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
Am I Beautiful? (1998)
as David
A Love in Germany (1983)
as Narrator
Werner and the Wizard of Booze (1990)
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Faraway, So Close! (1993)
as Cassiel
Krabat (2008)
as Narrator (voice)
The Killer Condom (1996)
as Mr. Higgins
Die Mutter (1971)
Actor
Die Bakchen (1974)
as Tiresias
Lumière & Company (1995)
as Cassiel (segment "Wim Wenders")
The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld (2000)
as Professor Steinach
Liebe Lügen (1997)
as Vater
Rosa Luxemburg (1986)
as Karl Liebknecht
Wahnfried (1986)
as Richard Wagner
Schlusschor (1993)
Actor
The Marquise of O (1976)
as Brother, Forstmeister
The Harmonists (1997)
Actor
About Narration (2025)
Actor
Marlene (2000)
as Bühnenmanager
Werner - Gekotzt wird später! (2003)
as Erzähler (voice)
Hölderlin-Comics (1994)
Actor
Movie Days (1994)
as Maður á hesti
Life Is Too Long (2010)
Actor
The Break (1989)
as Erwin Lubowitz
Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story (2021)
as Self
Vorwärts (1990)
Actor
Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us (2003)
as Self
Conversation with the Beast (1997)
as Adolf Hitler Double
Nikolaikirche (1995)
as kirchlicher Superintendent
Strike Back (1981)
as Kowalski
The Promise (1995)
as Professor Lorenz
Summer Guests (1976)
as Pjotr Suslov
Sass (2001)
as Vater Sass
The Film Narrator (1993)
as Salzmann
Der Mann im Pyjama (1981)
as Rudi
Wie du mir.. (1989)
as Markus Petarka
Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars (1986)
as Loan officer Grop
100 Pro (2001)
as Narrator
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg (1973)
as Obrist Kottwitz
Fly Away (2012)
as Eckehardt Tiedgen
Der Kuß des Vergessens (1999)
as Herr Jelke
One or the Other of Us (1974)
as Rulle Ruhlsdorff
Four Against the Bank (1976)
as Eberhard Winter
Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois (1982)
as Self
Close Up (1987)
as Professor Spalt
The Heart Is a Dark Forest (2007)
as Helmut
Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter (2013)
as Himself
Matulla und Busch (1995)
as Korte
Girls under investigation (1999)
as Staatsanwalt Baldur Meixner
Aus Liebe zu Deutschland - Eine Spendenaffäre (2003)
as Voice
Happy Too (2002)
as Himself / Gert Bastian
Majestät brauchen Sonne (1999)
as Kaiser Wilhelm II (voice)
Das Loch (1995)
as Der Mann
Gesucht wird... Drei Geschichten um nicht ganz ehrenwerte Herren (1981)
Actor
The Ignoramus and the Madman (1972)
Actor
The Danube (2003)
as Franz
Die Ursache (1980)
Actor
The Case of Mr. Spalt (1988)
as Otto Spalt
Ermittlungen gegen Unbekannt (1974)
Actor
E-m@il an Gott (1999)
as Petrus
Three Sisters (1994)
as Vershinin
Heinrich Zille (1977)
Actor
Stan Becker - Auf eigene Faust (1998)
as Walker
Trilogie des Wiedersehens (1979)
as Richard
Die Ängste des Dr. Schenk (1978)
Actor
Who's Going Crazy Here, Doctor? (1981)
as Nummer Sieben
Little King Macius (2007)
as Erasmus (voice)
Palermo or Wolfsburg (1980)
as Staatsanwalt
Im Schlaraffenland. Ein Roman unter feinen Leuten (1981)
as Kalfisch
Bauernschach (1995)
as Dr. Gerold Stadler
The Olympic Summer (1993)
as Sprecher
Time of Vengeance (1990)
as Robert
Boundaries of Time - Caspar David Friedrich (1986)
as Gerichtsgehilfe
Plastikfieber (1979)
as Wilfried
Phantom (1979)
Actor
Atlantic Affairs (2002)
as Maitre de Plaisir on Stage
Lehmanns Erzählungen (1975)
as Lehmann
Drei Schwestern (1986)
as Alexander Ignatjewitsch Werschinin
Die Schuld der Erben (2012)
as Leonhard Asmussen
Inge, April und Mai (1993)
Actor
Der Mond scheint auf Kylenamoe (1980)
Actor
Tödliches Vertrauen (2002)
as Bernd Kortens
Meine Sorgen möcht' ich haben (1975)
as Harald Bornemann
Sonntags am Meer (1970)
as Fritzchen
Bescheiß kein Kind! (1992)
as Vater
Ludwig (1964)
as Ludwig
No Pawing, Darling (1970)
Actor
The White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang (1994)
as Prof. Hinzelmann
Kaluoka'hina: The Enchanted Reef (2004)
as Narrator (voice)
Männer sind wie Schokolade (1999)
as Vater Lano
Der Mord mit der Schere (1984)
as Inspector Spalt
Sonnabend, der 1. (1970)
Actor
Lyrische Suite. Das untergehende Vaterland (1992)
Actor
Berlin 10. 11. 74 - 28. 1. 75: Exercises in 9 Pieces (1975)
as Himself
Eine Reise wert… Der Dichter Günter Kunert (be)sucht Berlin (1986)
as Rezitation