen *2011: ' - Oberst Tapilin *2011: ''Blissestraße'' - Anton *2014: '' Sapphire Blue'' - William de Villiers *2015: '' Hitman: Agent 47'' - Dr. Delriego *2016: ' - William de Villiers *2017: '' The Young Karl Marx'' - Moses Hess *2018: '' The Silent Revolution'' - Wardetzki

Television

*1999: ' - Rolf *1999: ''Countdown at Sea'' - Kapitän zur See van Bergen *2000: ''Der Mörder in Dir'' - Herr Kowalsky *2001: ' - Vermieter Herr Wagner *2001: '' Wilsberg: Wilsberg und der Mord ohne Leiche'' - Herbert Schering *2002: ''Alibis for Sale'' - Arbeitsamtberater *2002: '' Joe and Max'' -

*2002: ''Inspektor Ringo Rolle - Top oder Flop'' - Dr. Alexander Brombeck *2002: ''

'' - Reginald J. Priest *2003: ''Der Fussfesselmörder'' - Professor *2003: ' - Staatssekretär Schuster *2003: ''

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 ...

- Atlantis'' - Peter Radke *2004: '' Kommissar Rex: "Nachts im Spital'' - Dr. Ballak *2004: ''

Eva Blond ''Eva Blond'' is a German television series that follows the detective Eva Blond (Corinna Harfouch) and her colleague Alyans (Erdal Yıldız). It aired from 2002 to 2006 on Sat.1. See also *List of German television series External links

* ...

'' - Emre Aslan *2004: '' München 7'' - Mann am Rathausturm *2005: ''Mutter aus heiterem Himmel'' - Norbert Neumann *2005: ''Eine Liebe in Saigon'' - Werner Krantz *2005: ''Secret Love: The Schoolboy and the Mailwoman'' - Matthias Reinhardt *2005: ''

- Im Alleingang'' - Heiko Eckermann *2006: ''

- Der Lippenstiftmörder'' - Professor Klammroth *2006: ''Rapture of the Deep'' - Steve *2006: ' - Martin Degenhard *2006: ' - Prosecutor Dr. Edgar Fink *2007: ' - Georgios Vimbos *2007: '' KDD – Kriminaldauerdienst - Verwirrungen'' - Reimer *2007: ''Love on Loan'' - Uli *2007: '' Polizeiruf 110 - Tod in der Bank'' - Walter Conrad *2008: ' - Ministerpräsident Julius Schäfer *2008: ' - Andreas Imhof *2008: ' - Reibold *2008: '' Die Bienen – Tödliche Bedrohung'' - Dr. Alvarez *2008: ' - Lautenschläger *2009: ' - Onkel Jakub *2009: ''Das Paradies am Ende der Welt'' - Harry *2009: ''Eine Liebe in St. Petersburg'' - Boris Wronski (uncredited) *2009: ''Die kluge Bauerntochter'' - Hofrat von Müller *2009: ''Mein Flaschengeist und ich'' - Nidelöpfel *2009: ''Auftrag in Afrika'' - Van Heusen *2010: '' Blackout'' - Dr. Thomas Reinders *2010: ''Alpha 0.7 - Der Feind in dir'' - Uwe Gonzoldt *2010: ''Das Familiengeheimnis'' *2011: ' - Vollmer *2012: '' Rommel'' - Oberst Eberhard Finckh *2013: ' - Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur *2014: ' - Monsieur Chagall

Theater

* 1979 Schauspielhaus Bochum * 1981 Schauspielhaus Bochum * 1981 Hebbeltheater Berlin * 1982–1986 Schauspielhaus Graz * 1991 Schauspielhaus Bochum * 1996–1997 Staatstheater Kassel * 1997 RLT Neuss * 1998 OD-Theater Basel "Don Carlos" * 1998 Kunstfest Weimar " Sturm und Drang" * 1999 Garsington Opera Festival "Entführung aus dem Serail" * 2000 Schauspiel Berlin "Warten auf Godot"

References

External links

* * http://www.rolfkanies.com Rolf Kanies' Homepage {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanies, Rolf 1957 births Living people 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors Actors from Bielefeld German male film actors German male television actors Male actors from Berlin Male actors from North Rhine-Westphalia