Ulrich Tukur (born Ulrich Gerhard Scheurlen; 29 July 1957) is a German
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
and musician. He is known for his roles in
Michael Haneke's ''
The White Ribbon'',
Steven Soderbergh's ''
Solaris'', the
docudrama
Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...
''
North Face'' based on the
1936 Eiger climbing disaster in
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 as
Wilhelm Uhde in
Martin Provost's biopic
A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudrama films and histo ...
''
Séraphine''.
Early life and education
Tukur spent his youth near
Hannover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
where he finished his final secondary school examinations in 1977. He also earned a high school diploma in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, Massachusetts during a
student exchange
''Student Exchange'' is a 1987 American television film, made-for-television comedy film directed by Mollie Miller and produced by Walt Disney Television. It originally aired November 29, 1987 as a presentation of ''Walt Disney anthology telev ...
, where he met his first wife, Amber Wood. With her, he has two daughters, Marlene and Lilian. While Tukur and Wood were dating, he finished his time with the army and began to study
German,
English and
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
at the
University of Tübingen
The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...
. He worked as a musician for extra money. Someone who saw him asked him if he wanted to be in a play. Soon he became interested in acting and started studying acting at the ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst'' in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
in 1980.
Career

After finishing his acting studies in 1983, Tukur performed at a theatre in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
. While he was still a student, he starred in his first movie. In ''
Die Weiße Rose'', directed by
Michael Verhoeven, he plays the character of
Willi Graf
Wilhelm "Willi" Graf (2 January 1918 – 12 October 1943) was a German member of the White Rose resistance group in Nazi Germany. The Catholic Church in Germany included Graf in their list of martyrs of the 20th century. In 2017, his cause for ...
.
In 1984 Tukur had his breakthrough at the theatre when famous director
Peter Zadek
Peter Zadek (; 19 May 1926 – 30 July 2009) was a German director of theatre, opera and film, a translator and a screenwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest directors in German-speaking theater.
Biography
Peter Zadek was born on 19 May ...
gave him a role at the Freie Volksbühne
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 ...
in
Joshua Sobol
Yehoshua Sobol, sometimes written Joshua Sobol (; born 24 August 1939), is an Israeli playwright, writer, and theatre director.
Biography
Yehoshua Sobol was born in Tel Mond. His mother's family fled the pogroms in Europe in 1922 and his father' ...
's play ''Ghetto''. From 1985 to 1995 he was a staff actor at
Deutsches Schauspielhaus
The Deutsches Schauspielhaus, sometimes referred to as the Hamburg Schauspielhaus or Hamburg Theatre, is a theatre in the St. Georg, Hamburg, St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany
History
The Deutsches Schauspielhaus was co-foun ...
in
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, then managed by Zadek. Here he starred in many plays, such as
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 ...
's ''
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...
'' as Marc Anton, ''
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 ...
'', and
Frank Wedekind
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...
's ''Lulu'' directed by Zadek. In 1986 he was elected actor of the year by German theater critics. From 1995 to 2003 he was the director of the
Hamburger Kammerspiele theatre, sharing that job with
Ulrich Waller.

Since 1989, Tukur has been recording and touring as a musician. In 1995, he founded the dance band "Ulrich Tukur & the Rhythmus Boys" together with Kalle Mews (drums), Ulrich Mayer (guitar, vocals), and Günther Märtens (contrabass, guitar, vocals).
Tukur has been married twice. From 1999 until 2019 he and his second wife, the photographer
Katharina John, lived in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, Italy, on
Giudecca . Since 2019 Tukur has been living in
Berlin-Schöneberg.
In ''
John Rabe,'' the Sino-German co-production about the
Nanjing massacre
The Nanjing Massacre, or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly Chinese postal romanization, romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians, noncombatants, and surrendered prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army in Nanji ...
, Tukur played the part of
John Rabe.
[ ] In
Kommissar Rex he played the psychopath Kurt Hauff, who killed police officer Richard Moser (
Tobias Moretti
Tobias Moretti (; born Tobias Bloéb; 11 July 1959) is an Austrian actor.
Biography
Born in Gries am Brenner, Tyrol, Moretti is the eldest of four brothers, including Thomas, Christoph and fellow actor Gregor Bloéb. Since 1997, he has been mar ...
). He also played the title role in the 1999 documentary '.
Awards
* 1984 O.E. Hasse Preis
* 1985 Boy-Gobert-Preis
* 1986 Schauspieler des Jahres (Actor of the Year) and
Goldener Bär of the
Berlinale
The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
for the film ''
Stammheim''.
* 1996
Goldene Kamera
The Goldene Kamera ("Golden Camera") is an annual German film and television award, awarded by the Funke Mediengruppe. The award show was usually held in early February in Hamburg, but also took place in Berlin on occasion. It has been paused ...
and Insel-Kunstpreis Hamburg
* 2000
Adolf Grimme Awards
* 2004 Deutscher Fernsehpreis (German Television Award) as Best Actor for the role of a serial killer in the crime series ''
Tatort'', episode "Das Böse" (Evil)
* 2006:
Deutscher Filmpreis
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 ...
for Best Acting Performance - Male Supporting Actor for ''
The Lives of Others
''The Lives of Others'' (, ) is a 2006 German drama film written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck marking his feature film directorial debut. The plot is about the monitoring of East Berlin residents by agents of the Stasi, Ea ...
''
* 2009:
Bayerischer Filmpreis 2008 Best Actor in ''
John Rabe''
* 2009:
Deutscher Filmpreis
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 ...
for Best Leading Actor in ''John Rabe''
* 2009: Bernhard-Wicki-Filmpreis, Friedenspreis des Deutschen Films for his acting in ''John Rabe''
Selected filmography
*1982: ''
Die Weiße Rose'' (Director:
Michael Verhoeven) (with
Lena Stolze as
Sophie Scholl
Sophia Magdalena Scholl (9 May 1921 – 22 February 1943) was a German student and anti-Nazi political activist, active in the White Rose non-violent German resistance to Nazism, resistance group in Nazi Germany.
Raised in a politically engag ...
), as Willi Graf
*1983: ''
The Swing'' (Director:
Percy Adlon
Paul Rudolf Parsifal "Percy" Adlon (; 1 June 1935 – 10 March 2024) was a German director, screenwriter, and producer. He is associated with the New German Cinema movement (ca. 1965–1985), and is known for his strong female characters and po ...
(with
Anja Jaenicke and Lena Stolze), as Lhombre
*1984: ' (Director:
Eckhart Schmidt), as Alexander
*1984: ''
Cold Fever'' (Director:
Josef Rusnak), as Michael
*1986: ''
Stammheim'' (Director:
Reinhard Hauff) (with
Therese Affolter as
Ulrike Meinhof), as
Andreas Baader
*1986: ' (TV miniseries) (from a novel by
Stefan Heym
Helmut Flieg (10 April 1913 – 16 December 2001) was a German writer, known by his pseudonym Stefan Heym (). He lived in the United States and trained at Camp Ritchie in 1943, making him one of the Ritchie Boys of World War II. In 1952, he r ...
), as
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels ( ;["Engels"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.[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 ...]
,
Helma Sanders-Brahms
Helma Sanders-Brahms (20 November 1940 – 27 May 2014) was a German film director, screenwriter and producer.
Biography
Helma Sanders was born on 20 November 1940 in Emden, Germany. She attended a school for acting in Hannover from 1960 to 1 ...
,
Helke Sander, Christel Buschmann), as Felix
*1988: ''Ballhaus Barmbek''
*1989: ''The Play with Billions'' (TV film, Director:
Peter Keglevic) (with
Friedrich von Thun and
Sissy Höfferer), as Gerd Asselt
*1990: ''
Werner – Beinhart!'' (voice)
*1991: ' (TV film, Director:
Rainer Erler
Horst Rainer Erler (26 August 1933 – 8 November 2023) was a German director, screenwriter, writer and producer.
Life and career
Born in Munich, Erler grew up in Thalkirchen-Obersendling-Forstenried-Fürstenried-Solln, Solln and entered the ...
) (with
Mario Adorf
Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...
and
Gudrun Landgrebe), as Thomas 'Tom' Sadowski
*1992: ''
The Democratic Terrorist'' (Director: Pelle Berglund) (with
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård (, ; born 13 June 1951) is a Swedish actor. He is known for his collaborations with director Lars von Trier, appearing in ''Breaking the Waves'' (1996), ''Dancer in the Dark'' (2000), '' Dogville'' (2003), ''Melancholia' ...
), as Siegfried Maak
*1992: ' (Director:
Roland Gräf) (with
Corinna Harfouch
Corinna Harfouch (; ; born 16 October 1954) is a German actress.
Early life and education
Harfouch was born in Suhl, East Germany, the daughter of the teacher Wolfgang Meffert and his wife Marianne (née Kleber). She worked as a nurse and stu ...
), as Siegfried Emmler
*1992: ''
The Last U-Boat'' (TV film, Director:
Frank Beyer
Frank Paul Beyer (; 26 May 1932 – 1 October 2006) was a German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA (film studio), DEFA and directed films that dealt mostl ...
) (with
Ulrich Mühe), as Röhler - 1. Wachoffizier
*1993: ' (TV film, Director:
Heinrich Breloer) (with
Heinz Baumann as old Herbert Wehner), as young
Herbert Wehner
Richard Herbert Wehner (11 July 1906 – 19 January 1990) was a German politician. A former member of the Communist Party of Germany, Communist Party, he joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democrats (SPD) after World War II. H ...
*1993: ''Maus und Katz'' (with
Mario Adorf
Mario Adorf (; born 8 September 1930) is a German actor, considered to be one of the great veteran character actors of European cinema. Since 1954, he has played both leading and supporting roles in over 200 film and television productions, am ...
), as Fred Tonndorf
*1994: ', as Bruno's Friend, the Famous Actor
*1994: ''
Felidae
Felidae ( ) is the Family (biology), family of mammals in the Order (biology), order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is also called a felid ( ).
The 41 extant taxon, extant Felidae species exhibit the gre ...
'' (Director: Michael Schaack), as Francis (voice)
*1994: ''Geschäfte'' (TV film, Director:
Michael Schottenberg) (with
Susanne Lothar and
Ulrich Mühe), as Dr. Weiß
*1995: ' (Director: Michael Verhoeven) (with
Pauline Collins, from an autobiographical novel by
George Tabori), as SS Officer
*1995: ''Tár úr steini''
*1995: ''
Nikolaikirche'' (TV film, Director:
Frank Beyer
Frank Paul Beyer (; 26 May 1932 – 1 October 2006) was a German film director. In East Germany he was one of the most important film directors, working for the state film monopoly DEFA (film studio), DEFA and directed films that dealt mostl ...
) (with
Barbara Auer and
Ulrich Matthes), as Rechtsanwalt Werner Schnuck
*1996: ''Charms Zwischenfälle'', as Narrator
*1996: ', as
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt ( , ; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German and British actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man ...
*1999: ' (TV film), as Jürgen Venske
*1999: ''Pünktchen und Anton'' (uncredited)
*2000: ', as Franz
*2000: ' (TV film, Director:
Eric Till
Eric Till (born 24 November 1929) is an English people, English film and television film director, director working in Canada, the United States, and Europe since the 1960s. His 1977 film ''It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet'' was entered into the 10t ...
), as
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
*2000: ''Apokalypse 99 - Anatomie eines Amokläufers''
*2001: ''
Taking Sides'' (Director:
István Szabó
István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director.
Szabó is one of the most notable Hungary, Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian language, Hungarian- ...
) (with
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...
and
Moritz Bleibtreu
Moritz Johann Bleibtreu ( is a German film actor, voice actor, and film director. He has been a successful actor in many movies such as ''Run Lola Run, Das Experiment, The Baader Meinhof Complex'', and Atomised (film), ''Elementary Particles''. ...
), as Helmut Alfred Rode, 2nd violinist
*2002: ''
Amen.'' (Director:
Constantin Costa-Gavras) (with
Ulrich Mühe - from the play ''
Der Stellvertreter'' by
Rolf Hochhuth), as Kurt Gerstein
*2002: ''
Solaris'' (Director:
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh ( ; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern Independent film, independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventiv ...
) (with
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...
and
Natascha McElhone - from the homonymous novel by
Stanisław Lem
Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer. He was the author of many novels, short stories, and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fi ...
), as Gibarian
*2003: ''Die fremde Frau'' (TV film, Director:
Matthias Glasner) (with
Corinna Harfouch
Corinna Harfouch (; ; born 16 October 1954) is a German actress.
Early life and education
Harfouch was born in Suhl, East Germany, the daughter of the teacher Wolfgang Meffert and his wife Marianne (née Kleber). She worked as a nurse and stu ...
), as Alexander Brandenburg
*2004: ''
Stauffenberg'' (TV film, Director:
Jo Baier) (with
Sebastian Koch as
Claus Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg), as
Henning von Tresckow
*2005: ''
The Axe'', as Gérard Hutchinson
*2005: ' (TV film, Director:
Raymond Ley), as Hamburg's senator for the interior
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 ...
*2005: ' (TV film, Director:
Dror Zahavi), as General
Lucius D. Clay
*2006: ''
Das Leben der Anderen'' (Director:
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Florian Maria Georg Christian Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (; born 2 May 1973) is a German-Austrian film director. He is best known for writing and directing the 2006 dramatic thriller ''Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)'', which won ...
), as Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz
*2006: ' (TV film, Director: ), as Dr. Lukas Bator
*2007: ' (TV film, Director:
Dieter Wedel), as head physician Seidel
*2007: ' (Director:
Sabine Derflinger), as Georg
*2007: ''
Runaway Horse'' (Director:
Rainer Kaufmann), as Klaus Buch
*2007: ''Où est la main de l'homme sans tête'', as Peter
*2008: ''
North Face'' (Director:
Philipp Stölzl), as Henry Arau
*2008: ''
Séraphine'' (Director: Martin Provost), as Wilhelm Uhde
*2009: ''
John Rabe'' (Director:
Florian Gallenberger
Florian Gallenberger (born 23 February 1972 in Munich) is a German film director and writer. His film ''Quiero ser (I want to be...)'' was awarded the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 2001.
Career
Gallenberger appeared in various ...
), as
John Rabe
*2009: ''Das Vaterspiel'', as Jonas Shtrom
*2009: ''
Eden in West'' (Director:
Costa-Gavras
Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...
), as Nick Nickleby
*2009: ''
The White Ribbon'' (Director:
Michael Haneke
Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, Ge ...
), as The Baron
*2009: ''
Within the Whirlwind'', as Dr. Anton Walter
*2010: ' (TV film, Director:
Dieter Wedel), as Dieter Glanz
*2010: ' (TV film), as Willem Sassen
*2010: ', as Dr. Stotzer / Pfiff
*Since 2010: ''
Tatort'' (TV series), as
** ''Wie einst Lilly'' (2010)
** ''Das Dorf'' (2011)
** ''Schwindelfrei'' (2013)
** ' (2014)
** ''Wer bin ich?'' (2015)
** ''
Long Live Death'' (2016)
** ''Murot und das Murmeltier'' (2019)
** ''Angriff auf Wache 08'' (2019)
** ''Die Ferien des Monsieur Murot'' (2020)
** ''Murot und das Prinzip Hoffnung'' (2021)
*2011: ''
The Burma Conspiracy'', as Dwight Cochrane
*2011: ''
When Pigs Have Wings'', as Officer U.N.
*2012: ', as Urs Doucier
*2012: ''Der Mondmann'', as President (voice)
*2012: ''
Rommel'' (TV film, Director:
Niki Stein), as Gen.
Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...
*2013: ', as Clemens Trunschka
*2013: ''
Exit Marrakech'', as Heinrich
*2014: ''
Weekends in Normandy'', as Ulrich
*2014: ''
The Chosen Ones'' (TV film), as Simon Pistorius
*2015: ', as
Bernhard Grzimek
*2016: ', as Eduard / Psychologist and writer
*2017: ''
In the Fade'', as Jürgen Möller
*2018: ''
As Green as It Gets'', as Richard von Zeydlitz
*2018: ' (TV film), as Hans-Georg Dahlmann
*2019: ', as Georg Lehnert
*2019: ''
Adults in the Room'', as Wolfgang
*2020: ''Jagdzeit'', as Hans Werner Brockmann
*2020: ''Der Überläufer'', as Ernst Menzel
*2023: ' (TV miniseries), as Hans Klettmann
*2024: ''Martin reads the Quran'', as professor of Islamic Studies
* 2025: ''
Köln 75''
References
External links
*
Information on the movie John Rabe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tukur, Ulrich
1957 births
Living people
German male stage actors
German male musicians
University of Tübingen alumni
German male film actors
German male television actors
People from Bergstraße (district)
German Film Award winners
20th-century German male actors
21st-century German male actors
Male actors from Hesse