Christian Berkel (born 28 October 1957) is a German actor. He is known for his appearances in Downfall (2004), Valkyrie (2008), Inglourious Basterds (2009) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015).

Christian Berkel
Berkel in 2009
Born (1957-10-28) 28 October 1957 (age 67)
West Berlin, West Germany
OccupationActor
Years active1977–present
Spouse
(m. 2011)
Children2

Life and career

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Berkel was born on 28 October 1957[1][2] in Berlin.[3]

His father had been a military doctor in World War II. His Jewish mother fled to Argentina and returned to Germany after the end of the war.[3][4]

From the age of 14 Berkel lived in Paris where he took drama lessons with Jean-Louis Barrault and Pierre Berlin. He then trained at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin and appeared on stage in Augsburg, Düsseldorf, Munich, Vienna and at the Schiller Theater.

Berkel has appeared in many German television productions before starring in the Academy Award-nominated film Downfall (2004) as Dr. Ernst-Günther Schenck. He has followed this with roles in Paul Verhoeven's film Black Book (2006) and the American films Flightplan (2005), Valkyrie (2008) and Inglourious Basterds (2009).

Personal life

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In addition to his native German, Berkel speaks English and French.

Berkel met actress Andrea Sawatzki in 1998.[3] They were married in 2011.[5] The couple have two sons.[3][5] The family live in Berlin.[5]

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Kalenderblatt 2022: 28. Oktober". Berchtesgadener Anzeiger [de] (in German). 28 October 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Christian Berkel wird 65". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 28 October 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Christian Berkel, Actor". Deutsche Welle. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Valkyrie - Christian Berkel and Thomas Kretschmann interview". IndieLondon. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Sawatzki heiratet Christian Berkel nach 14 Jahren". Die Welt (in German). 18 December 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
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