Volker Bruch has been in The Reader as well as internationally acclaimed German television series like Babylon Berlin and Generation War. You will soon be able to see Bruch in the Hollywood remake of The Girl in the Spider’s Web, David Lagercrantz’s fourth installment of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series. Bruch is an actor that chooses interesting roles with a lot of variety. This month let’s practice German with the films of German actor Volker Bruch.
Get to Know Volker Bruch
Volker Bruch was born in Munich, Germany on March 9, 1980. After his Abitur, similar to a high school diploma, in the Bavarian capital, he spent three years studying the performing arts at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, a drama school that’s part of the University of Music and Performing Arts, in the Austrian capital city of Vienna. (Other famous graduates include Marlene Dietrich and Christoph Waltz.)
By the early 2000s, Bruch could already be found on German television, appearing in films, and also performing on the stage.
Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter (Generation War)
While the BBC and HBO seem to have cornered the market on high-quality television mini-series, German broadcaster ZDF has produced Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter. Known as Generation War internationally, the production is a three-part mini-series. The show follows the lives of a group of 20-something German friends as they navigate through a world centered on World War II. Bruch portrays Wilhelm, a strong, responsible and reliable young man who is headed off to war. Wilhelm is everything that his younger brother, Friedhelm is not. But war has a funny way of changing people.
The series also stars Tom Schilling (as Friedhelm), Katharina Schüttler, Miriam Stein and Ludwig Trepte as a member of the group of friends.
Babylon Berlin
Babylon Berlin is a collaboration between German public and private broadcasters. The television series brings to life the Weimar Republic of 1920s Berlin and leading up to the first years of the Third Reich. The television show is based on a series of books by author Volker Kutscher.
In the show directed by Tom Tykwer, Volker Bruch stars as Kommissar Gereon Rath. Rath has been recently transferred to Berlin from Cologne. He is in the capital in order to investigate a case. But things are not what they first appear. Rath suddenly finds himself in a scandalous case. He is getting far more than he originally bargained for when he arrived in Berlin. The show also stars actress Liv Lisa Fries.
There is an interesting release schedule for the show. It was originally broadcast in the fall of 2017 on German pay channel Sky with German public TV channel ARD receiving rights to air it in 2018. The series is also available internationally, including on Netflix in the United States.
Outside the Box
The 2015 comedy film Outside the Box is both written and directed by Philip Koch. In the film, Bruch portrays Frederick, a management consultant that is having some difficulties at work with his colleagues. Frederick and his coworkers participate in team-building exercises that are rather over the top. Things get even worse when a staged hostage situation goes awry.
Outside the Box also features performances by Frederick Lau and Kida Khodr Ramadan.
Practice practice practice! Discover other great German language actors and actresses previously featured.
Top photo by Stefan Klueter, courtesy of Players. This post contains affiliate links.
