Thomas Kretschmann

Thomas Kretschmann (; born 8 September 1962) is a German actor who has appeared in many European and American films. Best known for portraying historical or fictional military officers, his notable roles include Lieutenant Hans von Witzland in Stalingrad, Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist (2002), Hermann Fegelein in Downfall (2004), Captain Englehorn in King Kong (2005), Major Otto Remer in Valkyrie (2008), the voice of Professor Z in Cars 2 (2011), and the journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter in A Taxi Driver (2017). He also portrayed Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).

Kretschmann has twice been nominated for the Deutscher Fernsehpreis for Best Actor. He is also a European Film Award and Nika Award nominee.

Career At the age of 25, he began acting, starring in numerous European films and television series, including Westler in 1985. Then in 1991, Kretschmann was awarded the Max Ophüls Prize for best young actor for his role in Der Mitwisser. He went on to star in his first full-length feature, the 1993 film Stalingrad. He achieved international recognition for his role as sadomasochistic rapist and murderer Alfredo Grossi in Dario Argento's The Stendhal Syndrome.

Although popular in his homeland, Kretschmann did not achieve notice in Hollywood until his role as Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in Roman Polanski's 2002 film The Pianist. In the years since, Kretschmann has often portrayed military officers in films about the Third Reich. In the 2004 film Downfall, Kretschmann played Hermann Fegelein, a Waffen-SS general and brother-in-law to Eva Braun.

Kretschmann made his first appearance on American television in 2003 when he guest starred in two episodes of 24 as Max, a role he would reprise in the 2006 video game adaptation. He later also appeared in Relic Hunter. In 2004, Kretschmann played Timothy Cain, a ruthless Umbrella major, in Resident Evil: Apocalypse. In the same year, he appeared in the French film Immortal with Linda Hardy. The film was notable for its use of a digital backlot and interaction between Computer-generated characters and real actors. In 2005, Kretschmann won a role in Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong, where he worked again with Adrien Brody, with whom he had costarred in The Pianist.

The following year, Kretschmann began to win acclaim for his role in Butterfly: A Grimm Love Story (Rohtenburg in Germany). A psychological thriller, the movie co-stars Keri Russell and was inspired by the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case. It was scheduled for a March 2006 release in Germany, but its showing is under injunction after Meiwes successfully sued to have it banned on grounds of infringement of his personality rights. At the 2006 Festival de Cine de Sitges, Kretschmann shared the Best Actor award for his performance in this film with his co-star Thomas Huber. Kretschmann also shared Best Actor with Huber at the 2007 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival.

In 2008, Kretschmann was hired to voice Johann Krauss in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army. However, after several trials del Toro decided that Kretschmann's voice and the mechanical sound FX to Johann's suit did not mesh well, so the part went to Seth MacFarlane. That same year, he appeared in the action thriller Wanted, alongside Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and James McAvoy. That same year, he starred in the thriller Valkyrie, playing Major Otto Ernst Remer, a Wehrmacht officer who had a key role in stopping the 20 July Plot. Prior to the casting of Tom Cruise, Kretschmann had been considered to play Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. Kretschmann also played Adolf Eichmann in a 2007 biographical film.

2009 saw Kretschmann guest star in the American science-fiction TV drama series FlashForward, as well as a major secondary part in the British biopic The Young Victoria as King Leopold I of Belgium. This film also received three Academy Awards nominations in 2010 for Best Art Direction, Makeup, and won for Costume Design.

The next year he returned to Germany, guest starring as himself in the romantic comedy Rabbit without Ears 2. Kretschmann then moved to Malaysia in the summer to shoot his scenes for the German biopic Jungle Child based on the eponymous bestseller by Sabine Kuegler. The film was released in early 2011. Walt Disney Pictures confirmed in November 2010, that Kretschmann would star as one of the voice talents in the Pixar film Cars 2. The film was released in the United States on 24 June 2011, in the United Kingdom on 22 July and in Germany on 28 July.

Kretschmann starred as Captain Kurt Brynildson in the 2011–2012 ABC original paranormal/adventure/horror television series The River about a group of people on a mission to find a missing TV explorer in the Amazon.

Kretschmann signed a multi-film contract with Marvel Studios to play Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, and first appeared as the character in a post-credits scene of the 2014 film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He had a larger role as the character in the 2015 film Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Kretschmann often re-records his own parts for the German dubs of his screen roles. Aside from acting, Kretschmann has also worked as a fashion model, including a stint as the face for a scent by Hugo Boss.

Filmography Year Title Role Language Other notes 1989 Der Mitwisser Paul German Television filmMax Ophüls Prize for Best Young Actor 1992 Shining Through Man At Zurich Station English The Warrior's Heart Lieutenant Maximillian Luedt Norwegian 1993 Stalingrad Lieutenant Hans von Witzland German Die Ratte Sven 1994 La Reine Margot Nançay French 1995 Derrick The Husband of The Murderess German Television series; Season 22, Episode 4: "Teestunde mit einer Mörderin" Michael Television film 1996 The Stendhal Syndrome Alfredo Grossi Italian Marching in Darkness (Marciando nel buio) Gianni Tricarico 1997 Refuge Santos German Television film Prince Valiant Thagnar English 1998 Ms. Diamond Tim Kaiser German Television film 1999 Esther: The Bible King Ahasuerus of Persia English Der Tod in deinen Augen Billy Tanauer German Der Solist Philip Lanart Television series, 4 episodes 1999–2003 2000 U-571 Kapitänleutnant Günther Wassner English 2001 Hostile Takeover Robert Fernau German The Knights of the Quest Vanni Delle Rondini English 2002 Blade II Eli Damaskinos The Pianist Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld 2003 24 Max Episodes: "Day 2: 6:00 a.m.–7:00 a.m." & "Day 2: 7:00 a.m.–8:00 a.m." 2004 In Enemy Hands First Watch Officer Ludwig Cremer Immortal Nikopol FrenchEnglish Downfall SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein German Resident Evil: Apocalypse Major Timothy Cain English The Karate Dog Gerber Television film Head in the Clouds Major Franz Bietrich Frankenstein Dr. Victor Helios Television film 2005 Schneeland Aron German Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II English Television film King Kong Captain Englehorn King Kong: The Video Game Video game 2006 Grimm Love Oliver Hartwin Best Actor, Sitges 2006 (shared with co-star Thomas Huber) Best Actor, PiFan 2007 (shared with co-star Thomas Huber) The Celestine Prophecy Wil 24: The Game Max Video game 2007 Next Mr. Smith In Transit Max Eichmann Adolf Eichmann Bionic Woman The Man Television series (episode one) Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps Paul German 2008 Wanted Cross English Transsiberian Kolzak Mogadischu Captain Jürgen Schumann German Television film Captain Wolf Larsen Valkyrie Otto Ernst Remer English 2009 The Young Victoria King Leopold I of Belgium King Conqueror Archbishop of Tarragona Wanted: Weapons of Fate Cross Video game FlashForward Stefan Krieger Television series 2010 Maximilian Schnell German Television film 2011 Cars 2 Professor Z English German Voice The Sinking of the Laconia Admiral Dönitz Television film – BBC Productions Jungle Child Klaus Kuegler German The Cape Gregor The Great English Television series Hostel: Part III Flemming Direct-to-DVD What a Man Jens German 2012 Dracula 3D Dracula English The River Captain Kurt Brynildson Television series 2013 Dracula Abraham Van Helsing Television series Stalingrad Peter Kahn Russian, German Open Grave Lukas English The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden Friedrich Ritter Narration/voice 2014 Plastic Marcel United Passions Horst Dassler Captain America: The Winter Soldier Baron Wolfgang von Strucker Uncredited cameo; mid-credits scene 2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron Hitman: Agent 47 Le Clerq Spectre Hannes Oberhauser Photograph only 2016 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Airplane Passenger Central Intelligence The Buyer Stratton Grigory Barovsky 2017 The Blue Mauritius Holtz The Saint Rayt Marius Jungle Karl A Taxi Driver Jürgen Hinzpeter / Peter Korean German Berlin Station Otto Ganz English TV series 2018 Dragged Across Concrete Lorentz Vogelmann Balloon Oberstleutnant Seidel German Lore Inspector Georg Reingruber English TV series Discarnate Dr. Andre Mason 2019 Project Blue Book Wernher von Braun TV series 2020 Waiting for Anya Nazi Corporal German Westworld Gerald English TV series Das Boot Friedrich Berger German Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Hoss English Greyhound Captain of The U-Boat Grey Wolf 2021 American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally Joseph Goebbels Biohackers Baron Von Fürstenberg German TV series, season 2 2023 Infinity Pool Detective Thresh English Last Sentinel Sergeant Hendrich Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Colonel Weber Gran Turismo Patrice Capa Deliver Us Father Saul 2024 American Star Upgraded Putin TBA Samo LivesPost-production

Awards Best Young Actor (Der Mitwisser), Max Ophüls Festival, 1991 Best Actor (Rohtenburg), Sitges – Catalan International Film Festival, 2006 Best Actor (Rohtenburg), Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, 2007