Otto Sander
Acting
Born June 30, 1941 · 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 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.
Directed (1)
Acting (97)
About Narration
2025
Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story
2021
Roland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter
2013
Fly Away
2012
Die Schuld der Erben
2012
Life Is Too Long
2010
Krabat
2008
The Heart Is a Dark Forest
2007
Little King Macius
2007
Kaluoka'hina: The Enchanted Reef
2004
Aus Liebe zu Deutschland - Eine Spendenaffäre
2003
The Danube
2003
Werner - Gekotzt wird später!
2003
Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us
2003
Tödliches Vertrauen
2002
Atlantic Affairs
2002
Happy Too
2002
100 Pro
2001
Sass
2001
The Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld
2000
Marlene
2000
E-m@il an Gott
1999
Majestät brauchen Sonne
1999
Girls under investigation
1999
Männer sind wie Schokolade
1999
Der Kuß des Vergessens
1999
Stan Becker - Auf eigene Faust
1998
Am I Beautiful?
1998
The Harmonists
1997
Conversation with the Beast
1997
Liebe Lügen
1997
The Killer Condom
1996
Matulla und Busch
1995
Lumière & Company
1995
Nikolaikirche
1995
The Promise
1995
Bauernschach
1995
Das Loch
1995
The White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang
1994
Hölderlin-Comics
1994
Movie Days
1994
Three Sisters
1994
The Film Narrator
1993
The Olympic Summer
1993
Faraway, So Close!
1993
Inge, April und Mai
1993
Schlusschor
1993
Lyrische Suite. Das untergehende Vaterland
1992
Bescheiß kein Kind!
1992
Werner and the Wizard of Booze
1990
Vorwärts
1990
Time of Vengeance
1990
The Break
1989
Wie du mir..
1989
The Case of Mr. Spalt
1988
Wings of Desire
1987
Close Up
1987
Boundaries of Time - Caspar David Friedrich
1986
Drei Schwestern
1986
Miko: From the Gutter to the Stars
1986
Wahnfried
1986
Rosa Luxemburg
1986
Eine Reise wert… Der Dichter Günter Kunert (be)sucht Berlin
1986
Der Mord mit der Schere
1984
A Love in Germany
1983
Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois
1982
Der Mann im Pyjama
1981
Who's Going Crazy Here, Doctor?
1981
Das Boot
1981
Strike Back
1981
Gesucht wird... Drei Geschichten um nicht ganz ehrenwerte Herren
1981
Im Schlaraffenland. Ein Roman unter feinen Leuten
1981
Die Ursache
1980
Der Mond scheint auf Kylenamoe
1980
Palermo or Wolfsburg
1980
The Tin Drum
1979
Trilogie des Wiedersehens
1979
Phantom
1979
Plastikfieber
1979
Die Ängste des Dr. Schenk
1978
Heinrich Zille
1977
Four Against the Bank
1976
The Marquise of O
1976
Summer Guests
1976
Lehmanns Erzählungen
1975
Berlin 10. 11. 74 - 28. 1. 75: Exercises in 9 Pieces
1975
Meine Sorgen möcht' ich haben
1975
Die Bakchen
1974
One or the Other of Us
1974
Ermittlungen gegen Unbekannt
1974
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg
1973
The Ignoramus and the Madman
1972
Die Mutter
1971
Sonntags am Meer
1970
No Pawing, Darling
1970
Sonnabend, der 1.
1970
Ludwig
1964