Bruno Ganz | |
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Bruno Ganz in 2011
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Born |
Zürich, Switzerland |
22 March 1941
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1960–present |
Spouse(s) | Sabine Ganz(separated) |
Children | 1 |
Bruno Ganz (German: [ˈbruːno ˈɡant͡s]; born 22 March 1941) is a Swiss actor, who has been a prominent figure in German language film and television for over fifty years. He has collaborated several times with filmmaker Wim Wenders, first as Jonathan Zimmerman in The American Friend (1977) and again as Damiel the Angel in both Wings of Desire (1987) and Faraway, So Close! (1993).
Ganz is internationally renowned for portraying Adolf Hitler in the Academy Award-nominated film Downfall (2004). He has also had prominent supporting roles in several English language films, including The Boys From Brazil (1978), Strapless (1989), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), The Reader (2008), Unknown (2011) and Remember (2015).
On stage, Ganz portrayed Dr. Heinrich Faust in Peter Stein's staging of Faust, Part One and Faust, Part Two in 2000.
Bruno Ganz was born in Zürich, to a Swiss mechanic father and a northern Italian mother. He had decided to pursue an acting career by the time he entered university. He was equally drawn to stage and screen but initially enjoyed greater success on the stage.