German comedic actor Michael Bully Herbig is well known throughout the German-speaking world for his humorous parodies that are not afraid to be silly. International audiences may recognize him as the host of Amazon Prime‘s LOL: Last One Laughing Germany, a German language streaming TV show that pits celebrities against each other and challenges them not to laugh.
But there is more to Herbig than his roles as a comedy actor. He is multitalented. In addition to being an actor, he is also a noted director, writer, and producer.
If you are in need of a chuckle or even a smile, now is the time to get to know Michael Bully Herbig and learn German with film!
Get to Know Michael Bully Herbig
Michael Herbig was born on April 29, 1968, in Munich, Germany.
“Bully” is actually a name that he earned as a child. Herbig frequently wore an FC Bayern Munich jersey to school. The shirt featured the advertising slogan “Die Bullen kommen!” for German truck manufacturer Magirus-Deutz. A teacher called him “Bully” and the name stuck. Although it was originally only a nickname, since 2008, Herbig has officially made “Bully” a part of his professional name.
After graduating from secondary school, he studied photography. But his big break in the entertainment industry was when he started making appearances in the early 1990s on a couple of radio shows, including a popular morning show and 800 episodes of Die Bayern-Cops. By the latter half of the decade, he had his own comedy show, Bullyparade.
(T)Raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1
Comedic parodies are the foundations upon which Bully’s career is built on. With 2004’s (T)Raumschiff Surprise – Periode 1, he takes on and skewers a long list of films. But at its heart it pays tribute to sci fi favorites like Star Trek and Star Wars.
It turned out to be a winning combination as the film is one of the most successful German films in terms of viewers. (It is actually in the second spot. Number one is another Bully film: Der Schuh des Manitu.)
The film also has some familiar faces in it, like Til Schweiger.
Vier gegen die Bank
After directing Das Boot in the early 1980s, German-born Wolfgang Petersen focused on English-language projects. He made films like Air Force One, In the Line of Fire, and The NeverEnding Story. Not bad, right? Then ten years after his last film project, he returned to his native Germany to direct Vier gegen die Bank in 2016. Sadly, this was also his final film as Petersen died in 2022.
Vier gegen die Bank is packed with German movie stars. In addition to Herbig, the cast includes Til Schweiger, Matthias Schweighöfer, and Alexandra Maria Lara.
In the film based on Ralph Maloney’s novel The Nixon Recession Caper, four men decide they are going to get even with a bank after they feel they were treated wrongly. The group decides the only course of action is a bank robbery. Herbig portrays Tobias, an investment adviser, who acts as their man on the inside.
Balloon
Michael Bully Herbig is known, primarily, as a comedic actor. But he has more than a dozen writing and directing credits to his name and not all of them are quite so lighthearted. That includes 2018’s Balloon, a thriller based on real events that Herbig directs and co-wrote.
Set in 1979 in East Germany, the film follows two families who build a hot air balloon and make an attempt to float out of the Communist country and into Bavaria in free West Germany. It is a mere five miles but from behind the Iron Curtain, it might as well be a million.
The film stars David Kross (who is perhaps best known for his lead role in The Reader) as Günter Wetzel, one of the eight people making the attempt to flee.
Practice practice practice! Discover other great German language actors and actresses previously featured.
Photo courtesy of Herbig’s official website. This post contains affiliate links.
