Michael Gwisdek

Michael Gwisdek — Biography

Michael Gwisdek trained at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts and worked on stage with Berlin's Volksbühne and the Deutsches Theater ensembles. His acting life began in East Germany in 1968 and ran across more than 130 productions, with his real breakout on screen coming in 1983 through Olle Henry. When he first stepped behind the camera with Treffen in Travers, the result became the first East German picture admitted into Cannes' Un Certain Regard lineup, in 1989. His own 1998 feature, Das Mambospiel, competed at the 48th Berlin Film Festival, and a year later his turn in Nachtgestalten brought him the Silver Bear at the 49th Berlinale. Following German reunification he became most identified with his parts in Nachtgestalten, Good Bye, Lenin! and Oh Boy, generally cast as comic, wistful, offbeat figures; he was also a recurring presence across episodes of the long-running crime series Tatort.

Gwisdek wed the actress Corinna Harfouch in 1985, and the pair split in 1997; before marrying they had already had two sons, the musician Johannes and the actor Robert. Soon after parting from Harfouch, he settled into a second marriage with Gabriela.