The actor Alexander Scheer has made a niche for himself portraying famous musicians and artists. He was Einstürzende Neubauten‘s Blixa Bargeld in Punk Berlin 1982, Keith Richards in Eight Miles High, David Bowie in We Children from Bahnhof Zoo, and Andy Warhol in Enfant Terrible.
But he is more than a mere imitator. Scheer has spent more than two decades developing and bringing to life characters in a variety of film and television projects.
Let’s get to know Alexander Scheer this month and learn German with films!
Get to Know Alexander Scheer
Alexander Scheer was born on June 1, 1976, in East Berlin. His father was the department manager at a data center.
Scheer grew up in the East German capital and focused on music during his time in Gymnasium. In addition to being a singer, he played piano and drums. His music background led to an appearance in the late 1980s on a children’s music television show.
He also dabbled in acting, appearing in advertisements and with friends in home videos.
Viktor Vogel – Commercial Man
Alexander Scheer stars as the title character in the 2001 comedy Viktor Vogel – Commercial Man. Viktor dreams of working in the advertising industry. So he sneaks into a meeting at an advertising agency for the prospective client Opel. Viktor tries to impress them and pitches his ideas. Although it does not go well, the ad agency decides it needs to hire Viktor anyway. Before he knows it, Viktor is being mentored by a soon-to-retire coworker.
Things become more complicated when Viktor decides to take credit during an advertising pitch for an idea that his new girlfriend thought of. Viktor has to choose between his budding relationship and his dream career.
Gundermann
In the 2018 biographic film Gundermann, Scheer stars in the title role of Gerhard Gundermann. The film tells the story of the East German singer-songwriter who, despite his musical career, remained in his day job as a bucket-wheel excavator operator at a coalmine. The film also focuses on his relationship with his future wife, Conny. A committed communist, Gundermann had an on-again-off-again relationship with the East German government, including working with the Stasi.
The film won several German Film Awards in 2019, including Best Film and Best Director, as well as Scheer himself, who took home the award for Best Actor.
Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush
Scheer portrays the role of Bernhard Docke in the 2022 film Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush. Docke is a human rights lawyer representing Murat Kurnaz, who has been detained by the US government in Pakistan and held for over five years in Guantanamo Bay.
Murat’s mother, Rabiye, may be an “ordinary” Turkish housewife living in Bremen, but she wants to help her eldest son. She works with Docke to secure a fair trial for Murat, going so far as to pursue the United States Supreme Court.
The film is based on real events.
Practice practice practice! Discover other great German language actors and actresses previously featured.
Top photo by Marcus Höhn, courtesy of Inka Stelljes Berlin. This post contains affiliate links.
