Ulrich Mühe | |
|---|---|
 Mühe in 2005 | |
| Born | Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (1953-06-20)20 June 1953 Grimma, East Germany |
| Died | 22 July 2007(2007-07-22) (aged 54) Walbeck, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1979–2007 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5, includingAnna Maria |
Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (German pronunciation:[ˈʊlʁɪçˈmyːə]ⓘ; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role ofHauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in theOscar-winning filmDas Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others, 2006), for which he received the gold award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, at theDeutscher Filmpreis (German Film Awards); and the Best Actor Award at the 2006European Film Awards.
After leaving school, Mühe was employed as a construction worker and a border guard at theBerlin Wall. He then turned to acting, and from the late 1970s into the 1980s appeared in numerous plays, becoming a star of theDeutsches Theater in East Berlin. He was active in politics and denouncedCommunist rule inEast Germany in a memorable address at theAlexanderplatz demonstration on 4 November 1989 shortly before thefall of the Berlin Wall. AfterGerman reunification, he continued to appear in a large number of films, television programmes and theatre productions. In Germany he was particularly known for playing the lead role of Dr. Robert Kolmaar in the long-running forensic crime seriesDer letzte Zeuge (The Last Witness, 1998–2007).
The son of afurrier,[1] Mühe was born on 20 June 1953 inGrimma,[2]Bezirk Leipzig (part of present-daySaxony), in theGerman Democratic Republic (East Germany). After leaving school, he trained as a construction worker, then did compulsory military service in theNationale Volksarmee (National People's Army) as a border guard at theBerlin Wall.[3] He was relieved of duty after contractingstomach ulcers;[4] possibly due to stress, according to observers, and also suggested that it marked the beginnings of thestomach cancer that would eventually lead to his death.[5][6]
He then turned to acting, and studied at theTheaterhochschule "Hans Otto" Leipzig from 1975 to 1979.[7] He appeared in his first professional stage role in 1979, as Lyngstrand inIbsen'sFruen fra havet (The Lady from the Sea) at the Städtisches Theater in Karl-Marx-Stadt (nowChemnitz). He followed this by appearing in a production ofMacbeth by playwright and directorHeiner Müller at theVolksbühne inEast Berlin.[3]
In 1983, at Müller's invitation he joined the ensemble ofEast Berlin'sDeutsches Theater, and became its star due to his versatility in comic and serious roles, appearing in productions such asGoethe'sEgmont (1986), Ibsen'sPeer Gynt andLessing'sNathan der Weise (Nathan the Wise, 1988).[4] He took the lead role ofHamlet in bothShakespeare's play and Heiner Müller'sDie Hamletmaschine (Hamletmachine, 1989).[7] Mühe later said: "Theatre was the only place in the GDR where people weren't lied to. For us actors it was an island. We could dare to criticise."[8] On screen, he co-starred with his second wifeJenny Gröllmann in Herman Zschoche's filmHälfte des Lebens [de] (Half of Life, 1984) about the Germanlyric poetFriedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843).[3]
Mühe played a leading role in organizing the demonstrations that took place prior to thereunification of Germany. He often gave public readings fromWalter Janka's essaySchwierigkeiten mit der Wahrheit (Difficulties with the Truth, 1989) at the Deutsches Theater, before the book was permitted to be published in East Germany. On 4 November 1989, shortly before thefall of the Berlin Wall, in front of half a million people during theAlexanderplatz demonstration, he declared theCommunists' monopoly on power to be invalid.[4] In the same year, he became internationally known after playing, next toArmin Mueller-Stahl andKlaus Maria Brandauer, the leading role inBernhard Wicki'sDas Spinnennetz (Spider's Web, based on the expressionist, fragmentary novel of the same name by Austrian writerJoseph Roth) the right-wing lieutenant Lohse who sleeps and murders his way to professional success in the earlyWeimar Republic following a near fatal injury during theWilhelmshaven mutiny of 29 October 1918.[3]
AfterGerman reunification, he continued to appear in a large number of films, television programmes and theatre productions in Germany and abroad. He proved his ability to take on comic roles inSchtonk! (1991), an Oscar-nominated satire about theHitler Diaries hoax,[9] and showed his more serious side inMichael Haneke'sBenny's Video (1992),Das Schloss (The Castle, 1996) (an adaptation ofKafka'sThe Castle (1922)) andFunny Games (1997).[7][8] In the latter film, Mühe and his third wife Susanne Lothar played a husband and wife held captive in their holiday cabin by two psychotic young men who force them to play sadistic "games" with one another.[3]
In the 2000s, Mühe playedNazis in a sequence of films. He portrayedJoseph Goebbels inGoebbels und Geduldig (Goebbels and Geduldig, 2001); Dr.Josef Mengele inAmen. (2002), a film byCosta Gavras; and was to have playedKlaus Barbie in an upcoming feature. His last film was the comedyMein Führer – Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler (My Führer: The Truly Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler, 2007), in which he played Prof. Adolf Israel Grünbaum, an actor hired to give Hitler lessons.[7]
In 2006, he appeared at theBarbican Arts Centre in London inZerbombt,Thomas Ostermeier's German production ofSarah Kane'sBlasted, playing a middle-aged journalist whose encounter with a young girl leads to pandemonium in aLeeds hotel room.[3]
Mühe was known in Germany for playing the brilliant but eccentric pathologist Dr. Robert Kolmaar in 73 episodes of the forensic crime serialDer letzte Zeuge (The Last Witness, 1998–2007),[7][8] for which he was awarded the prize forBeste/r Schauspieler/in in einer Serie (Best Actor or Actress in a TV Series) at theDeutscher Fernsehpreis (German Television Awards) in 2005.
To English-speaking audiences, Mühe was probably best known for portrayingHauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler inFlorian Henckel von Donnersmarck'sDas Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others, 2006), which won theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007. The film is set in the mid-1980s, and Wiesler is aStasi agent who is assigned to bug and conduct surveillance of the apartment of an East German playwright, Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), and his girlfriend, the actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). However, he becomes disillusioned about the necessity of monitoring the couple for national security reasons after discovering that the government minister who ordered the surveillance did so for sexual rather than political motives. Gradually, Wiesler's heart moves from contempt and envy to compassion.[3] For his performance, in 2006 Mühe received, among other things, theBeste darstellerische Leistung – Männliche Hauptrolle (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role), Gold, at Germany's most prestigious film awards, theDeutscher Filmpreis (German Film Awards); and the Best Actor Award at theEuropean Film Awards.
TheBundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur (Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of theSED Dictatorship, known in short as "Stiftung Aufarbeitung"), the government-funded organization tasked with examining and reappraising East Germany's Communist dictatorship, said of Mühe: "Through his impressive performance... Ulrich Mühe sensitized an audience of millions to the Stasi's machinations and their consequences." The statement added that Mühe had been an active and valued participant in the foundation's events.[4]
Mühe was already seriously ill at the award ceremony in Los Angeles in February 2007 whenDas Leben der Anderen was awarded its Oscar, and flew back to Germany hours later for an urgent stomach operation.[5] In an article inDie Welt dated 21 July 2007, Mühe discussed his diagnosis ofstomach cancer which had put his acting career on hold; he died the following day.[10] On 25 July 2007, he was buried in his mother's village ofWalbeck in theLandkreis (rural district) ofBörde,Saxony-Anhalt.[11]
Mühe was married three times. He was first married todramaturge Annegret Hahn; the couple had two sons: Andreas, a Berlin-basedphotographer, and Konrad, apainter. His second marriage was in 1984 to the actressJenny Gröllmann, after they fell in love while acting together[3] in the TV filmDie Poggenpuhls (The Poggenpuhls) in that year. Mühe and Gröllmann had a daughter,Anna Maria Mühe, who is also an actress; and he was stepfather to Gröllmann's daughter Jeanne, amake-up artist.[1][12]
After German reunification, Mühe allegedly discovered evidence in his Stasi file that he had been under surveillance not only by four of his fellow actors in the East Berlin theatre, but also by his wife Gröllmann. The file held detailed records of meetings that Gröllmann, who was registered as an"Inoffizieller Mitarbeiter" (unofficial collaborator), had with her controller from 1979 to 1989.[13] This mirrored the plot ofDas Leben der Anderen as in the film pressure exerted by the Stasi on the playwright's girlfriend makes her betray him as the author of anexposé of covered-up GDR suicide rates. Mühe and Gröllmann divorced in 1990.[1] In a book accompanying the film, Mühe spoke about the sense of betrayal he felt when he found out about his former wife's alleged Stasi role. However, Gröllmann's real-life controller later claimed he had made up many of the details in the file and that the actress had been unaware that she was speaking to a Stasi agent. After a highly public and acrimonious battle in the courts, Gröllmann, who died in August 2006, won an injunction preventing the book's publication.[3] Mühe's response when asked how he prepared for his role inDas Leben der Anderen was, "I remembered."[3][4]
At the time of his death, Mühe was married to his third wife, actressSusanne Lothar, and living inBerlin with her and their two children, Sophie Marie and Jakob.[10] Mühe and Lothar starred together in Mühe's last film,Nemesis (2010),[14] which deals with a couple's troubled relationship. However, Lothar, who died in 2012, launched a lawsuit to block the film from release for nearly three years, apparently because she felt that it would cast the couple in a bad light.[15]
In addition to the awards mentioned elsewhere in this article, Mühe was conferred the following awards:
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Olle Henry | Junger Mann | Ulrich Weiß | |
| 1985 | The Woman and the Stranger | Revolutionär | Rainer Simon | |
| Hälfte des Lebens [de] | Friedrich Hölderlin | Herrmann Zschoche | ||
| 1989 | Das Spinnennetz | Theodor Lohse | Bernhard Wicki | |
| Hard Days, Hard Nights | Flimmer | Horst Königstein [de] | ||
| 1990 | Sehnsucht | Sieghart | Jürgen Brauer | |
| 1992 | Schtonk! | Dr. Wieland | Helmut Dietl | |
| Benny's Video | Vater | Michael Haneke | ||
| 1994 | The Blue One | Karl Kaminski | Lienhard Wawrzyn | |
| 1995 | Rudy, the Racing Pig [de] | Dr. Heinrich Gützkow | Peter Timm | |
| 1996 | Peanuts – The Bank Pays Everything [de] | Dr. Jochen Schuster | Carlo Rola | |
| Engelchen | Kommissar | Helke Misselwitz | ||
| 1997 | Funny Games | Georg | Michael Haneke | |
| Die Healthy | Hugo Wallner | Gert Steinheimer | ||
| The Castle | K. | Michael Haneke | TV film | |
| 1998 | Night Time [de] | Eschbach | Peter Fratzscher | |
| Rider of the Flames | Jacob Gontard | Nina Grosse | ||
| 1999 | Straight Shooter | Markus Paufler | Thomas Bohn | |
| 2001 | Goebbels und Geduldig | Harry Geduldig /Joseph Goebbels | Kai Wessel | |
| 2002 | Amen. | Doctor | Costa-Gavras | |
| 2003 | Spy Sorge | Eugen Ott | Masahiro Shinoda | |
| Hamlet_X | Claudius Müller | Herbert Fritsch | ||
| 2005 | Schneeland | Knövel | Hans W. Geißendörfer | |
| 2006 | The Lives of Others | Hpt. Gerd Wiesler | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | |
| 2007 | My Führer – The Really Truest Truth about Adolf Hitler | Adolf Grünbaum | Dani Levy | |
| 2010 | Nemesis | Robert | Nicole Mosleh | Posthumous release, (final film role) |
| Year(s) of appearance | Film or series | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Der Mann und sein Name (The Man and His Name) | ||
| 1984 | Die Poggenpuhls (The Poggenpuhls) | Leo | |
| 1986 | Das Buschgespenst (The Bush Ghost) | Kaufmann Strauch | |
| 1987 | Die erste Reihe (The First Row) | Rudolf Schwarz | |
| 1988 | Nadine, meine Liebe (Nadine, My Love) | Oberleutnant (Senior Lieutenant) Stein | |
| 1988 (1 episode) | Polizeiruf 110 (Emergency Call 110) (1971–present) "Flüssige Waffe" ("Liquid Weapon") | Kegel | |
| 1989 | Die gläserne Fackel (The Glass Torch) | Maxi Steinhüter | |
| 1990 | Der kleine Herr Friedemann (Little Herr Friedemann) | Johannes Friedemann | |
| 1991 | Ende der Unschuld [de] (The End of Innocence) | Julian Green | |
| 1991 | Jugend ohne Gott [de] (The Age of the Fish) | Lehrer (teacher) | |
| 1993 (1 episode) | Extralarge: Diamonds | Father Enrique | |
| 1993 | Das letzte U-Boot (The Last U-Boat) | Lt. Cmdr. Gerber | |
| 1993 | Wehner – die unerzählte Geschichte [de] (Wehner – The Untold Story) | Selbstmörder (suicide victim) | |
| 1994 | Geschäfte (Business) | Sturm | |
| 1995 | … nächste Woche ist Frieden [de] (...Next Week brings Peace) | ||
| 1995 | Nadja – Heimkehr in die Fremde (Nadja – Homecoming Among Foreigners) | Sergej | |
| 1995 | Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church) | Pfarrer (Minister) Ohlbaum | |
| 1995 (1 episode) | Rosa Roth (1994–2006) "Lügen" ("Lies") | ||
| 1995 | Tödliches Schweigen (Deadly Silence) | Christian Plache | |
| 1996 | Das tödliche Auge (The Deadly Eye) | Stefan | |
| 1996 (1 episode) | Tatort (Crime Scene) (1970–present) "Die Abrechnung" ("The Reckoning") | Peter Fuchs | |
| 1998 | 36 Stunden Angst (36 Hours) | Rudolph | |
| 1998 (1 episode) | Siska (1998–present) "Tod einer Würfelspielerin" ("Death of a Female Dice-Thrower") | ||
| 1998–2007 (73 episodes) | Der letzte Zeuge (The Last Witness) | Dr. Robert Kolmaar |
|
| 1999 (1 episode) | Tatort (Crime Scene) (1970–present) "Traumhaus" ("Dream House") | Friedel Hebbel | |
| 1999 | Todesengel (Angel of Death) | Dr. Leon Stein | |
| 2001 | Dreimal Leben (Life Times Three) | Henri | |
| 2003 | Alles Samba (Everything's Samba) | Gerd | |
| 2003 | Hamlet_X | Claudius Müller | |
| 2003 | Im Schatten der Macht [de] (In the Shadow of Power) | Günter Gaus | |
| 2004 | Hunger auf Leben [de] (Hunger for Life) | Jochen Hensel | |
| 2006 | Das Geheimnis von St. Ambrose (The Secret of St. Ambrose) | Professor Nicolas Cramer | |
| 2006 | Peer Gynt | Der Knopfgiesser (The Button Moulder) |
Some information in this table was obtained fromUlrich Mühe atIMDb. Retrieved on 23 September 2007.
| Year(s) of appearance | Production | Role | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Fruen fra havet (The Lady from the Sea) byHenrik Ibsen Städtisches Theater, Karl-Marx-Stadt (nowChemnitz) | Lyngstrand | |
| [Date uncertain] (?1979–1986) | Macbeth byWilliam Shakespeare | ||
| 18 November 1983 | Gespenster (Ghosts) byHenrik Ibsen Kammerspiele (Chamber Play Theatre),Deutsches Theater,East Berlin | Osvald Alving | |
| 1986 | Egmont byJohann Wolfgang von Goethe | Egmont | |
| [Date uncertain] ?1986–1989 | Hamlet byWilliam Shakespeare | Hamlet | |
| [Date uncertain] ?1986–1989 | Nathan der Weise (Nathan the Wise) byGotthold Ephraim Lessing | ||
| [Date uncertain] ?1986–1989 | Peer Gynt byHenrik Ibsen | Peer Gynt | |
| 1989 | Die Hamletmaschine (Hamletmachine) byHeiner Müller | Hamlet | |
| 1990 | Die Jüdin von Toledo (The Jewess of Toledo) byFranz Grillparzer | König Alfons (King Alfonso,Alfonso VIII) | |
| end-1990s | Dreimal Leben (Life Times Three) byYasmina Reza | Henri | |
| 1999 | Gesäubert (Cleansed) bySarah Kane | Der Arzt (The Doctor) | |
| 2003 | Wittgenstein Incorporated Vienna Festwochen (Vienna Festival) | ||
| 2005 | Zerbombt (Blasted) bySarah Kane | Ian | |
| 2006 | Zerbombt (Blasted)[17] bySarah Kane | Ian | |
| [Date unknown] | Clavigo byJohann Wolfgang von Goethe | Clavigo | |
| [Date unknown] | Philotas byGotthold Ephraim Lessing | Philotas | |
| [Date unknown] | Der Traum, ein Leben (The Dream, a Life) byFranz Grillparzer | Sigismundis |
| Year(s) of appearance | Book | Awards and nominations |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Ein Monat in Dachau (One Month in Dachau, 1992) byVladimir Sorokin; translated from the Russian byPeter Urban | |
| 1999 | Ich bin eine Welt: Briefe und Gedichte – eine Collage (I am a World: Letters and Poems – a Collage) byGeorg Trakl | |
| 2000 | Einen Dichter denken – LAUT (A Poet Thinks – ALOUD) byHeiner Müller | |
| 2002 | Adler und Engel (Eagles and Angels) byJuli Zeh | |
| 2002 | Die Kinder (The Children) byPeter Hacks | |
| 2002 | Reise gegen den Wind (Journey Against the Wind, 2000) byPeter Härtling | |
| 2003 | Südkurier (Southern Mail, 1929) byAntoine de Saint-Exupéry | |
| 2003 | Wind, Sand und Sterne (Wind, Sand and Stars, 1939) byAntoine de Saint-Exupéry | |
| 2004 | Ein unbekannter Freund (A Friend of Unknown Quantity) byIvan Bunin (read bySusanne Lothar and Ulrich Mühe) | |
| 2004 | "Ich küsse Dich vielmals...": Liebesbriefe ("I Kiss You Many Times...": Love Letters) (read by Susanne Lothar and Ulrich Mühe) | |
| 2005 | Der kleine Prinz (The Little Prince, 1943) byAntoine de Saint-Exupéry | |
| 2005 | Weihnachtswünsche: Die Weihnachtsgeschichte nach Lukas und die schönsten Weihnachtsgedichte (Christmas Wishes: The History of Christmas according to Luke and the Most Beautiful Christmas Poems) by Joseph von Eichendorff[18] (told byOtto Mellies, Ulrich Mühe andOtto Sander) | |
| 2006 | Shakespeares Hamlet und alles, was ihn für uns zum kulturellen Gedächtnis macht (Shakespeare's Hamlet and Everything that Makes it Cultural Memory For Us) (read by Dietrich Schwanitz, Ulrich Mühe and Hanns Zischler) | |
| 2006 | Von allem Anfang an (From All Beginning) by Christoph Hein | |
| [Date unknown] | Helden wie wir (Heroes Like Us, 1995) byThomas Brussig | |
| [Date unknown] | Das kalte Herz (The Cold Heart, 1826) byWilhelm Hauff | |
| [Date unknown] | Der Katze, die immer nur ihre eigenen Wege ging (The Cats, which in Each Case Went Their Own Ways, ?1985) by Horst Hawemann | |
| [Date unknown] | Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke (The Lay of the Love and Death ofCornet Christoph Rilke, 1906) byRainer Maria Rilke |
Nach seinem Tod interessierten sich gleich mehrere Verleiher für 'Nemesis'. Aber Susanne Lothar wollte dies verhindern, die Veröffentlichung zog sich Jahre hin. Vielleicht fand sie, ein solcher Film werfe so kurz nach dem Tod ein falsches Licht auf das Paar. 'Ich habe ihn immer bei mir, ihn und die schöne gemeinsame Zeit', sagte die Schauspielerin 2008 in einem 'Tagesspiegel'-Interview.
