While the last name of Bousdoukos may throw you off, make no mistake about it: Adam Bousdoukos is a German actor through and through. Since making his acting debut in the mid-90s, Bousdoukos has chalked up more than 50 acting credits to his name. He has appeared on screens both big and small in roles both dramatic and comedic. So this month, let’s learn German with films starring actor Adam Bousdoukos!
Get to Know Adam Bousdoukos
Adam Bousdoukos was born on January 25, 1974, in Hamburg, Germany, as the son of Greek parents. The family remained in the city and he grew up in the Altona neighborhood. The acting bug bit early with Bousdoukos winning small roles in commercials as a teenager. More formally he pursued acting at the Hamburger Stage School.
His big break was the 1995 short film Sensin – Du bist es! The eleven-minute film was written and directed by the then-unknown filmmaker Fatih Akin. It was Akin’s first film. But the collaboration was only the first of many for Akin and Bousdoukos. The actor has appeared in quite a few of Akin’s films.
Kurz und schmerzlos (Short Sharp Shock)
1998’s Kurz und schmerzlos is the first full-length film for writer-director Fatih Akin. Titled Short Sharp Shock in English, the film follows three friends on the streets of Hamburg. Bousdoukos stars as Costa, Mehmet Kurtuluş as Gabriel, and Aleksandar Jovanović portrays Bobby. Gabriel is newly out of prison and is ready for a fresh start. But his pals Costa and Bobby are not exactly living on the straight and narrow, Gabriel tries to intervene.
Soul Kitchen
Bousdoukos and Akin team up again in 2009’s Soul Kitchen. In the film, Zinos (portrayed by Bousdoukos) runs a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Hamburg and business isn’t doing too well. Zinos’ personal life isn’t going much better as his girlfriend moves to China for her job. By a twist of fate, Zinos manages to secure a new chef, Shayn, who turns the dive into a hip, cool restaurant. But with success comes new challenges for Zinos as not everything appears to be what it seems.
The film’s cast includes Birol Ünel as Shayn and Moritz Bleibtreu as Zinos’ brother who is only recently out of prison.
Highway to Hellas
In the 2015 Highway to Hellas, a German banker (Christoph Maria Herbst) travels to a Greek island to audit some investments by his bank. He suspects the investments don’t actually exist. But the island, even the mayor, works to convince the banker that everything is on the up and up. Bousdoukos stars as Panos, a German-Greek who is the banker’s minder and makes sure his investigation doesn’t go too far.
Practice practice practice! Discover other great German-language actors and actresses previously featured.
Photo by Thomas Leidig, courtesy of agenturvogel. This post contains affiliate links.
