Otto Sander
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Otto Sander (German: [ˈɔtoː ˈzandɐ]; June 30, 1941 – September 12, 2013) was a German film, theater, and voice actor. Sander grew up in Kassel, where he graduated in 1961 from the Friedrichgymnasium. After leaving school he spent his military service in 1961/62 with the Bundesmarine and left as reserve fenrik. Sander then studied theatre science, history of art and philosophy. In 1965 he made his acting debut at the Düsseldorfer chamber plays. After his first film work in the same year he abandoned his studies in 1967, and went to Munich to become a full-time actor. His career is closely connected with the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin under the direction of Peter Stein. From 1980 onwards Sander appeared on several of Berlin's theatre stages, among others at the Schillertheater in 1981, at the Freie Volksbühne in 1985 and in 1989 at the Komödie am Kurfürstendamm. More recently he starred in Hauptmann von Köpenick at the Schauspielhaus Bochum (2004). In 1990, he was a member of the Jury at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. Among his best-known film roles are the angel Cassiel in Wings of Desire and its sequel Faraway, So Close! by Wim Wenders, and a shell-shocked U-boat commander, Kapitänleutnant Philipp Thomsen, in Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot. Sander also appeared in The Tin Drum (1979) as a trumpeter and in Comedian Harmonists, a biopic about the musical group of the same name. He also played a professor in the movie The Promise about the division of Berlin by the wall. In 1999 he played a role in Rosa von Praunheim's movie The Einstein of Sex.
Known for
Credits
Das Boot (1981)
as Phillip Thomsen
The Tin Drum (1979)
as Meyn
Wings of Desire (1987)
as Cassiel
Krabat (2008)
as Narrator (voice)
Wahnfried (1986)
as Richard Wagner
Die Mutter (1971)
Actor
Faraway, So Close! (1993)
as Cassiel
Die Bakchen (1974)
as Tiresias
The Ignoramus and the Madman (1972)
Actor
The Marquise of O (1976)
as Brother, Forstmeister
Conversation with the Beast (1997)
as Adolf Hitler Double
Killer Condom (1996)
as Mr. Higgins
The Harmonists (1997)
Actor
Werner - Gekotzt wird später! (2003)
as Erzähler (voice)
Rosa Luxemburg (1986)
as Karl Liebknecht
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg (1973)
as Obrist Kottwitz
Summer Guests (1976)
as Pjotr Suslov
About Narration (2025)
Actor
Majestät brauchen Sonne (1999)
as Kaiser Wilhelm II (voice)
The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld (2000)
as Professor Steinach
Vorwärts (1990)
Actor
A Love in Germany (1983)
as Narrator
Lumière & Company (1995)
as Cassiel (segment "Wim Wenders")
Am I Beautiful? (1998)
as David
Liebe Lügen (1997)
as Vater
Movie Days (1994)
as Maður á hesti
Plastikfieber (1979)
as Wilfried
Werner and the Wizard of Booze (1990)
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter (2013)
as Himself
The Promise (1995)
as Professor Lorenz
Kaluoka'hina: The Enchanted Reef (2004)
as Narrator (voice)
Der Mond scheint auf Kylenamoe (1980)
Actor
Matulla und Busch (1995)
as Korte
Close Up (1987)
as Professor Spalt
Girls under investigation (1999)
as Staatsanwalt Baldur Meixner
Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story (2021)
as Self
Schlusschor (1993)
Actor
Time of Vengeance (1990)
as Robert
Fly Away (2012)
as Eckehardt Tiedgen
The Heart Is a Dark Forest (2007)
as Helmut
Trilogie des Wiedersehens (1979)
as Richard
Meine Sorgen möcht' ich haben (1975)
as Harald Bornemann
Four Against the Bank (1976)
as Eberhard Winter
Hölderlin-Comics (1994)
Actor
Life Is Too Long (2010)
Actor
Nikolaikirche (1995)
as kirchlicher Superintendent
Sonntags am Meer (1970)
as Fritzchen
Boundaries of Time - Caspar David Friedrich (1986)
as Gerichtsgehilfe
Who's Going Crazy Here, Doctor? (1981)
as Nummer Sieben
Männer sind wie Schokolade (1999)
as Vater Lano
Berlin 10. 11. 74 - 28. 1. 75: Exercises in 9 Pieces (1975)
as Himself
Sass (2001)
as Vater Sass
Der Mann im Pyjama (1981)
as Rudi
One or the Other of Us (1974)
as Rulle Ruhlsdorff
The Olympic Summer (1993)
as Sprecher
Die Ängste des Dr. Schenk (1978)
Actor
Inge, April und Mai (1993)
Actor
Das Loch (1995)
as Der Mann
Strike Back (1981)
as Kowalski
The Danube (2003)
as Franz
Lyrische Suite. Das untergehende Vaterland (1992)
Actor
The Break (1989)
as Erwin Lubowitz
Marlene (2000)
as Bühnenmanager
Little King Macius (2007)
as Erasmus (voice)
Aus Liebe zu Deutschland - Eine Spendenaffäre (2003)
as Voice
The Case of Mr. Spalt (1988)
as Otto Spalt
Der Mord mit der Schere (1984)
as Inspector Spalt
E-m@il an Gott (1999)
as Petrus
100 Pro (2001)
as Narrator
Phantom (1979)
Actor
Der Kuß des Vergessens (1999)
as Herr Jelke
Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us (2003)
as Self
Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars (1986)
as Loan officer Grop
Im Schlaraffenland. Ein Roman unter feinen Leuten (1981)
as Kalfisch
Sonnabend, der 1. (1970)
Actor
Stan Becker - Auf eigene Faust (1998)
as Walker
Die Schuld der Erben (2012)
as Leonhard Asmussen
Three Sisters (1994)
as Vershinin
Bauernschach (1995)
as Dr. Gerold Stadler
Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois (1982)
as Self
No Pawing, Darling (1970)
Actor
Gesucht wird... Drei Geschichten um nicht ganz ehrenwerte Herren (1981)
Actor
Atlantic Affairs (2002)
as Maitre de Plaisir on Stage
Palermo or Wolfsburg (1980)
as Staatsanwalt
Wie du mir.. (1989)
as Markus Petarka
Drei Schwestern (1986)
as Alexander Ignatjewitsch Werschinin
Die Ursache (1980)
Actor
The Film Narrator (1993)
as Salzmann
The White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang (1994)
as Prof. Hinzelmann
Tödliches Vertrauen (2002)
as Bernd Kortens
Ermittlungen gegen Unbekannt (1974)
Actor
Eine Reise wert… Der Dichter Günter Kunert (be)sucht Berlin (1986)
as Rezitation
Heinrich Zille (1977)
Actor
Lehmanns Erzählungen (1975)
as Lehmann
Bescheiß kein Kind! (1992)
as Vater
Happy Too (2002)
as Himself / Gert Bastian
Ludwig (1964)
as Ludwig