Sebastian Koch (born 31 May 1962) is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film '' The Lives of Others'', in
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
Otto Düring
This is a list of characters appearing in the Showtime drama television series ''Homeland''.
Appearances
: = Main cast (credited)
: = Recurring cast (3+)
: = Guest cast (1-2)
Main cast
Recurring cast
;Notes
Main characters
The foll ...
in the fifth season of the Showtime series '' Homeland''.
Childhood
Koch grew up in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
with his mother who was a single parent. He originally wanted to be a musician, but production by artistic director Claus Peymann influenced him in the late 1970s to change careers to become an actor.
Career
Theatre
From 1982 to 1985, Koch studied at the renowned Otto Falckenberg School in Munich. In addition to his cinematic work, he played a diversity of different roles on stage. Koch portrayed amongst other
Peer Gynt
''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five- act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian plays. Ibsen believed ''Per Gynt'', the Norwegian fairy tale on wh ...
and Leonce in ''
Leonce and Lena
''Leonce and Lena'' (german: Leonce und Lena) is a play by German dramatist Georg Büchner (1813–1837) which is considered a comedy, but is actually a satire veiled in humor. It was written in the spring of 1836 for a competition 'for the best ...
'' at the municipal theatre of
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
. At the Schiller theatre in
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
The Robbers
''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first drama by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim, Germany, and was inspired by Leisewitz' earlier play '' Julius of Taranto''. It was ...
'' and Orest in
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...
's '' Iphigenie auf Tauris''. A couple of years later, he took over the role of Lord Goring in
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
's ''
An Ideal Husband
''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...
'' in the playhouse Bochum under the direction of Armin Holz.
Film and television
Koch had his first TV appearance in 1980 in the 77th episode of the series ''
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 guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, an ...
'', followed by an episode in the popular crime series ''
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 by ...
'' in 1986. He acted in numerous thrillers like ''Der Mann mit der Maske'', ''Die brennende Schnecke'', and in 1997 in
Heinrich Breloer
Heinrich Breloer (, born 17 February 1942 in Gelsenkirchen) is a German author and film director. He has mainly worked on docudramas related to modern German history and has received many awards. Breloer's 2005 docudrama '' Speer und Er'' was desc ...
's two-piece ', in which he portrayed the role of
Andreas Baader
Berndt Andreas Baader (6 May 1943 – 18 October 1977) was one of the first leaders of the West German left-wing militant organization Red Army Faction (RAF), also commonly known as ''the Baader-Meinhof Group''.
Life
Andreas Baader was born ...
.
For the title role in ' and for his performance as the writer
Klaus Mann
Klaus Heinrich Thomas Mann (18 November 1906 – 21 May 1949) was a German writer and dissident. He was the son of Thomas Mann, a nephew of Heinrich Mann and brother of Erika Mann, with whom he maintained a lifelong close relationship, and Golo ...
Adolf Grimme Award
The Grimme-Preis ("Grimme Award"; prior to 2011: Adolf-Grimme-Preis) is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme.Napoleon'', which Koch in appeared alongside
Gérard Depardieu
Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu, CQ (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor, filmmaker, businessman and vineyard owner since 1989 who is one of the most prolific thespians in film history having completed over 250 films since 1967 al ...
,
John Malkovich
John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awa ...
and
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is note ...
and brought him more attention. He portrayed the youthful lover of
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
, Rodolphe Löwenstein, in ''Marie und Freud''.
Koch has portrayed historically significant personalities, among
Rudolf Höss
Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss (also Höß, Hoeß, or Hoess; 25 November 1901 – 16 April 1947) was a German SS officer during the Nazi era who, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, was convicted for war crimes. Höss was the longest-serving co ...
in
Costa-Gavras
Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...
Hochhuth's adaptation '' Amen (Der Stellvertreter).'' He appeared in '' The Tunnel'', a made-for-television German film about the idea of going underground by digging a tunnel shortly after the construction of the Berlin wall in 1961, and in
Peter Keglevic
Peter Keglevic (born 1950) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 30 films since 1976. His film '' Bella Donna'' was screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.
Selected filmography
* ''Tatort: Beweisaufnahme'' (1981, TV ...
’s historical drama ''Two Days of Hope'' about the uprising on 17 June 1953. Koch appeared in '' Stauffenberg'' (2004 by
Jo Baier
Jo Baier (born 13 February 1949) is a German film director and writer. He directed more than twenty films since 1982 and is known for ''Operation Valkyrie'' (2004), ''Henri 4'' (2010) and ' (2006). He is married to Gertrud Baier.
Early life and ...
and winner of the German Film Award); and he played
Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of ...
in Heinrich Breoler's mini-series '' Speer und Er'' in 2004 – his third collaboration with the director following ''Death Game'' and '' The Manns – A Novel of the Century''. He received for his performance as the Nazi architect Albert Speer the German TV Award.
Sebastian Koch appeared in
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (; born 2 May 1973) is an Academy Award-winning German and Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thriller ''Das Leben der Anderen (The L ...
's drama '' The Lives of Others'' in 2006 as one of the leading roles. He portrayed the playwright Georg Dreyman, who lived in
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
with his lover, a dissident who was spied on and monitored. The movie received an
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), ...
for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007 as well as the
BAFTA Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
German
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
**Ger ...
and
European Film Award
The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...
Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book '' Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Sal ...
.
Paul Verhoeven
Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...
's movie '' Black Book (Zwartboek)'' was also shot in 2006. Koch played a Nazi Officer in occupied Holland who falls in love with a Jewish member of the resistance ( Carice van Houten). ''Black Book'' celebrated its premiere at the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
and the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
.
After shooting the movie ' in 2007/2008, Koch appeared on camera for the international production of
Jack London
John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
's classic psychological adventure novel '' Sea Wolf'', where Koch portrayed a lone despot of both brutal cruelty and longing romance. The shooting of this two-parter based on Nigel Williams’ script and under Mike Barker’s direction took place in Halifax, Canada. The mini-series won the
Directors Guild of Canada
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...
Award and Koch was nominated in 2010 for his role as Wolf Larsen for the international
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
.
The shooting of the movie ''Manipulation'' (adapted from the novel ''Das Verhör des Harry Wind'') took also place in 2008, with Koch and
Klaus Maria Brandauer
Klaus Maria Brandauer (; born Klaus Georg Steng; 22 June 1943) is an Austrian actor and director. He is also a professor at the Max Reinhardt Seminar.
Brandauer is known internationally for his roles in '' The Russia House'' (1990), ''Mephisto ...
playing leading roles.
In 2010, Koch was the male title role in the English independent tragicomedy ''
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North P ...
'' under the direction of Niall MacCormick. He played the role of Prof. Bressler in the movie '' Unknown'' (with
Liam Neeson
William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...
and
Diane Kruger
Diane Kruger ( Heidkrüger; ; born 15 July 1976) is a German and American actress. Early in her career, Kruger gained worldwide recognition and received the Trophée Chopard from the Cannes Film Festival.
Kruger became known for her roles in ...
) under the direction of
Jaume Collet-Serra
Jaume Collet-Serra (; born 23 March 1974) is a Spanish-American film director and producer. He directed the horror films '' House of Wax'' (2005), ''Orphan'' (2009), and '' The Shallows'' (2016), as well as the Liam Neeson-led thriller films '' ...
. In the summer of 2010, he took a guest role alongside
Eva Green
Eva Gaëlle Green (, ; born ) is a French actress and model. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she began her career in theatre before making her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's '' The Dreamers'' (2003). She achieved international reco ...
and
Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor of film, stage, and television. Journalist Zoe Williams observed that "he seemed to be the go-to actor for English cultural history". Fiennes is particul ...
in the TV series ''
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...
'' from the Irish RT Film production, followed by the UFA production '' Bella Block'' – Stich ins Herz under the direction of Stephan Wagner, in which Koch played the role of Max Klöckner. As a host of the ZDF production ''Terra X'', Koch presented the Cologne Cathedral, the Neuschwanstein Castle and the Dresden Frauenkirche.
In 2011, Koch appeared in the Czech production '' The Shadow of the Horse (Ve Stinu)'', in which Koch played the leading role of the investigator Zenk, whose mission is to win through one personal rival and through the regime of communist
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
in the 50s. In the German production adapted from Bernhard Schlink's novel ''The Weekend'' in 2012, Koch portrays an amnestied RAF terrorist (Jens Kessler), who has a reunion with his old mates. In the same year, Koch began shooting the Greek-Russian drama film ''
God Loves Caviar
''God Loves Caviar'' ( el, Ο Θεός αγαπάει το χαβιάρι, translit. O Theós agapáei to chaviári; in Russia known as Pirates of the Aegean Sea) is a 2012 Russian-Greek drama film directed by Yannis Smaragdis.
Plot
The f ...
'' based upon the true story of Ioannis Varvakis, played by Koch, a former pirate who moved up to being a Greek caviar merchant and eventual benefactor from
Psara
Psara ( el, Ψαρά, , ; known in ancient times as /, /) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Together with the small island of Antipsara (Population 4) it forms the municipality of Psara. It is part of the Chios regional unit, which is part of ...
. The international cast also included
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...
as
Catherine the Great of Russia
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
and
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
as Officer McCormick. Furthermore, Koch played the title role in ''
Suspension of Disbelief
Suspension of disbelief, sometimes called willing suspension of disbelief, is the avoidance of critical thinking or logic in examining something unreal or impossible in reality, such as a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for ...
'', a thriller by
Mike Figgis
Michael Figgis (born 28 February 1948) is an English film director, screenwriter, and composer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards for his work in ''Leaving Las Vegas'' (1995). Figgis was the founding patron of the independent filmmakers o ...
, which was followed by part 5 of the ''
Die Hard
''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, ...
'' movies, with Koch as
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series '' Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero ...
' antagonist.
In 2013,
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades th ...
(director and producer) began working on ''The Vatican'', a pilot episode for a
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...
series about intrigues concerning the Pope and mysteries and secrets within the Catholic Church. Koch played the role of the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
's secretary Cardinal Marco Malerba, who is one of the true potentates of the inner circle.
In the Austrian production ' Koch portrayed
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( , ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is best known for having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize, though he also ...
in 2014, and in the French production '' Au nom de ma fille'', based on a true story, Koch played Dieter Krombach, a German doctor who is accused of murdering his stepdaughter by her biological French father (played by
Daniel Auteuil
Daniel Auteuil (; born 24 January 1950) is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Fest ...
). The case had spanned 30 years and has caused considerable publicity because of the issues of French-German relations and vigilante justice it raised.
In 2014, Koch was also part of
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
's historical dramatic thriller '' Bridge of Spies'' about the negotiations of the release of spies between the East and West. Lawyer James B. Donovan (
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
) is thrown into the centre of the Cold War and East German lawyer Wolfgang Vogel (Koch) is a key figure in the process. The film premiered at the
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it ...
and was nominated for the 2016 Academy Award for Best Picture.
The biographical romantic drama film '' The Danish Girl'' by Academy Award winner
Tom Hooper
Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker.
Hooper began making short films as a teenager and had his first professional short, ...
(''The King's Speech'') is about one of the first known recipients of
sex reassignment surgery
Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and al ...
. Koch portrays Kurt Warnekros, a doctor at the Dresden Municipal Women's Clinic, who was one of the first to carry out such operations. The cast furthermore includes
Eddie Redmayne
Edward John David Redmayne (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. Known for his roles in biopics and blockbusters, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Olivier Awards.
...
and
Alicia Vikander
Alicia Amanda Vikander (, ; born 3 October 1988) is a Swedish actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award, as well as receiving nominations for ...
.
Subsequently, Koch filmed ''Fog in August'' (by director Kai Wessel), the first feature film to address the Nazis' euthanasia program and the hospital's staunch Nazi chief physician Werner Veithausen's (played by Koch) way of dealing with the issue.
Eventually, in 2015, Koch began shooting the fifth season of the Showtime series '' Homeland'' about bipolar CIA Officer Carrie Mathison (
Claire Danes
Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress. She is the recipient of three Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2012, ''Time'' named her one of the 100 most influential ...
). After leaving the CIA, Carrie now works for German billionaire Otto Düring (Koch), a philanthropist who uses the money his family made through affiliation with the Nazis to help struggling people around the world, including in volatile regions of the Middle East. Düring hires her to be his head of security in Berlin.
In 2016, he collaborated again with director
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (; born 2 May 1973) is an Academy Award-winning German and Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thriller ''Das Leben der Anderen (The L ...
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
. The subject of the drama is the life of an artist, loosely based on the biography of
Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, and also photographs and glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary German ...
. Sebastian starrs alongside
Tom Schilling
Tom Schilling (born 10 February 1982) is a German film and television actor.
Life and acting career
Schilling grew up in the formerly East German borough of Berlin Mitte. He was discovered at the age of 12 by stage director Thomas Heise, and ...
2019 Academy Awards 2019 Academy Awards may refer to:
* 91st Academy Awards
The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby T ...
and was ultimately nominated by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...
in the categories of "Best Foreign Language Film" and "Best Cinematography". Sebastian Koch also won the
Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book '' Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Sal ...
award for "Best Actor National" in '' Never Look Away'' in 2018.
In 2020, Koch starred in the German-Canadian television series '' The Defeated'' by
Måns Mårlind
Måns Magnus Mårlind (born 29 July 1969) is a Swedish director and screenwriter. After making his feature film debut in 2005, he co-directed the big-budget horror films '' Shelter'' (2010) and '' Underworld: Awakening'' (2012) and co-created th ...
. In the thriller series ''Your Honor'' (German title '' Euer Ehren''), a German-Austrian adaptation of the Israeli series ''Kvodo'', which aired in April 2022, Koch embodies a incorruptible judge who violates his moral principles and breaks with law and order driven by the infinite love for his son and the concern for his son's life.
Sebastian Koch is a member of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...
, which awards the
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), ...
.
In addition to his acting work, he regularly delights audiences with symphonic-scenic readings, including ''Paradise'' with violinist Daniel Hope, ''Dream Story'' with the Hubert Nuss Jazz Quartet and ''The Kreutzer Sonata'' after L. Tolstoy, which Sebastian Koch dramaturgically adapted and conceived as a stage play with piano and violin.
Audiobooks
Koch has frequently served as an interpreter of both literary and musical-literary audiobooks and live performances of such. Current projects include ''Schumann – Scenes of a marriage'' (with Martina Gedeck) about the exchange of letters between
Clara
Clara may refer to:
Organizations
* CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization
* Clara.Net, a European ISP
* Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium
People
* Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...
and
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
, and accompanied by Argentinean bandoneon virtuoso Roberto Russo Koch has also presented excerpts from ''The Player'' by
Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
Arthur Schnitzler
Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist.
Biography
Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarch ...
– accompanied by compositions especially for jazz – took place at the Literature and Poetry Festival in Bad Homburg in 2011.
In 2012, he produced the audiobook ''Koch is reading Heuss'' about speeches and letters by
Theodor Heuss
Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor K ...
in collaboration with Cherbuliez Productions.
Koch twice lent his voice to the audiobook edition of ''Brigitte – Strong Voices''. In 2007, he recorded the novel ''A perfect friend'' ( Martin Suter) followed by the crime story ''On the twelfth day'' (Wolfgang Schorlau) in 2014.
Personal life
Sebastian Koch lives in Berlin and has a daughter, Paulina (born 1995) and a son, Jacob (born 2013). He was in a relationship with actress Carice van Houten, whom he met on the set of the movie '' Black Book'', from 2005 to 2009.
Filmography (selection)
*' (1991) – Gerhardt
*'' Death Came As a Friend'' (1991, TV film) – young Gerhard Selb
*''The Duck Bros.''/''Dog Days'' (1991–2011, franchise) – Stanley (voice)
*''Cosimas Lexikon'' (1992) – Sven
*' (1994, TV film) – Bernd Schild
*''
Hart to Hart
''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset li ...
: Two Harts in 3/4 Time'' (1995, TV film) – Hans Ditsch
*' (1996, TV miniseries) – Wismar
*' (1997, TV film) –
Andreas Baader
Berndt Andreas Baader (6 May 1943 – 18 October 1977) was one of the first leaders of the West German left-wing militant organization Red Army Faction (RAF), also commonly known as ''the Baader-Meinhof Group''.
Life
Andreas Baader was born ...
*''
Gloomy Sunday
"Gloomy Sunday" ( Hungarian: ''Szomorú vasárnap''), also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a popular song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933.
The original lyrics were titled "Vége a vilá ...
'' (1999) – Obersturmbannführer Eichbaum
*''Das Tal der Schatten'' (1999) – von Sviet
*'' The Tunnel'' (2001) – Matthis Hiller
*' (2001, TV film) – Richard Oetker
*'' Die Manns – Ein Jahrhundertroman'' (2001, TV miniseries) –
Klaus Mann
Klaus Heinrich Thomas Mann (18 November 1906 – 21 May 1949) was a German writer and dissident. He was the son of Thomas Mann, a nephew of Heinrich Mann and brother of Erika Mann, with whom he maintained a lifelong close relationship, and Golo ...
Rudolf Höss
Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss (also Höß, Hoeß, or Hoess; 25 November 1901 – 16 April 1947) was a German SS officer during the Nazi era who, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, was convicted for war crimes. Höss was the longest-serving co ...
Jean Lannes
Jean Lannes, 1st Duke of Montebello, Prince of Siewierz (10 April 1769 – 31 May 1809), was a French military commander and a Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was one of Napoleon ...
*''Das fliegende Klassenzimmer'' (2003) – Robert 'Nichtraucher' Uthofft
*' (2004, TV film) – Rodolphe Löwenstein
*'' Stauffenberg'', ''Operation Valkyrie'' (2004, TV film) –
Claus von Stauffenberg
Colonel Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair.
Despite ...
*' (2004) – Philipp
*'' Speer und Er'' (2005, TV film) –
Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of ...
*'' The Shell Seekers'' (2006, TV film) – Cosmo
*'' The Lives of Others'' (2006) – Georg Dreyman
*'' Black Book'' (2006) – Ludwig Müntze
*''Rudy: The Return of the Racing Pig'' (2007) – Thomas Bussmann
*' ''At Any Second'' (2008) – Dr. Hans Frick
*''
Effi Briest
''Effi Briest'' is a realist novel by Theodor Fontane. Published in book form in 1895, ''Effi Briest'' marks both a watershed and a climax in the poetic realism of literature. It can be thematically compared to other novels on 19th century ma ...
'' (2009) – Geert von Instetten
*'' Sea Wolf'' (2009, TV film) – Wolf Larsen
*''Manipulation'' (2011) – Harry Wind
*'' Unknown'' (2011) – Professor Bressler
*''
Camelot
Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as the ...
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North P ...
'' (2011) – Jonathan
*'' The Weekend'' (2012) – Jens Kessler
*''
God Loves Caviar
''God Loves Caviar'' ( el, Ο Θεός αγαπάει το χαβιάρι, translit. O Theós agapáei to chaviári; in Russia known as Pirates of the Aegean Sea) is a 2012 Russian-Greek drama film directed by Yannis Smaragdis.
Plot
The f ...
'' (2012) – Varvakis
*'' In the Shadow'', ''Ve stínu'' (Czech title) (2012) – Zenke
*''
Suspension of Disbelief
Suspension of disbelief, sometimes called willing suspension of disbelief, is the avoidance of critical thinking or logic in examining something unreal or impossible in reality, such as a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for ...
'' (2012) – Martin
*''
A Good Day to Die Hard
''A Good Day to Die Hard'' is a 2013 American action thriller film and the fifth and final installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. The film was directed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane in ...
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( , ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is best known for having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prize, though he also ...
Billionaire Ransom
''Billionaire Ransom'', also known as ''Take Down'', is a British thriller film that was directed by Jim Gillespie and written by Alexander Ignon. The film stars are Jeremy Sumpter, Phoebe Tonkin, Ed Westwick, Dominic Sherwood, Mark Bonnar, a ...
'' (2016) – Bobby Hartmann
*''
Bel Canto
Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing.
The phrase was not associat ...
The Name of the Rose
''The Name of the Rose'' ( it, Il nome della rosa ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction ...
'' (2019, TV miniseries)
*'' The Defeated'' (2021 Netflix series)
*''Your Honor'' (2022, TV series)
Awards and Nominations (selection)
* 2001 – German Television Awards nomination for best supporting actor in ''Der Tunnel''
* 2002
**
Adolf Grimme Award
The Grimme-Preis ("Grimme Award"; prior to 2011: Adolf-Grimme-Preis) is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme.Richard Oetker in '
**
Bavarian TV Award
Bayerischer Fernsehpreis (the Bavarian TV award) is an award presented by the government of Bavaria, Germany since 1989. The prize symbol is the "Blue Panther", a figure from the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. The prize money is €10,000 (S ...
("Blue Panther") for his portrayal of
Klaus Mann
Klaus Heinrich Thomas Mann (18 November 1906 – 21 May 1949) was a German writer and dissident. He was the son of Thomas Mann, a nephew of Heinrich Mann and brother of Erika Mann, with whom he maintained a lifelong close relationship, and Golo ...
Adolf Grimme Award
The Grimme-Preis ("Grimme Award"; prior to 2011: Adolf-Grimme-Preis) is one of the most prestigious German television awards. It is named after the first general director of Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Adolf Grimme.Klaus Mann
Klaus Heinrich Thomas Mann (18 November 1906 – 21 May 1949) was a German writer and dissident. He was the son of Thomas Mann, a nephew of Heinrich Mann and brother of Erika Mann, with whom he maintained a lifelong close relationship, and Golo ...
in '' The Manns – A Novel of the Century''
** Jupiter Award for his portrayal of Richard Oetker in '
* 2003 – DIVA Award; nominated for "Best German Actor" at the '' Verleihung der Goldenen Kamera'' for his role in ''Napoleon''.
* 2004 – Golden Gong award for ''Stauffenberg''; German Television Awards nomination for "Best Leading Actor" in ''Stauffenberg''.
* 2005 –
Bavarian TV Award
Bayerischer Fernsehpreis (the Bavarian TV award) is an award presented by the government of Bavaria, Germany since 1989. The prize symbol is the "Blue Panther", a figure from the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. The prize money is €10,000 (S ...
("Blue Panther") for his portrayal of
Albert Speer
Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (; ; 19 March 1905 – 1 September 1981) was a German architect who served as the Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production, Minister of Armaments and War Production in Nazi Germany during most of ...
Ulrich Mühe
Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Oscar-winning film '' Das Leben der Anderen'' (''The Lives of Others'', 20 ...
and the film's director,
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (; born 2 May 1973) is an Academy Award-winning German and Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thriller ''Das Leben der Anderen (The L ...
);
Bambi
''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book '' Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Sal ...
award for best actor (national).
* 2007 – Globo d'Oro award for "Best European Actor" (Italy)
* 2010 – Nomination for "Best Male Actor" for the
International Emmy Award
The International Emmy Awards, or International Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based International Academy of Television Arts and Sc ...
; Nomination as "Most Popular Actor" for the Austrian Romy TV award for his performance in '' Sea Wolf''
* 2013 – Nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" for the
Czech Lion
The Czech Lion Awards ( cs, Český lev) are annual awards that recognize accomplishments in filmmaking and television. It is the highest award of achievement in film awarded in the Czech Republic. The jury is composed of members of the Czech Fi ...
Screen Actors Guild Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie and ...
in the category "Best Acting Ensemble in a Drama Series" for
Homeland
A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...
*2018 –
Bambi award
The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and ot ...
for "Best Actor National"
*2019 – Nomination for "Best Actor" for the Austrian Romy TV award for his performance in '' Never Look Away''
*2020 – Golden Carp Film Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role" for '' Never Look Away''
*2021 – "Die Europa" award at the Braunschweig International Film Festival