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Otto Sander

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Birthdate

1941-06-30

Day of Death

2013-09-12

Place of Birth

Hanover, Germany

Otto Sander

Biography

Otto Sander (German: [ˈɔtoː ˈzandɐ]; June 30, 1941 – September 12, 2013) was a German film, theater, and voice actor. 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. 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). In 1990, he was a member of the Jury at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. 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.

Filmography (97)

⭐ 8.0 Role: Unknown

About Narration

2025
⭐ 7.2 Role: Self

Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story

2021
⭐ 6.4 Role: Himself

Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter

2013
⭐ 5.7 Role: Eckehardt Tiedgen

Fly Away

2012
No Image
⭐ 2.0 Role: Leonhard Asmussen

Die Schuld der Erben

2012
⭐ 5.0 Role: Unknown

Life Is Too Long

2010
⭐ 5.9 Role: Narrator (voice)

Krabat

2008
⭐ 5.5 Role: Helmut

The Heart Is a Dark Forest

2007
⭐ 4.0 Role: Erasmus (voice)

Little King Macius

2007
⭐ 8.0 Role: Narrator (voice)

Kaluoka'hina: The Enchanted Reef

2004
No Image
⭐ 8.0 Role: Voice

Aus Liebe zu Deutschland - Eine Spendenaffäre

2003
⭐ 6.3 Role: Franz

The Danube

2003
⭐ 5.9 Role: Erzähler (voice)

Werner - Gekotzt wird später!

2003
⭐ 8.3 Role: Self

Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us

2003
No Image
⭐ 6.5 Role: Bernd Kortens

Tödliches Vertrauen

2002