International audiences may already know Oliver Masucci from his role in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore or the Netflix series Dark. The actor has long been recognized for his work in the German film industry with a number of awards and accolades.
So now is the perfect time to get to know the work of this talented actor. This month, learn German with the films of Oliver Masucci!
Get to Know Oliver Masucci
Oliver Masucci was born on December 6, 1968, in Stuttgart, West Germany, to an Italian father and a German mother. He was raised in Bonn, where the family ran several restaurants.
In 1990, after studying at one of Bonn’s oldest gymnasiums, the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Gymnasium, he began studying acting at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin (now known as the Universität der Künste Berlin). And it did not take long before he started winning roles on television and the stage.
Stage acting has been an important part of Masucci’s career. First in Basel, Switzerland in 1995, then as part of the Schauspielhaus Hamburg from 1996-2002, Munich‘s Kammerspiele (2001), the Schauspiel Hannover (2000–2005), the Schauspielhaus Bochum (2003–2005), the Schauspielhaus Zürich (2005–2009) and the Salzburger Festspiele (1999 und 2007). From 2009-2016, he was a member of the ensemble at Vienna’s Burgtheater.
Er ist wieder da (Look Who’s Back)
Oliver Masucci stars as Adolf Hitler in the 2015 satirical film Look Who’s Back (Er ist wieder da). The film sees Hitler wake up in Berlin in 2014. But times have changed. The German capital and the entire country are not how the former dictator last saw them in the 1940s.
When a filmmaker named Fabian (portrayed by Fabian Busch) encounters him on the street, he believes him to be a Hitler impersonator. Having recently been fired, Fabian is looking for redemption and the next big thing. He proposes filming YouTube videos of Hitler traveling across Germany and talking with normal people about the challenges of everyday life. The videos garnered a lot of attention and controversy.
But Hitler is still Hitler. With his newfound attention, he attempts to venture back into politics with the same ideas.
Based on the novel by Timur Vermes, the film was a commercial success in Germany.
Enfant Terrible
Director Oskar Roehler’s 2020 film Enfant Terrible tells the story of legendary German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Masucci portrays the Bavarian filmmaker and was awarded with the best actor prizes at both the 2021 Bavarian Film Awards and the German Film Awards. The film follows Fassbinder, who starts out as a temperamental and ambitious 22-year-old. But he would go on to become one of the leaders of the New German Wave of cinema, only to die at the young age of 37 in 1982.
Schachnovelle
Chess Story (known as Schachnovelle in German) from director Philipp Stölzl brings author Stefan Zweig’s 1942 novel of the same name to the big screen.
The film from 2021 is set in 1938 as the Nazis move into Vienna, Austria. Josef Bartok, a lawyer portrayed by Masucci, and his wife attempt to flee to the United States. But the Gestapo put a stop to their plans, interrogating Bartok, who refuses to cooperate.
Bartok is put into solitary confinement. The months-long ordeal is a mental and emotional challenge for him. But when he gets his hand on an old book about chess, he finds an unlikely escape that leads him into a dangerous world of compulsive behavior.
The film also stars Albrecht Schuch, who portrays world chess master Mirko Czentovic.
Practice practice practice! Discover other great German language actors and actresses previously featured.
Top photo by Nils Schwarz, courtesy of Agentur Lambsdorff. This post contains affiliate links.
