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
Wings of Desire (1987)
as Cassiel
The Tin Drum (1979)
as Meyn
Faraway, So Close! (1993)
as Cassiel
The Marquise of O (1976)
as Brother, Forstmeister
Krabat (2008)
as Narrator (voice)
The Killer Condom (1996)
as Mr. Higgins
Conversation with the Beast (1997)
as Adolf Hitler Double
Die Mutter (1971)
Actor
The Harmonists (1997)
Actor
Die Bakchen (1974)
as Tiresias
A Love in Germany (1983)
as Narrator
About Narration (2025)
Actor
Lumière & Company (1995)
as Cassiel (segment "Wim Wenders")
Werner - Gekotzt wird später! (2003)
as Erzähler (voice)
Am I Beautiful? (1998)
as David
Werner and the Wizard of Booze (1990)
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story (2021)
as Self
One or the Other of Us (1974)
as Rulle Ruhlsdorff
Wahnfried (1986)
as Richard Wagner
Summer Guests (1976)
as Pjotr Suslov
The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld (2000)
as Professor Steinach
Life Is Too Long (2010)
Actor
Die Ängste des Dr. Schenk (1978)
Actor
Rosa Luxemburg (1986)
as Karl Liebknecht
Girls under investigation (1999)
as Staatsanwalt Baldur Meixner
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg (1973)
as Obrist Kottwitz
The White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang (1994)
as Prof. Hinzelmann
Männer sind wie Schokolade (1999)
as Vater Lano
Atlantic Affairs (2002)
as Maitre de Plaisir on Stage
The Heart Is a Dark Forest (2007)
as Helmut
Four Against the Bank (1976)
as Eberhard Winter
Der Mann im Pyjama (1981)
as Rudi
Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter (2013)
as Himself
Hölderlin-Comics (1994)
Actor
E-m@il an Gott (1999)
as Petrus
Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us (2003)
as Self
The Ignoramus and the Madman (1972)
Actor
Liebe Lügen (1997)
as Vater
Die Schuld der Erben (2012)
as Leonhard Asmussen
Kaluoka'hina: The Enchanted Reef (2004)
as Narrator (voice)
Schlusschor (1993)
Actor
Marlene (2000)
as Bühnenmanager
The Case of Mr. Spalt (1988)
as Otto Spalt
Fly Away (2012)
as Eckehardt Tiedgen
Boundaries of Time - Caspar David Friedrich (1986)
as Gerichtsgehilfe
Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars (1986)
as Loan officer Grop
Palermo or Wolfsburg (1980)
as Staatsanwalt
Vorwärts (1990)
Actor
Aus Liebe zu Deutschland - Eine Spendenaffäre (2003)
as Voice
Meine Sorgen möcht' ich haben (1975)
as Harald Bornemann
The Promise (1995)
as Professor Lorenz
Gesucht wird... Drei Geschichten um nicht ganz ehrenwerte Herren (1981)
Actor
Inge, April und Mai (1993)
Actor
Berlin 10. 11. 74 - 28. 1. 75: Exercises in 9 Pieces (1975)
as Himself
Close Up (1987)
as Professor Spalt
Der Mond scheint auf Kylenamoe (1980)
Actor
The Film Narrator (1993)
as Salzmann
Das Loch (1995)
as Der Mann
Little King Macius (2007)
as Erasmus (voice)
Der Mord mit der Schere (1984)
as Inspector Spalt
Who's Going Crazy Here, Doctor? (1981)
as Nummer Sieben
Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois (1982)
as Self
Im Schlaraffenland. Ein Roman unter feinen Leuten (1981)
as Kalfisch
Stan Becker - Auf eigene Faust (1998)
as Walker
The Danube (2003)
as Franz
Majestät brauchen Sonne (1999)
as Kaiser Wilhelm II (voice)
Plastikfieber (1979)
as Wilfried
Movie Days (1994)
as Maður á hesti
Phantom (1979)
Actor
Sass (2001)
as Vater Sass
100 Pro (2001)
as Narrator
Trilogie des Wiedersehens (1979)
as Richard
Der Kuß des Vergessens (1999)
as Herr Jelke
The Break (1989)
as Erwin Lubowitz
Time of Vengeance (1990)
as Robert
Strike Back (1981)
as Kowalski
Matulla und Busch (1995)
as Korte
No Pawing, Darling (1970)
Actor
Lyrische Suite. Das untergehende Vaterland (1992)
Actor
Lehmanns Erzählungen (1975)
as Lehmann
Sonntags am Meer (1970)
as Fritzchen
The Olympic Summer (1993)
as Sprecher
Nikolaikirche (1995)
as kirchlicher Superintendent
Tödliches Vertrauen (2002)
as Bernd Kortens
Three Sisters (1994)
as Vershinin
Eine Reise wert… Der Dichter Günter Kunert (be)sucht Berlin (1986)
as Rezitation
Die Ursache (1980)
Actor
Happy Too (2002)
as Himself / Gert Bastian
Bescheiß kein Kind! (1992)
as Vater
Wie du mir.. (1989)
as Markus Petarka
Ermittlungen gegen Unbekannt (1974)
Actor
Bauernschach (1995)
as Dr. Gerold Stadler
Drei Schwestern (1986)
as Alexander Ignatjewitsch Werschinin
Sonnabend, der 1. (1970)
Actor
Heinrich Zille (1977)
Actor
Ludwig (1964)
as Ludwig