72 Notable Alumni of University of Performing Arts Ernst Busch

Marlene Dietrich

Born in: Germany
Years: 1901-1992 (aged 91)
Occupations: stage actorviolinistentertainerautobiographerresistance fighter
Biography: Marie Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer whose career spanned nearly seven decades. In 1920s Berlin, she performed on the stage and in silent films. Her performance as Lola Lola in Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel (1930) brought her international acclaim and a contract with Paramount Pictures. Dietrich starred in many Hollywood films, including six roles directed by Sternberg: Morocco (1930) (her only Academy Award nomination), Dishonored (1931), Shanghai Express and Blonde Venus (both 1932), The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Devil Is a Woman (1935). Throughout World War II, she was a high-profile entertainer in the United States. Although she delivered notable performances in several post-war films, including Billy Wilder's A Foreign Affair (1948), Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright (1950), Billy Wilder's Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Orson Welles's Touch of Evil (1958), and Stanley Kramer's Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), she spent most of the 1950s to the 1970s touring the world as a marquee live-show performer.

Matthias Schweighöfer

Born in: Germany
Years: 1981-.. (age 45)
Occupations: film directorentrepreneurfilm produceractorfilm actor
Biography: Matthias Schweighöfer is a German actor and filmmaker known for his work in several German and American film productions. He appeared as Lieutenant Franz Herber in the 2008 film Valkyrie. In 2021, Schweighöfer appeared in the Netflix film Army of the Dead, directed by Zack Snyder, as Ludwig Dieter. He reprised his role in the prequel film, Army of Thieves, which he also directed. In 2023, he appeared in the role of German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg in Christopher Nolan's biographical thriller, Oppenheimer, about J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.

Karoline Herfurth

Born in: Germany
Years: 1984-.. (age 42)
Occupations: film actorscreenwriterfilm director
Biography: Karoline Herfurth is a German actress.

Sandra Hüller

Born in: Germany
Years: 1978-.. (age 48)
Occupations: lifting truck operatorstage actoractorfilm actor
Biography: Sandra Hüller is a German actress. She has appeared in German, Austrian, British, French, and American films. She has received various accolades, including two European Film Awards, a César Award and three German Film Awards, along with nominations for an Academy Award and two BAFTA Awards.

Simone Thomalla

Born in: Germany
Years: 1965-.. (age 61)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Simone Thomalla is a German actress.

Lars Eidinger

Years: 1976-.. (age 50)
Occupations: presenterstage actoractorfilm actor
Biography: Lars Eidinger is a German actor and rapper, based in Berlin. He has appeared in German and international film and television productions, including the 2020 film My Little Sister, the German series Babylon Berlin (2017–2022), the 2023 American miniseries All the Light We Cannot See, and the 2024 film Dying.

Jan Josef Liefers

Born in: Germany
Years: 1964-.. (age 62)
Enrolled in the University of Performing Arts Ernst Busch: Studied in 1983
Occupations: film directordirectormanufacturertelevision actorscreenwriter
Biography: Jan Josef Liefers is a German actor, producer, director and musician.

August Diehl

Years: 1976-.. (age 50)
Occupations: film actoractorstage actor
Biography: August Diehl is a German actor, primarily known to international audiences for playing Gestapo major Dieter Hellstrom in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Michael "Mike" Krause, Evelyn Salt's husband, in the movie Salt. He is also known for his leading roles in the films The Counterfeiters (2007), The Young Karl Marx (2017), and Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life (2019).

Nina Hoss

Born in: Germany
Years: 1975-.. (age 51)
Occupations: voice actorstage actorsingerfilm actor
Biography: Nina Hoss is a German stage, film, and television actress. She is known for her collaborations with director Christian Petzold in films such as Barbara (2012) and Phoenix (2014). Her roles in other films include The White Masai (2005), Pelican Blood (2020), Tár (2022), and Hedda (2025). She has also starred in the American TV series Homeland (2014–2017), The Defeated (2020), and Jack Ryan (2022).

Sven Martinek

Born in: Germany
Years: 1964-.. (age 62)
Occupations: film actortelevision actorstage actor
Biography: Sven Martinek is a German actor, best known for portraying the main character Max Zander on the German TV series Der Clown.

Manfred Krug

Born in: Germany
Years: 1937-2016 (aged 79)
Occupations: stage actoractorcomposerwritersinger
Biography: Manfred Krug was a German actor, singer and author.

Alwara Höfels

Born in: Germany
Years: 1982-.. (age 44)
Occupations: film actoractorstage actor
Biography: Alwara Höfels is a German actress who works both in front of the camera and on the theater stage.

Corinna Harfouch

Born in: Germany
Years: 1954-.. (age 72)
Occupations: film actorvoice actorstage actor
Biography: Corinna Harfouch is a German actress.

Jasna Fritzi Bauer

Born in: Germany
Years: 1989-.. (age 37)
Enrolled in the University of Performing Arts Ernst Busch: Studied in 2008-2012
Occupations: stage actoractorfilm actordub actor
Biography: Jasna Fritzi Bauer is a Swiss actress. She has appeared in more than fifteen films since 2010.

Sabin Tambrea

Born in: Romania
Years: 1984-.. (age 42)
Enrolled in the University of Performing Arts Ernst Busch: Studied in 2006-2010
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Sabin Tambrea is a German actor. He is best known for his role as Ludwig II of Bavaria in Ludwig II.

Claudia Michelsen

Born in: Germany
Years: 1969-.. (age 57)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Claudia Michelsen is a German actress. She was born in Dresden and is based in Berlin. She has appeared in more than eighty films since 1989.

Charly Hübner

Born in: Germany
Years: 1972-.. (age 54)
Occupations: screenwriterstage actorfilm directoractorfilm actor
Biography: Carsten Johannes Marcus Hübner is a German actor. He appeared in more than eighty films since 2003, including Magical Mystery or: The Return of Karl Schmidt (in 2017) and The Good Neighbour (Unter Nachbarn, in 2011). Also known on TV for Transporter (between 2012–2014), Polizeiruf 110 (a detective series, between 2005–2019), crime series Post Mortem in 2007/2008.

F. W. Murnau

Born in: Germany
Years: 1888-1931 (aged 43)
Occupations: screenwriterfilm directordirectorfilm producer
Biography: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau was a German film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is regarded as one of cinema's most influential filmmakers for his work in the silent era.

Devid Striesow

Born in: Germany
Years: 1973-.. (age 53)
Occupations: voice actoractor
Biography: Devid Striesow is a German actor.

Ronald Zehrfeld

Born in: Germany
Years: 1977-.. (age 49)
Occupations: film actoractorstage actor
Biography: Ronald Zehrfeld is a German actor. His movie roles include Barbara (2012), Inbetween Worlds (2014), and Phoenix (2014).

Maria Simon

Born in: Germany
Years: 1976-.. (age 50)
Enrolled in the University of Performing Arts Ernst Busch: Studied in 1999
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Maria Simon is a German actress.

Alexander Fehling

Years: 1981-.. (age 45)
Occupations: film actorscreenwriterstage actor
Biography: Alexander Fehling is a German film and stage actor. He is best known for portraying Master Sgt. Wilhelm in the 2009 Quentin Tarantino World War II film Inglourious Basterds, and as Jonas Hollander season 5 in the Showtime original series Homeland as the boyfriend of Claire Danes's character Carrie Mathison.

Rebecca Immanuel

Born in: Germany
Years: 1970-.. (age 56)
Occupations: television actortelevision presenteractorfilm actor
Biography: Rebecca Immanuel, born Sonja Zimmer is a German actress.

Mark Waschke

Born in: Germany
Years: 1972-.. (age 54)
Occupations: stage actortelevision actorperforming artistactorfilm actor
Biography: Mark Waschke is a German theatre, film and television actor who has been performing since 2005.

Simon Schwarz

Born in: Austria
Years: 1971-.. (age 55)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Simon Schwarz is an Austrian actor. He is known for his role as Chris Wegner in the medical drama series Die Eifelpraxis and as Rudi Birkenberger in the Franz Eberhofer series of crime films. Since 2019 he has been starring with Eberhofer actor Sebastian Bezzel in a documentary TV series Bezzel & Schwarz - Die Grenzgänger, in which they live and travel in a motorhome through Bavaria, Germany. He plays a lead role in the 2025 Slovak-Austrian co-production Perla.

Michael Gwisdek

Born in: Germany
Years: 1942-2020 (aged 78)
Occupations: film actorstage actorfilm directortelevision actoractor
Biography: Michael Gwisdek was a German actor and film director.

Sylvester Groth

Born in: Germany
Years: 1958-.. (age 68)
Occupations: stage actoractorsingerfilm actor
Biography: Sylvester Groth is a German theater, television, and film actor. He is best known to international audiences from his appearances in Hollywood movies including Inglourious Basterds and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Furthermore, he has appeared in the Netflix series Sense8, Fargo, and Dark.

Jördis Triebel

Years: 1977-.. (age 49)
Occupations: film actorvoice actorstage actor
Biography: Jördis Triebel is a German film and stage actress.

Horst Krause

Born in: Poland
Years: 1941-2025 (aged 84)
Occupations: television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
Biography: Horst Krause was a German actor.

Uwe Kockisch

Born in: Germany
Years: 1944-2025 (aged 81)
Occupations: television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
Biography: Uwe Kockisch was a German stage, screen and television actor.

Julia Jentsch

Years: 1978-.. (age 48)
Occupations: film actoractorstage actor
Biography: Julia Jentsch is a German actress. She has received awards including the Silver Bear, European Film Award, and Lola. She is best known for Sophie Scholl – The Final Days, The Edukators and I Served the King of England.

Milan Peschel

Years: 1968-.. (age 58)
Occupations: stage actortelevision directortelevision actorvoice actorfilm actor
Biography: Milan Peschel is a German actor. He has appeared in more than fifty films since 1999.

Jenny Gröllmann

Born in: Germany
Years: 1947-2006 (aged 59)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Jenny Gröllmann was a German actress, best known for her work on films I Was Nineteen (1968), Peas at 5:30 (2004) and her recurring role on the show Polizeiruf 110. She won an Ernst Zinna Prize of the city of Berlin in 1974.

Henry Hübchen

Born in: Germany
Years: 1947-.. (age 79)
Occupations: actorvoice actorcomposer
Biography: Henry Hübchen is a German actor who played the title character in the award-winning 2004 film Go for Zucker. That performance earned him a Lola, Germany's equivalent of an Oscar, and critical praise at home and abroad. He was raised in East Berlin, in what was then East Germany.

Gerit Kling

Born in: Germany
Years: 1965-.. (age 61)
Occupations: actor
Biography: Gerit Kling is a German film, television and voice actress.

Fritzi Haberlandt

Born in: Germany
Years: 1975-.. (age 51)
Occupations: film actoractorstage actor
Biography: Fritzi Haberlandt is a German actress.

Herbert Köfer

Born in: Germany
Years: 1921-2021 (aged 100)
Occupations: actorradio personalityfilm actorvoice actorstage actor
Biography: Herbert Köfer was a German actor and television presenter. He was the first German TV news presenter for the East German Deutscher Fernsehfunk, and also presented the station's last news before the reunification of Germany. His first theatre engagement was in 1940, and he kept acting until the age of 100. Köfer played an SS-Hauptsturmführer in the 1963 film Nackt unter Wölfen (Naked Among Wolves). He was known for detective series such as Polizeiruf 110 and comic roles. He founded his own troupe, Köfers Komödiantenbühne, in 2003, and published memoirs.

Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff

Born in: Germany
Years: 1921-1998 (aged 77)
Occupations: film actoractortelevision presenter
Biography: Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff, nickname Kuli was a German actor and TV host, remembered mainly as host of Einer wird gewinnen, a quiz show that ran from 1964 to 1987.

Friedrich Mücke

Born in: Germany
Years: 1981-.. (age 45)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Friedrich Mücke is a German actor who has appeared in more than twenty films since 2006, many of which have tackled issues relating to the former GDR (the Communist state that was commonly known as East Germany).

Thomas Thieme

Born in: Germany
Years: 1948-.. (age 78)
Occupations: television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
Biography: Thomas Thieme is a German actor. He is considered to be a prolific stage actor and also appeared in more than 100 film and television productions since 1973.

Dagmar Manzel

Born in: Germany
Years: 1958-.. (age 68)
Occupations: film actoractorstage actor
Biography: Dagmar Manzel is a German actress. She has appeared in more than 80 films and television shows since 1979. She starred in the 1986 film So Many Dreams, which was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.

Helga Hahnemann

Born in: Germany
Years: 1937-1991 (aged 54)
Occupations: cabaret performercomedianentertainerfilm actorradio personality
Biography: Helga "Big Helga" Hahnemann was an East German multi-faceted stage performer and entertainer. She came to wider prominence through her television and radio appearances after 1962. By the time reunification arrived in 1990 she had become a leading star of the small screen in East Germany. She fell terminally ill and then died shortly afterwards, possibly because of the extent of her addiction to cigarettes: she was 54. Her death left unanswered the question of how successfully her performances might have captivated pan-German television audiences post unification.

Ursula Karusseit

Born in: Poland
Years: 1939-2019 (aged 80)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Ursula Karusseit was a German actress.

Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss

Years: 1962-.. (age 64)
Occupations: screenwriterfilm directortelevision actoractorfilm actor
Biography: Pierre Sanoussi-Bliss is a German actor and director. He has appeared in television and films for over 20 years. He played a leading role in Doris Dörrie's 1994 film, Nobody Loves Me. He also plays a leading role in the comedy series Alles wird gut.

Janina Hartwig

Born in: Germany
Years: 1961-.. (age 65)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Janina Hartwig is a German actress.

Mala Emde

Born in: Germany
Years: 1996-.. (age 30)
Occupations: actor
Biography: Mala Emde is a German actress.

Renate Blume

Born in: Germany
Years: 1944-.. (age 82)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Renate Blume is a German actress. She has appeared in more than 70 films and television shows since 1964. She was a member of the jury at the 14th Moscow International Film Festival.

Ulrike Krumbiegel

Born in: Germany
Years: 1961-.. (age 65)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Ulrike Krumbiegel is a German actress. She has performed in more than 100 film and TV productions. In her early career, she performed in East German cinema and theatre. After the re-unification of Germany, her career continued with appearances in crime series such as Tatort, and the ZDF series SOKO München. She has also continued to appear in the theatre, featuring in plays by Berthold Brecht, Henrik Ibsen and William Shakespeare.

Dieter Mann

Born in: Germany
Years: 1941-2022 (aged 81)
Occupations: university teacherstage actortheatrical directoractorfilm actor
Biography: Dieter Mann was a German actor, director, university professor, and radio personality. In his career, he acted in several theater productions and in over 140 film and television productions. Between 1984 and 1991, he was director of the Deutsches Theater. In 1986, he became a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts. Internationally, he is best known for having portrayed Wilhelm Keitel in Downfall.

Christine Schorn

Born in: Czech Republic
Years: 1944-.. (age 82)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Christine Schorn is a German actress. Schorn has appeared in multiple films and TV shows including Apprehension (1982), According to the Plan (2007) and Das Leben ist nichts für Feiglinge (2012).

Jenny Schily

Born in: Germany
Years: 1967-.. (age 59)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Jenny Rosa Schily is a German actress who primarily works in theater and film. She has also performed in radio plays.

Anton Walbrook

Born in: Austria
Years: 1896-1967 (aged 71)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Adolf Anton Wilhelm Wohlbrück was an Austrian actor who settled in the United Kingdom under the name Anton Walbrook. A popular performer in Austria and pre-war Germany, he left Germany in 1936 out of concerns for his own safety and established a career in British cinema. Walbrook is perhaps best known for his roles in the original British film of Gaslight, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The Red Shoes and Victoria the Great (as Prince Albert).

Catherine Flemming

Born in: Germany
Years: 1967-.. (age 59)
Occupations: television produceractivistfilm produceractorfilm actor
Biography: Catherine Flemming is a German film and TV actress. She has performed in more than eighty films and TV roles since 1995, nearly all in German.

Leander Haußmann

Born in: Germany
Years: 1959-.. (age 67)
Occupations: actorscreenwriterfilm director
Biography: Leander Haußmann is a German theatre and film director.

Gustav von Wangenheim

Born in: Germany
Years: 1895-1975 (aged 80)
Occupations: film directordirectoractorwriterresistance fighter
Biography: Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von Wangenheim was a German actor, screenwriter and director.

Marianne Hoppe

Born in: Germany
Years: 1909-2002 (aged 93)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Marianne Hoppe was a German theatre and film actress.

Franziska Petri

Born in: Germany
Years: 1973-.. (age 53)
Occupations: actorfilm actor
Biography: Franziska Petri is a German actress.

Ludwig Blochberger

Years: 1982-.. (age 44)
Occupations: television actorstage actoractorfilm actor
Biography: Ludwig Blochberger is a German actor. He is best known for his appearance in the coming of age movie Summer Storm dealing with issues around sexual orientation. He also appeared on German TV drama programmes including The Old Fox, Tatort and Brittany Mystery. Furthermore he portrayed the Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, in the TV documentary drama Helmut Schmidt - Lebensfragen.

Ursula Werner

Born in: Germany
Years: 1943-.. (age 83)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Ursula Werner is a German actress.

Renate Müller

Born in: Germany
Years: 1906-1937 (aged 31)
Occupations: singeractorfilm actor
Biography: Renate Müller was a German singer and actress in both silent films and sound films, as well as on stage.

Thomas Ostermeier

Born in: Germany
Years: 1968-.. (age 58)
Enrolled in the University of Performing Arts Ernst Busch: Studied in 1992-1996
Occupations: film actortheatrical directordirector
Biography: Thomas Ostermeier is a German theatre director. He currently mainly works for the Berlin Schaubühne.

Alexander Granach

Born in: Ukraine
Years: 1890-1945 (aged 55)
Occupations: stage actorfilm actor
Biography: Alexander Granach was a German-Austrian actor in the 1920s and 1930s who emigrated to the United States in 1938.

O. E. Hasse

Born in: Poland
Years: 1903-1978 (aged 75)
Occupations: stage actorfilm directortelevision actorvoice actorfilm actor
Biography: Otto Eduard Hasse was a German film actor and director.

Werner Hinz

Born in: Germany
Years: 1903-1985 (aged 82)
Occupations: film actorvoice actorstage actor
Biography: Werner Hinz was a German film actor who appeared in 70 films between 1935 and 1984.

Jürgen Hentsch

Born in: Germany
Years: 1936-2011 (aged 75)
Occupations: film actortelevision actorstage actor
Biography: Jürgen Hentsch was a German actor. He was known for several movies and TV shows such as The Deathmaker (1995), In the Shadow of Power (2003) and Der Mann mit der Maske (1994). He was married to Wassilka Hentsch.

Doris Abeßer

Born in: Germany
Years: 1935-2016 (aged 81)
Occupations: actoraudio drama actorfilm actordub actorstage actor
Biography: Doris Abeßer was a German actress and radio personality. She was born in Berlin and appeared in television and films from 1952 onwards. She was awarded an Erich Weinert Medal by Free German Youth in 1961. She married Günter Stahnka, a German film director in 1963.

Mathias Wieman

Born in: Germany
Years: 1902-1969 (aged 67)
Occupations: film actorscreenwriterstage actor
Biography: Mathias Wieman was a German stage-performer, silent-and-sound motion picture actor.

Alfred Braun

Born in: Germany
Years: 1888-1978 (aged 90)
Occupations: stage actoractordirectorfilm actorfilm producer
Biography: Alfred Braun was a pioneer of German radio. He became famous as a radio reporter and radio play director, among other things. He was also an actor, stage and film director, and screenwriter.

Jens Hoffmann

Born in: Costa Rica
Years: 1974-.. (age 52)
Occupations: writerexhibition curatorart historiancurator
Biography: Jens Hoffmann Mesén is a writer, editor, educator, and exhibition maker. His work has attempted to expand the definition and context of exhibition making. From 2003 to 2007 Hoffmann was director of exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts London. He is the former director of the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art from 2007 to 2016 and deputy director for exhibitions and programs at The Jewish Museum from 2012 to 2017; he was terminated from the position following an investigation into sexual harassment allegations raised by staff members. Hoffmann has held several teaching positions including California College of the Arts, the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti and Goldsmiths, University of London, as well as others.

Lothar Müthel

Born in: Germany
Years: 1896-1964 (aged 68)
Occupations: stage actordirectoractorfilm actor
Biography: Lothar Müthel was a German stage and film actor and director.

Gerda Müller

Years: 1894-1951 (aged 57)
Occupations: film actoractorstage actor
Biography: Gerda Müller was a German stage actress.

Gergana Dimitrova

Born in: Bulgaria
Years: 1975-.. (age 51)
Occupations: translatorplaywright
Biography: Gergana Dimitrova is a Bulgarian theatre director, playwright and translator.