Person
Otto Sander
Hanover, Germany
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 th…
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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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2025
About Narration
Movie
- 2021
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2013
Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter
Movie Himself
-
2012
Fly Away
Movie Eckehardt Tiedgen
-
2012
Die Schuld der Erben
Movie Leonhard Asmussen
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2010
Life Is Too Long
Movie
-
2008
Krabat
Movie Narrator (voice)
-
2007
The Heart Is a Dark Forest
Movie Helmut
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2007
Little King Macius
Movie Erasmus (voice)
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2006
Unter kaiserlicher Flagge
TV show Erzähler / Narrator
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2005
Vienna Crime Squad
TV show Conrad Ribarski
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2004
Kaluoka'hina: The Enchanted Reef
Movie Narrator (voice)
-
2004
Leute am Donnerstag
TV show himself
-
2003
Aus Liebe zu Deutschland - Eine Spendenaffäre
Movie Voice
-
2003
The Danube
Movie Franz
-
2003
Werner - Gekotzt wird später!
Movie Erzähler (voice)
More credits
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2003
Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us
Movie Self
-
2002
Tödliches Vertrauen
Movie Bernd Kortens
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2002
Atlantic Affairs
Movie Maitre de Plaisir on Stage
-
2002
Ein roter Teppich für....
TV show Self
-
2002
Happy Too
Movie Himself / Gert Bastian
-
2002
Through the Night with...
TV show Self
-
2002
Gero von Boehm begegnet...
TV show Self
-
2002
Das Jahrhundert des Theaters
TV show Narrator
-
2001
100 Pro
Movie Narrator
-
2001
Sass
Movie Vater Sass
-
2000
Preußen – Chronik eines deutschen Staates
TV show Self (Narrator)
-
2000
Les Misérables
TV show Monseigneur Bienvenu
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2000
The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld
Movie Professor Steinach
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2000
Marlene
Movie Bühnenmanager
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1999
E-m@il an Gott
Movie Petrus
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1999
Majestät brauchen Sonne
Movie Kaiser Wilhelm II (voice)
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1999
Girls under investigation
Movie Staatsanwalt Baldur Meixner
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1999
Männer sind wie Schokolade
Movie Vater Lano
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1999
Der Kuß des Vergessens
Movie Herr Jelke
-
1998
The Shop
TV show
-
1998
Stan Becker - Auf eigene Faust
Movie Walker
-
1998
Am I Beautiful?
Movie David
-
1998
The Johannes B. Kerner Show
TV show Self
-
1997
The Harmonists
Movie
