Thomas Kretschmann is a German actor who conquered not only Hollywood, but also starred in the films of Russian directors: "Stalingrad" by Fyodor Bondarchuk and "Wanted" by Timur Bekmambetov.
Biography
Thomas Kretschmann was born on September 8, 1962 in the small town of Dessau, located in Saxony-Anhalt, East Germany. Thomas's parents separated even before he was born, and his mother gave him her last name.
Working as a school director, she could not always pay due attention to the boy, and so that he would not dangle around, she sent six-year-old Thomas to the swimming section. Soon Thomas began to show good results, and the ability to perform assigned tasks. When he was ten years old, on the recommendation of a coach and with the consent of his mother, he was transferred to a boarding school in Halle, and later he became a member of the Olympic swimming team. And by the age of 19, Thomas Kretschmann was the owner of several champion titles. But due to intense training and taking pills for quick physical recovery, he began to have health problems. And he did not want to associate his whole future life with swimming. Therefore, after finishing his career as a swimmer and not finding support from his family, Thomas fled to West Germany, having only a passport and a hundred-dollar bill in his pocket. His journey lasted about a month and passed through the borders of Hungary, Yugoslavia and Austria.
Having reached Berlin, the twenty-one-year-old Thomas Kretschmann decided to try his hand at acting. Sporty, with a daring look, but at the same time discreet, he attracted attention. However, due to the lack of any acting skills, Thomas was refused time after time at the next casting. But the novice actor is not used to giving up, so he spent all the money he could earn on studying at the Kreis school, where he studied acting. And already in 1987 he was invited to work at the Schiller Theater, and in 1989 he got his first role in the TV series "Accomplice", where he played a juvenile killer. This role earned Thomas Kretschmann his first Wobbly Max Ophüls Prize for Best Aspiring Actor.
Career
The young actor was immediately noticed by the director Josef Vilsmaier, who was preparing for the filming of the film "Stalingrad", which was released in 1993. He offered Thomas the role of Lieutenant Hans von Witzland, to which he agreed. In the role of Lieutenant, Thomas Kretschmann proved himself to be a deep dramatic actor and received international recognition.
The actor has become in demand not only among German directors, but also directors from other countries. He starred in "Queen Margot" by French director Patrice Chereau (1994), "Walking in the Dark" by Italian director Massimo Spano (1996). Because of the filming, Thomas was forced to live in France, then in Italy, then in Berlin. But he wanted more and, in the end, decided to move to America, in the hope of conquering Hollywood.
In Hollywood for Thomas, the first film was "Absolute Reality" (1997), and the breakthrough - the military action movie "U-571" (2000). From that moment on, the show business of Hollywood opened the doors to the German actor. Roman Polanski cast Thomas as Captain Wilm Hosenfeld in his 2002 film The Pianist. The film won the Palme d'Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, as well as three Academy Awards.
Therefore, although the role of the captain was the shortest role in Thomas's career, it was also the most important. It was with this role that Thomas Kretschmann's success in Hollywood began. In subsequent years, many famous directors expressed a desire to work with him. He took part in such films as "Head in the Clouds" (2003), "Bunker" (2004), "Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse" (2004), "The Prophet" (2007).
Russian directors also drew attention to Thomas Kretschmann. Having an interest in everything new, Thomas first responded to Timur Bekmambetov's offer to star in his film "Wanted" (2008). Moreover, his partners on the set were Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. He also accepted the proposal of director Fyodor Bondarchuk, starring in the military drama "Stalingrad" (2013). Filming in this picture for Thomas was a kind of reference to his role as Lieutenant Hans von Witzland, with whom his acting career began.
And already in 2015, 4 films with the participation of Thomas were released at once: "Agent 47", "Avengers: Age of Ultron", "Man in a Box" and "The Emperor".
Thomas Kretschmann has achieved success not only on the set, working in 4-6 films at the same time, but also voicing cartoon characters. In addition, he participated in photo shoots of famous fashion houses, and also created his own line of jeans.
Personal life
Thomas met his first wife when he decided to conquer Hollywood. Lena Roklin became for him not only a faithful wife in 1997, but also the actor's personal agent. With the royalties earned, the couple bought a house where the spouses Cher and Sonny Bono once lived. And already in 1998, Thomas and Lena had their first-born son, Nicholas. In 1999, daughter Stella was born, and in 2002 another son, Alexander. But even the children could not keep the couple from divorcing, and in early 2009, Thomas officially announced the separation. The reason for this was the Iranian model Shermin Shahrivar. The actor was in a relationship with her from March 2009 to June 2010. In 2011, Thomas Kretschmann began dating model and actress Brittany Rice.
Today Thomas Kretschmann lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
