Ganz, Bruno

(1941- )

   Actor. Zurich-born Ganz emerged as the German-speaking theater's most celebrated actor when he was awarded the Iffland Ring in 1996. He had begun his training in 1960 as a teenager with the Zurich Stage Studio and soon thereafter began performing professionally in Bremen. In 1970 Ganz joined Peter Stein at Berlin's Theater am Halleschen Ufer and soon became a stalwart of the company, appearing in several Schaubühne productions, most notably the much-praised Summer Folk in 1975. By that time, Ganz had worked with several outstanding German directors in noteworthy productions, such as Claus Peymann's 1972 world premiere of Thomas Bernhard's Der Ignorant und der Wahnsinnige (The Ignoramus and the Madman) at the Salzburg Festival. Ganz had also established himself as a film actor of some repute. In 1976 he appeared in Wim Wenders's The American Friend (with Dennis Hopper) and Eric Rohmer's Die Marquise von O (with Schaubühne colleague Edith Clever); dozens of film roles followed, consolidating his reputation as an international star. His films included The Boys from Brazil (1978) with Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck, Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire, 1987) with Peter Falk, and Jonathan Demme's 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate with Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep. His portrayal of Adolf Hitler in Oliver Hirschbiegel's Der Untergang (The Downfall, also in 2004), won him widespread praise from critics and audiences internationally.