
Acting
Ulrich Noethen
Born 1959-11-18 · Munich, Germany
Ulrich Noethen (born Ulrich Schmid; * November 18, 1959, in Munich) is a German actor, radio drama performer, and audiobook narrator. He is considered one of Germany's most renowned film actors and gained widespread public recognition through his role in the feature film *Comedian Harmonists*. Noethen grew up as the youngest of five children in a pastor's family. After graduating from high school in Augsburg, he initially studied law before deciding to pursue acting; he subsequently completed his studies at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. He adopted the stage name "Noethen" from his grandmother's maiden name. His theater career began in the mid-1980s at the *Städtische Bühnen Freiburg* (Freiburg Municipal Theaters). Further engagements took him to venues such as the *Schauspiel Köln* (Cologne Playhouse) and the *Staatliche Schauspielbühnen Berlin* (Berlin State Theaters), where he distinguished himself with roles in classics such as *Faust* and *A Midsummer Night's Dream*. He achieved his cinematic breakthrough in 1997 with the role of Harry Frommermann in *Comedian Harmonists*. For this performance, he received the German Film Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, as well as the Bavarian Film Award. Numerous other defining roles in film and television followed. Among his most well-known works are the family films *Das Sams*, *Bibi Blocksberg*, and *Das fliegende Klassenzimmer*. In *Der Untergang* (Downfall), he played Heinrich Himmler, while in *Mein Führer – Die wirklich wahrste Wahrheit über Adolf Hitler* (My Führer – The Truly Truest Truth About Adolf Hitler), he offered a satirical interpretation of the same historical figure. Other significant productions include *Gripsholm*, *Ein fliehendes Pferd*, *Hannah Arendt*, and *Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank* (The Diary of Anne Frank), in which he portrayed Otto Frank. Since 2014, Noethen has starred as the psychiatrist Dr. Jessen in the crime series *Neben der Spur*. Additionally, he appeared as Ferdinand Sauerbruch in the historical drama series *Charité*. Noethen has received numerous awards and honors, including the *Goldene Kamera* (Golden Camera), the *Adolf-Grimme-Preis*, and multiple nominations for the German Film Award. He lives in Berlin-Charlottenburg and is in a relationship with the writer Alina Bronsky.
Acting credits
7.9In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
Downfall
2004
5.0Marco and Melanie, a young married couple, are living a life of passion, chaos, and all the little frustrations of everyday existence. Their love for each other seems like a beacon on heavy seas. But career pressure, burned toast, and dirty laundry are eroding all tenderness, and they never seem to find enough time for their six-year-old son, Benny, either. Their world is about to fall apart when Melanie moves out, taking Benny with her. She files for divorce, and Marco makes a decision that is not only going to change his own life. He suddenly discovers his own unique way of being a father … I’m the Father is a modern portrait of a generation which appears to fail its own ambitions: After all, how do you combine a job, children, love and all the other challenges of everyday life – without giving yourself up in the process? And then what happens when positions become entrenched and a divorce seems inevitable?
I'm The Father
2002
6.7A German father's soccer-playing son is hit by a car and dies. The father donates the boy's red jacket to charity, where it ends up in war-torn Sarajevo. The boy's parents are killed, and he almost is. Some UN soldiers find him, and send him to a hospital in Germany. He escapes the hospital, is hit by a car (but unhurt). The driver reads the tag inside the jacket and "returns" the boy to the grieving father.
The Red Jacket
2002
No synopsis available yet.
Mörderische Elite
2004
6.0Elation in Neustadt: by the means of a little witching, Bibi Blocksberg saved two kids from burning to death. While her mother Barbara, a witch of flesh and blood herself, is very proud of her daughter, father Bernhard, overworked and stressed, disapproves greatly of her supernatural antics. Then Bibi gets a message from Walpurgia, the senior witch: she is going to receive her crystel ball, that will make a "real" witch of her, early. Proudly, Bibi jumps up her broom to fly to the Blocksberg, the witches' headquarters. But Rabia, one of the few evil witches, aging in misery and with a secret, begrudges her all the glory...and her youth. And so Rabia sets off events that will soon make Bibi's life fall into pieces.
Bibi Blocksberg
2002
6.9A portrait of the genius that shook the world with her discovery of “the banality of evil.” After she attends the Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem, Arendt dares to write about the Holocaust in terms no one has ever heard before. Her work instantly provokes a furious scandal, and Arendt stands strong as she is attacked by friends and foes alike. But as the German-Jewish émigré also struggles to suppress her own painful associations with the past, the film exposes her beguiling blend of arrogance and vulnerability — revealing a soul defined and derailed by exile.
Hannah Arendt
2012
5.6A wide-ranging, energetic period piece tracing the rise of the Protestant Henry of Navarre as he goes from battlefield warrior to France's beloved King Henri IV. Director Jo Baier's epic is a classically entertaining adventure, albeit one with more than a little bloodshed and frequent bawdy sexual interludes. In late 16th-century France, Catholics and Protestant Huguenots were at war. Seemingly seeking peace, the French dowager queen, Catherine de Medici summons Henry to her court to have him marry her daughter, uniting the two warring factions. However, the Catholics slaughter the Protestant wedding guests in what became known as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and Henry-now married-must use all his guile to both stay alive and maneuver for the throne. [Written by Palm Springs International Film Festival]
Henri 4
2010
8.5No synopsis available yet.
Makellos - Eine kurze Welle des Glücks
2026
6.1Poor Bibi - due to her bad marks in maths she has to spend the whole summer in the boarding school of Altenberg to scrape through a series of exams - otherwise she'd stay down in school, being forced to repeat the year. No camping, no white-water rafting, no vacation at all. So it doesn't surprise anyone that the young witch is quite disgruntled when arriving at Altenberg Castle. Her roommate is a touchy unpleassant fashion victim and headmaster Quirin Bartels is so muddle-headed that he can't even remember the names of his students properly. But then Bibi makes friends with Elea, a girl wheelchair-bound since a terrible accident where she also lost her beloved parents. Now Bibi is determined to help the sensitive Elea, searching a way to heal her from her palsy legs.
Bibi Blocksberg and the Secret of Blue Owls
2004
5.6Hitler no longer believes in himself, and can barely see himself as an equal to even his sheep dog. But to seize the helm of the war he would have to create one of his famous fiery speeches to mobilize the masses. Goebbels therefore brings a Jewish acting teacher Grünbaum and his family from the camps in order to train the leader in rhetoric. Grünbaum is torn, but starts Hitler in his therapy ...
My Führer
2007
6.6In a small North German village a drama played out during and shortly after the Second World War about duty versus individual conscience and morality.
The German Lesson
2019
5.2Alfons, the easy-going and extremely charming boss of "Betten Keilinger", can always rely on the loyalty of his secretary, the single Hannah Zorn: Tireless, creative, selfless, she has been at his side for many years. When he falls in love with the young designer Jette, he asks Hannah to be his right-hand woman and look after his neglected wife. Hannah, herself no stranger to Alfons' charm, gets caught up in a grueling relationship vortex - and not just her. But because Hannah has always been a very determined person, in the end Alfons has to fear losing everything: especially Hannah!
Zwei übern Berg
2012
4.8The young Friedrich Schiller begins his life as a poet with a dramatic escape. After the sensational success of his first drama "The Robbers", he deserts from the Duke's army. At the Mannheim Court and National Theatre, he initially receives a friendly reception, but his new play "Fiesko" is not well received by the artistic director Dalberg. In the successful actor and author August Wilhelm Iffland, Schiller finds a strong competitor for the position of in-house playwright and vies with him for the love of the same woman. The young poet's situation becomes increasingly precarious; he has no money, suffers from hunger and falls seriously ill. Nevertheless, he works feverishly for recognition and success with no regard for his own health.
The Young Schiller
2005
7.2Niko, a twenty-something college dropout, lives for the moment as he drifts through the streets of Berlin, curiously observing everyone around him and oblivious to his growing status as an outsider. Then on one fateful day, through a series of absurdly amusing encounters, everything changes.
A Coffee in Berlin
2012
6.2Old farmer Pettson gets a kitten from his neighbour Mrs Kosonen and calls the cat Viiru. When Viiru starts to talk, the two become inseparable friends.
Pettson and Findus: A Little Nuisance, a Great Friendship
2014
6.0An insecure drama student is given the lead role in a play by her director, but the role she is supposed to play is at odds with her real personality. The fusion of her stage persona and her real life persona becomes a psychological tour de force for the young woman, changing her private life.
Cracks in the Shell
2012
5.9Marie is a successful designer and has a loving husband and two children. But fate offers more. When she meets the fiancée of their friend Dom, the two women fall for each other. This comes out and life gets out of control. Can there be a long-term solution?
Unexpected
2014
6.7One night, a shooting star appears, whizzing through outer space towards the moon. Moon Man seizes his chance, grabs the speeding comet by the tail and hitches a ride to earth. This 'attack from outer space' sets the alarm bells ringing in the Presidential Headquarters. While escaping the President and his soldiers, Moon Man sets off on a long journey and marvels at the many wonders the earth has to offer – and he realizes how much children love and need him.
Moon Man
2012
6.7Comedian Harmonists tells the story of a famous, German male sextet, five vocals and piano, the "Comedian Harmonists", from the day they meet first in 1927 to the day in 1934, when they become banned by the upcoming Nazis, because three of them are Jewish.
The Harmonists
1997
6.0Inner chaos breaks free in two families.
Life Actually
2007
7.2The story of Anne Frank, the Jewish girl who went into hiding with her family in Amsterdam and became a victim of the Holocaust.
The Diary of Anne Frank
2016
3.3No synopsis available yet.
Busenfreunde
1997
5.5Josef Bertholt is head of operations of the Munich Police's drug squad. When his wife Lily is the victim of a hit by drug dealers, he becomes even more obsessed with his work.
The Scorpion
1997
6.0Jargo is a German teen brought up in Saudi Arabia. Moving to Berlin, Jargo maintains his Arabian clothing until he encounters a similar aged German Turk Kamil and here begins his introduction into the world of juvenile cool (read delinquency). He then has to decide which girls he likes while being pressured by his father to get laid.
Jargo
2004