Armin Mueller-Stahl

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19 Feb 2024

Armin Mueller-Stahl

Armin Mueller-Stahl, born on December 17, 1930, is a renowned German film actor, painter, and author. While primarily known for his work in German cinema, he has also made significant appearances in English-language films since the 1980s. Mueller-Stahl's talent and versatility have garnered him critical acclaim, including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film "Shine."
In recognition of his contributions to cinema, Mueller-Stahl was honored with the prestigious Honorary Golden Bear award in 2011. Throughout his career, he has showcased his skills across a diverse range of roles, establishing himself as one of Germany's most esteemed actors on the international stage.

Armin Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia, which is now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia. His mother, Editta, hailed from an upper-class family and went on to become a university professor in Leipzig. His father, Alfred Müller, worked as a bank teller and decided to change the family's surname to "Mueller-Stahl."
During World War II, while his father served on the Eastern Front, the rest of the family relocated to Berlin. As a teenager, Mueller-Stahl demonstrated his musical talent as a concert violinist. However, he later pursued his interest in acting and enrolled at an East Berlin acting school in 1952, marking the beginning of his journey in the performing arts.

Armin Mueller-Stahl established himself as a prominent film and stage actor in East Germany, appearing in notable productions such as "Her Third" and "Jacob the Liar." He also played the lead role in the popular television series "Das unsichtbare Visier" from 1973 to 1979, a spy thriller program developed with the cooperation of the Stasi, intended as a counterpart to the James Bond franchise. However, his career trajectory took a turn when he protested against the denaturalization of Wolf Biermann in 1976, leading to his blacklisting by the East German government.
In 1980, Mueller-Stahl made the decision to emigrate to West Germany, where he found consistent work in the film industry. He appeared in several notable films, including Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Lola" (1981) and "Veronika Voss" (1982), Andrzej Wajda's "A Love in Germany" (1984), and the Academy Award-nominated Hungarian-West German film "Colonel Redl" (1985), which depicted the scandal involving Austro-Hungarian Army Colonel Alfred Redl.
His career continued to thrive when he played the role of the Soviet general overseeing the occupied United States in the 1987 ABC television miniseries "Amerika." Mueller-Stahl made his American feature film debut in "Music Box" (1989), portraying Jessica Lange's character's father. His portrayal of a Jewish immigrant in the 1990 film "Avalon" earned widespread acclaim. He then took on character roles in Steven Soderbergh's "Kafka" and Jim Jarmusch's "Night on Earth," both released in 1991.

Here is Armin Mueller-Stahl's filmography:

Heimliche Ehen (1956), as Norbert
Die Flucht aus der Hölle (1960), as Hans Röder
Five Cartridges (1960), as Pierre Gireau
Star-Crossed Lovers (1962), as Michael
… und deine Liebe auch (1962), as Ullrich Settich
Naked among Wolves (1963), as André Höfel
Christine (1963)
Preludio 11 (1964), as Quintana
Alaskafüchse (1964), as Sowjetischer Arzt
Wolf Among Wolves (1965, TV series), as Wolfgang Pagel
Ein Lord am Alexanderplatz (1967), as Dr. Achim Engelhardt
Ways across the Country (1968), as Jürgen Leßtorff
Tödlicher Irrtum (1970), as Chris Howard
Her Third (1972), as The Blind Man
Januskopf (1972), as Dr. Brock
Die Hosen des Ritters von Bredow (1973), as Dechant von Krummensee
Kit & Co [de] (1974), as Mr. Slavovitz
Jacob the Liar (1974), as Roman Schtamm
Nelken in Aspik (1976), as Wolfgang Schmidt
Das unsichtbare Visier (1973–1976, TV series), as Werner Bredebusch
Die Flucht (1977), as Schmidt
Lola (1981), as Von Bohm
Collin [de] (1981, TV film), as Andreas Roth
Veronika Voss (1982), as Max Rehbein
God Does Not Believe in Us Anymore [fr] (1982), as 'Gandhi'
The Lite Trap [de] (1982), as Harald Liebe
Wings of Night (1982), as Goedel
Embers (1983), as François Korb / Andres Korb
The Train Killer [hu] (1983), as Tetzlav
Un dimanche de flic [fr] (1983), as The Lawyer
The Wounded Man (1983), as Henri's Father
A Love in Germany (1983), as Mayer
Trauma [fr] (1984), as Sam
Rita Ritter (1984)
Thousand Eyes [de] (1984), as Arnold
Crooks in Paradise (1985, TV film), as Otto Flamm
Colonel Redl (1985), as Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Angry Harvest (1985), as Leon Wolny
Die Mitläufer (1985)
Forget Mozart (1985), as Graf Pergen
The Assault of the Present on the Rest of Time (1985), as Blind Director
Close-Up (1985, TV film), as Dold
Momo (1986), as Leader of the Men in Grey
Franza (1986, TV film), as Jordan
Amerika (1987, TV miniseries), as General Petya Samanov
Our Man in the Jungle [de] (1987), as Lutz Kehlmann
Jokehnen (1987, TV miniseries), as Karl Steputat
Lethal Obsession (1987), as Axel Baumgartner
A Touch of Danger [de] (1988, TV film), as Max Telligan
Midnight Cop a.k.a. Killing Blue (1988), as Inspector Alex Glass
Spider's Web (1989), as Baron von Rastchuk
CAS*H: A Political Fairy Tale [de] (1989), as Maxwell
A hecc (1989), as Marnó, kabinos, Tamás barátja
Music Box (1989), as Mike Laszlo
Avalon (1990), as Sam Krichinsky
Night on Earth (1991), as Helmut Grokenberger
Kafka (1991), as Grubach
Bronstein's Children [de] (1991), as Aaron
Utz (1992), as Baron Kaspar Joachim von Utz
The Power of One (1992), as Doc
Far from Berlin (1992), as Otto Lindner
Red Hot (1993), as Dimitri
The Movie Teller [de; cy] (1993), as Movie Teller
The House of the Spirits (1993), as Severo
Taxandria (1994), as Karol / Virgilus
Holy Matrimony (1994), as Wilhelm
The Last Good Time (1994), as Joseph Kopple
A Pyromaniac's Love Story (1995), as Mr. Linzer
Theodore Rex (1995), as Elizar Kane
Shine (1996), as Peter
Conversation with the Beast (1996), as Adolf Hitler
The Ogre (1996), as Count von Kaltenborn
In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1997, TV Movie), as Rabbi Adam Heller
12 Angry Men (1997, TV Movie), as Juror #4
The Game (1997), as Anson Baer
The Assistant (1997), as Mr. Morris Bober
The Peacemaker (1997), as Dimitri Vertikoff
The Commissioner (1998), as Hans Koenig
The X-Files (1998), as Strughold
The Thirteenth Floor (1999), as Hannon Fuller / Grierson
The Third Miracle (1999), as Werner
Jakob the Liar (1999), as Kirschbaum
Jesus (1999, TV film), as Joseph
Mission to Mars (2000), as Ray Beck (uncredited)
Pilgrim (2000), as Mac
The Long Run (2001), as Bertold 'Barry' Bohmer
Die Manns – Ein Jahrhundertroman (2001, TV miniseries), as Thomas Mann
The Story of an African Farm (2004), as Otto
The West Wing (2004, TV series, 4 episodes), as Israeli Prime Minister Efraim 'Eli' Zahavy
The Dust Factory (2004), as Grandpa Randolph
Local Color (2006), as Nicholi Seroff
I Am the Other Woman [de] (2006), as Karl Winter
Eastern Promises (2007), as Semyon
Buddenbrooks (2008), as Johann 'Jean' Buddenbrook
The International (2009), as Wilhelm Wexler
Angels & Demons (2009), as Cardinal Strauss
Attack on Leningrad (2009), as Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb
Knight of Cups (2015), as Fr. Zeitlinger