Peter Kurth (born 4 April 1957) is a German actor. He won the 2016 German Film Award for Best Actor for portraying a former boxer diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the drama film A Heavy Heart.
Peter Kurth | |
|---|---|
 Kurth in 2018 | |
| Born | 4 April 1957 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1981–present |
Early life
editKurth was born on 4 April 1957 in Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany.[1] Growing up in Goldberg, he frequently visited the local movie theater, later citing it as an influence on his decision to become an actor.[2] He attended the state drama school in Rostock from 1978 to 1981.[1]
Career
editAfter graduating from drama school, Kurth performed at Theater für junge Leute in Magdeburg from 1981 to 1984 and at Theater der Altmark in Stendal from 1984 to 1988. He then moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz), where he performed at Städtisches Theater.[1] In 1997, Kurth joined the Schauspiel Leipzig in Leipzig, where he also taught drama.[3] He moved to Hamburg in 2000 to perform at the Thalia Theater.[4] He joined the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin in 2006, and later transferred to the Stuttgart Drama Theater.[4][2]
Kurth was named Actor of the Year by the German theater magazine Theater heute in 2014.[2] He won the German Film Award for Best Actor, as well as the Deutscher Schauspielpreis (German Actor Award), for the 2015 film A Heavy Heart in which he played Herbert, a boxer diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).[5][6] Kurth prepared extensively for the role, gaining 35 pounds (16 kg) in the months before filming to physically resemble a former boxer, before losing his newly gained weight over the course of the 35-day shoot to portray Herbert's ALS progression.[7] Scott Roxborough of The Hollywood Reporter called Kurth's portrayal of Herbert an "acting master class".[7]
In 2018, Kurth was nominated for the Deutscher Fernsehpreis award for Best Actor, for his role as Detective Bruno Wolter in the German neo-noir television series Babylon Berlin.[8]
Personal life
editKurth is married and has two children.[3]
Selected filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Good Bye, Lenin! | "X-TV" chef | [9] |
| 2003 | Wolfsburg | Oliver | [10] |
| 2005 | Ghosts | Foreman | [11] |
| 2006 | A Friend of Mine | Fernandez | [12] |
| 2008 | 1 May: All Belongs to You | Harry | [13] |
| 2008 | Without You I'm Nothing | Hans-Gert | |
| 2009 | Whisky with Vodka | Herbert | [14] |
| 2010 | In the Shadows | Richard Bauer | [15] |
| 2013 | Gold | Wilhelm Laser | [16] |
| 2014 | Schmitke | Julius Schmitke | [17] |
| 2015 | The Small and the Wicked | Hotte Mazocha | |
| 2015 | A Heavy Heart | Herbert | [7] |
| 2018 | In the Aisles | Bruno | [18] |
| 2018 | Sew the Winter to My Skin | General Helmut Botha | [19] |
| 2020 | Christmas Crossfire | Rainer | [20] |
| 2021 | Next Door | Bruno | |
| 2022 | Dark Satellites |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Babylon Berlin | Bruno Wolter | [21] | |
| 2019 | Criminal: Germany | Jochen Müller | Episode: "Jochen" | [22] |
| 2020 | Altes Land | Hinni Lührs | 2 episodes | [23] |
| 2021 | Sörensen hat Angst | Jens Schäffler | Television film | [24] |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Peter Kurth". filmportal.de. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ a b c Heidmann, Patrick. "A Portrait of Actor Peter Kurth". German Films Quarterly. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ a b Karl, Frieda (6 December 2000). "Der Schauspieler Peter Kurth gehört seit dieser Spielzeit zum Thalia-Ensemble - Sonnabend spielt er den 'Liliom' Premiere für den Kiez-Casanova". Hamburger Morgenpost (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ a b "Peter Kurth" (in German). Weltbild. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ Mund, Heike (29 May 2016). "Deutscher Filmpreis: Sechs Lolas für 'Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer'". Deutsche Welle (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Schauspielerpreis für Claudia Eisinger und Peter Kurth". Berlin.de. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ a b c Roxborough, Scott (18 September 2015). "TIFF: 'A Heavy Heart' Marks Impressive Debut from New German Talent". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Diese Schauspieler hoffen auf den Deutschen Fernsehpreis". Berliner Morgenpost. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ Fisher, Jaimey (2013). Christian Petzold. University of Illinois Press. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-2520-9523-8. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Ghosts". Shot in Berlin. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (14 March 2007). "A Friend of Mine". Variety. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "1.Mai (2008)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Whisky mit Wodka (2009)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Im Schatten (2010)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Gold: Berlin Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ Kerr, Elizabeth (20 October 2014). "'Schmitke': Busan Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Laffly, Tomris (14 June 2019). "In the Aisles". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ Langa, Phumlani S (8 February 2019). "Sew the Winter to My Skin is another local film you can't miss". News24. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ Schwikert, Martin (28 November 2020). "Gekränkte Männlichkeit: Detlev Bucks schwarze Komödie 'Wir können nicht anders'". RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "Get On the Babylon Berlin Train Before Season 3 of the Crime Drama Comes to Netflix". The Palm Beach Post. TV Guide. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Freitag, Jan (24 September 2019). "Hinter den Spiegeln". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ von Festenberg, Nikolaus (15 November 2020). "Graswurzeln unter Obstbäumen". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 9 February 2021.
- ^ "'Sörensen hat Angst': Bjarne Mädel stolz auf Regiedebüt". Die Zeit (in German). Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
External links
edit- Peter Kurth at IMDb
