Thomas Kretschmann was born in East Germany. Before becoming an actor he was a swimmer. He has acted in several popular American movies, such as Resident Evil: Apocalypse, The Pianist, U-571, In Enemy Hands, etc. He now lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend Lena and their three children, Nicolas, Stella and Sascha.
Received the Max Ophüls Prize for best young actor in 1991 Started working as an actor at the age of 25, after being trained to be an Olympic swimmer Has played a Nazi officer in six different, completely unrelated films: Stalingrad, U-571, The Pianist, In Enemy Hands, The Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich and Head in the Clouds. Will collaborate again with his "The Pianist" co-star Adrien Brody in "King Kong." Incidentally, both of Kretschmann's roles with Brody are as captains, albeit of a very different type (in Pianist, he played a Nazi officer with a conscience, in Kong he plays a tough boat captain guiding a film crew). He has three children: one son, Nicolas, one daughter, Stella and another child, with his girlfriend Lena. Aged 19 he began a month-long trek from East to West Germany to escape Communism, during which he lost part of his finger to frostbite. He crossed 4 borders with nothing other than a passport and the equivalent of $100 in his possession. He played a Nazi in 'The Pianist', and, in 'Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II', he played Pope John Paul II, who (as the movie shows) fought against and tried to protect people from the Nazis. Made his stage debut in "Macbeth", directed by Katharina Thalbach.