Otto Sander
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Otto Sander (German: [ˈɔtoː ˈzandɐ]; June 30, 1941 – September 12, 2013) was a German film, theater, and voice actor. Sander grew up in Kassel, where he graduated in 1961 from the Friedrichgymnasium. After leaving school he spent his military service in 1961/62 with the Bundesmarine and left as reserve fenrik. Sander then studied theatre science, history of art and philosophy. In 1965 he made his acting debut at the Düsseldorfer chamber plays. After his first film work in the same year he abandoned his studies in 1967, and went to Munich to become a full-time actor. His career is closely connected with the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin under the direction of Peter Stein. From 1980 onwards Sander appeared on several of Berlin's theatre stages, among others at the Schillertheater in 1981, at the Freie Volksbühne in 1985 and in 1989 at the Komödie am Kurfürstendamm. More recently he starred in Hauptmann von Köpenick at the Schauspielhaus Bochum (2004). In 1990, he was a member of the Jury at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. Among his best-known film roles are the angel Cassiel in Wings of Desire and its sequel Faraway, So Close! by Wim Wenders, and a shell-shocked U-boat commander, Kapitänleutnant Philipp Thomsen, in Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot. Sander also appeared in The Tin Drum (1979) as a trumpeter and in Comedian Harmonists, a biopic about the musical group of the same name. He also played a professor in the movie The Promise about the division of Berlin by the wall. In 1999 he played a role in Rosa von Praunheim's movie The Einstein of Sex.
Known for
Credits
Das Boot (1981)
as Phillip Thomsen
The Tin Drum (1979)
as Meyn
Wings of Desire (1987)
as Cassiel
Krabat (2008)
as Narrator (voice)
Conversation with the Beast (1997)
as Adolf Hitler Double
Die Mutter (1971)
Actor
About Narration (2025)
Actor
Faraway, So Close! (1993)
as Cassiel
Lumière & Company (1995)
as Cassiel (segment "Wim Wenders")
Vorwärts (1990)
Actor
The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld (2000)
as Professor Steinach
Die Bakchen (1974)
as Tiresias
The Killer Condom (1996)
as Mr. Higgins
Girls under investigation (1999)
as Staatsanwalt Baldur Meixner
Majestät brauchen Sonne (1999)
as Kaiser Wilhelm II (voice)
Liebe Lügen (1997)
as Vater
Werner and the Wizard of Booze (1990)
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Rosa Luxemburg (1986)
as Karl Liebknecht
Palermo or Wolfsburg (1980)
as Staatsanwalt
Werner - Gekotzt wird später! (2003)
as Erzähler (voice)
Schlusschor (1993)
Actor
A Love in Germany (1983)
as Narrator
The Marquise of O (1976)
as Brother, Forstmeister
Kaluoka'hina: The Enchanted Reef (2004)
as Narrator (voice)
Wahnfried (1986)
as Richard Wagner
The Olympic Summer (1993)
as Sprecher
Life Is Too Long (2010)
Actor
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg (1973)
as Obrist Kottwitz
Little King Macius (2007)
as Erasmus (voice)
The Ignoramus and the Madman (1972)
Actor
The Harmonists (1997)
Actor
Matulla und Busch (1995)
as Korte
Am I Beautiful? (1998)
as David
Die Schuld der Erben (2012)
as Leonhard Asmussen
Marlene (2000)
as Bühnenmanager
One or the Other of Us (1974)
as Rulle Ruhlsdorff
Das Loch (1995)
as Der Mann
Sonntags am Meer (1970)
as Fritzchen
Time of Vengeance (1990)
as Robert
Plastikfieber (1979)
as Wilfried
The Film Narrator (1993)
as Salzmann
The Promise (1995)
as Professor Lorenz
Movie Days (1994)
as Maður á hesti
Der Kuß des Vergessens (1999)
as Herr Jelke
Summer Guests (1976)
as Pjotr Suslov
Trilogie des Wiedersehens (1979)
as Richard
Fly Away (2012)
as Eckehardt Tiedgen
Hölderlin-Comics (1994)
Actor
Four Against the Bank (1976)
as Eberhard Winter
The Heart Is a Dark Forest (2007)
as Helmut
Der Mond scheint auf Kylenamoe (1980)
Actor
Meine Sorgen möcht' ich haben (1975)
as Harald Bornemann
Die Ängste des Dr. Schenk (1978)
Actor
Berlin 10. 11. 74 - 28. 1. 75: Exercises in 9 Pieces (1975)
as Himself
100 Pro (2001)
as Narrator
Lehmanns Erzählungen (1975)
as Lehmann
Close Up (1987)
as Professor Spalt
Sass (2001)
as Vater Sass
Phantom (1979)
Actor
No Pawing, Darling (1970)
Actor
Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story (2021)
as Self
Heinrich Zille (1977)
Actor
Der Mord mit der Schere (1984)
as Inspector Spalt
Sonnabend, der 1. (1970)
Actor
Stan Becker - Auf eigene Faust (1998)
as Walker
Atlantic Affairs (2002)
as Maitre de Plaisir on Stage
Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us (2003)
as Self
Strike Back (1981)
as Kowalski
Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois (1982)
as Self
The Break (1989)
as Erwin Lubowitz
Lyrische Suite. Das untergehende Vaterland (1992)
Actor
Der Mann im Pyjama (1981)
as Rudi
Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter (2013)
as Himself
Nikolaikirche (1995)
as kirchlicher Superintendent
Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars (1986)
as Loan officer Grop
Bescheiß kein Kind! (1992)
as Vater
The Danube (2003)
as Franz
Ermittlungen gegen Unbekannt (1974)
Actor
Boundaries of Time - Caspar David Friedrich (1986)
as Gerichtsgehilfe
E-m@il an Gott (1999)
as Petrus
Inge, April und Mai (1993)
Actor
Gesucht wird... Drei Geschichten um nicht ganz ehrenwerte Herren (1981)
Actor
Männer sind wie Schokolade (1999)
as Vater Lano
Who's Going Crazy Here, Doctor? (1981)
as Nummer Sieben
Bauernschach (1995)
as Dr. Gerold Stadler
The Case of Mr. Spalt (1988)
as Otto Spalt
Tödliches Vertrauen (2002)
as Bernd Kortens
Drei Schwestern (1986)
as Alexander Ignatjewitsch Werschinin
Die Ursache (1980)
Actor
Im Schlaraffenland. Ein Roman unter feinen Leuten (1981)
as Kalfisch
Three Sisters (1994)
as Vershinin
Aus Liebe zu Deutschland - Eine Spendenaffäre (2003)
as Voice
Eine Reise wert… Der Dichter Günter Kunert (be)sucht Berlin (1986)
as Rezitation
The White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang (1994)
as Prof. Hinzelmann
Wie du mir.. (1989)
as Markus Petarka
Ludwig (1964)
as Ludwig
Happy Too (2002)
as Himself / Gert Bastian