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Otto Sander

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Otto Sander
Born(1941-06-30)30 June 1941
Hanover, Germany
Died12 September 2013(2013-09-12) (aged 72)
Berlin, Germany
OccupationActor
Years active1964–2013

Otto Sander (German: [ˈɔtoː ˈzandɐ] ; 30 June 1941 – 12 September 2013) was a German film, theater, and voice actor.

Life

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Education and early career

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Sander grew up in Kassel, where he graduated in 1961 from the Friedrichgymnasium. After leaving school he spent his military service in 1961/62 with the Bundesmarine and left as reserve fenrik. Sander then studied theatre science, history of art and philosophy. In 1965 he made his acting debut at the Düsseldorfer chamber plays. After his first film work in the same year he abandoned his studies in 1967, and went to Munich to become a full-time actor.

Theatre

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His career is closely connected with the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin under the direction of Peter Stein. From 1980 onwards Sander appeared on several of Berlin's theatre stages, among others at the Schillertheater in 1981, at the Freie Volksbühne in 1985 and in 1989 at the Komödie am Kurfürstendamm. More recently he starred in Hauptmann von Köpenick at the Schauspielhaus Bochum (2004).

Film

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Among his best-known film roles are the angel Cassiel in Wings of Desire and its sequel Faraway, So Close! by Wim Wenders, and a shell-shocked U-boat commander, Kapitänleutnant Philipp Thomsen, in Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot. Sander also appeared in The Tin Drum (1979) as a trumpeter and in Comedian Harmonists, a biopic about the musical group of the same name. He also played a professor in the movie The Promise about the division of Berlin by the wall. In 1999 he played a role in Rosa von Praunheim's movie The Einstein of Sex.

In 1990, he was a member of the Jury at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.[1]

Voice acting

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Because of his warm, strong voice, which earned him the sobriquet "The Voice" (the English term is used), he has been used frequently as narrator for television documentaries, and numerous talking books in the 1990s.

Personal life and death

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He was married to the actress Monika Hansen and was stepfather to the actors Ben Becker and Meret Becker. He had two brothers, the lawyer Adolf Sander, the scientist Chris Sander, and a sister, the book dealer Marianne Sander.

Sander died, aged 72, in Berlin on 12 September 2013. No cause of death was given, though he had been diagnosed with cancer several years before his death.[2]

Filmography

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As actor

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Year Title Role Notes
1970 Don't Fumble, Darling Revoluzzer Otto
1974 One or the Other of Us Rulle
1975 Lehmanns Erzählungen Lehmann TV film
Meine Sorgen möcht' ich haben Harald Bornemann
1976 Summerfolk [de] Pjotr Suslov
The Marquise of O Der Bruder, Der Forstmeister
Vier gegen die Bank Eberhard Winter TV film
1979 The Tin Drum Musiker Meyn
1980 Palermo or Wolfsburg Prosecutor
Die Ursache Anton Seiler TV film
1981 Strike Back [de] Kowalski
Das Boot Phillip Thomsen
The Man in Pyjamas Rudi
In the Land of Cockaigne Kaflisch TV film
1982 Who's Crazy, Doc? [de] Number Seven
1984 Der Mord mit der Schere Inspector Spalt Short
1986 Rosa Luxemburg Karl Liebknecht
Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars Kreditberater Grop
Wahnfried Richard Wagner
Boundaries of Time: Caspar David Friedrich Gerichtsgehilfe
1987 Wings of Desire Cassiel
1988 The Case of Mr. Spalt [de] Otto Spalt
1989 The Break [de] Lubowitz
1990 Time of Vengeance Robert
Vorwärts Backward Pedestrian Short
1991 Amaurose Amaurose
1992 Lyrische Suite. Das untergehende Vaterland
1993 Inge, April und Mai [de] Inges Vater
Faraway, So Close! Cassiel
The Movie Teller Salzmann
1994 Hölderlin-Comics Friedrich Hölderlin - Elder
Movie Days Maður á hesti
Three Sisters Vershinin
The Promise Professor Lorenz
1996 Killer Condom Mr. Higgins
Conversation with the Beast Hitler double
Truck Stop Short
1997 Comedian Harmonists Bruno Levy
1998 Der Traum von der Freiheit Anton Melbye
Am I Beautiful? David
1999 Men Are Like Chocolate [de] Father Lano TV film
Girls Under Investigation [de] Baldur Meixner
Der Einstein des Sex Prof. Steinach
2000 Marlene Bühnenmanager
Les Misérables Monseigneur Bienvenu TV miniseries
2001 Sass Vater Sass
2002 Tödliches Vertrauen [de] Bernd Kortens TV film
2003 Donau, Duna, Dunaj, Dunav, Dunarea Franz
2007 Der kleine König Macius – Der Film Erasmus Voice
The Heart Is a Dark Forest [de] Helmut
2010 Life Is Too Long [de] Guest
2012 Die Schuld der Erben Leonhard Asmussen TV film
Fly Away [de] Eckehardt Tiedgen

As Narrator

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Year Title Notes
1983 A Love in Germany
1990 Werner – Beinhart!
1993 The Olympic Summer
2001 100 Pro [de]
2003 Werner – Gekotzt wird später!
2006 Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2008 Krabat

References

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  1. ^ "Berlinale: 1990 Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
  2. ^ Otto Sander, Wings of Desire actor dies at 72
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