Actor
Bruno Ganz
Born 22 March 1941 · Zürich, Switzerland — died 16 February 2019
Bruno Ganz (1941–2019) was a Swiss actor who rose to prominence on the German-language stage, including at Berlin's Schaubühne. In film he is best remembered as the angel in Wings of Desire and as Adolf Hitler in Downfall. He was a leading figure of European cinema.
Key films
The American Friend (1977)
Early international film role, in Wim Wenders' thriller, that brought him wider attention beyond the theatre.
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Played Jonathan Harker opposite Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's remake of the classic vampire story.
Wings of Desire (1987)
His signature role: Damiel, an angel who longs to become human, in Wenders' acclaimed Berlin fantasy.
Eternity and a Day (1998)
Led Theo Angelopoulos' meditative drama as a dying poet, a major arthouse role.
Downfall (2004)
His portrayal of Hitler's final days became one of the most widely discussed performances of his career.
Key awards
No major awards are documented here.
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 134
- 1960Der Herr mit der schwarzen Melone · as KammerdienerActor
- 1962A Roof Over Your Head · as Fred WeberActor
- 1962Chikita · as JazzfanActor
- 1964Der Spaßvogel · as JohnnyActor
- 1966Die UnberatenenActor
- 1966Frühlings Erwachen · as Moritz StiefelActor
- 1967The Soft Course · as Bernhard KrahlActor
- 1968Die Schlacht bei Lobositz · as Ulrich BraekerActor
- 1968Im Dickicht der Städte · as George GargaActor
- 1969Torquato Tasso · as Torquato TassoActor
- 1970Eine große Familie · as Heinz HallaschActor
- 1971Die MutterActor
- 1972The Ignoramus and the MadmanActor
- 1973Prinz Friedrich von Homburg · as Prinz Friedrich Arthur von HomburgActor
- 1974Die Bakchen · as PentheusActor
- 1976The Marquise of O · as Der GrafActor
- 1976Lumière · as Heinrich GrunActor
- 1976Summer Guests · as Jakov ShalimovActor
- 1976The Wild Duck · as Gregers WerleActor
- 1977The American Friend · as Jonathan ZimmermannActor
- 1978The Boys from Brazil · as Professor BrucknerActor
- 1978Knife in the Head · as HoffmannActor
- 1978The Left-Handed Woman · as BrunoActor
- 1978Black and White Like Day and Night · as Thomas RosemundActor
- 1979Nosferatu the Vampyre · as Jonathan HarkerActor
- 1979Return to the Beloved · as Dr. Stephan KernActor
- 1979The Making of 'Nosferatu' · as SelfActor
- 1980Lost and Found · as WernerActor
- 1980The Inventor · as Jakob NüssliActor
- 19805% de risque · as DavidActor
- 1980PolentaActor
- 1981Lady of the Camelias · as Count PerregauxActor
- 1981Circle of Deceit · as Georg LaschenActor
- 1981La provinciale · as Rémy MullerActor
- 1982Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois · as SelfActor
- 1982War and PeaceActor
- 1982Remembrance: Film for Curt BoisDirector
- 1982Logik des GefühlsActor
- 1982Before Your Eyes - VietnamActor
- 1983In the White City · as PaulActor
- 1983Closed Circuit · as FaberActor
- 1983Killer aus FloridaActor
- 1985Hands Up! · as Self (1981 footage)Actor
- 1985Private Resistance · as GustavActor
- 1986El río de oro · as PeterActor
- 1986Thomas Bernhard – Ein Widerspruch. »Die Ursache bin ich selbst« · as NarratorActor
- 1987Wings of Desire · as DamielActor
- 1988The Legendary Life of Ernest Hemingway · as Ezra PoundActor
- 1988Love of a Woman · as Franco BassaniActor
- 1989The Architecture of Doom · as German narrator (voice)Actor
- 1989Strapless · as Raymond ForbesActor
- 1989Bankomatt · as BrunoActor
- 1991Children of Nature · as EngillActor
- 1991Especially on Sunday · as VittorioActor
- 1991Success · as Jacques TüverlinActor
- 1992The Last Days of Chez Nous · as J.P.Actor
- 1992Prague · as JosefActor
- 1992Night on Fire · as Peter KellerActor
- 1992Le Quatuor des possibles · as NarrateurActor
- 1993Faraway, So Close! · as DamielActor
- 1993The Absence · as PlayerActor
- 1995Lumière & Company · as Damiel (segment "Wim Wenders")Actor
- 1995Diario senza dateActor
- 1996Saint-Ex · as Antoine de Saint-ExupéryActor
- 1997Deadly Silence · as Hans PlacheActor
- 1997St. Stephen's: The Living Cathedral · as Narrator (German voice)Actor
- 1998Eternity and a Day · as AlexandrosActor
- 1998Gegen Ende der Nacht · as FehleisenActor
- 1999You Can't Go Home Again · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2000Bread and Tulips · as Fernando GirasoliActor
- 2000WhoAfraidWolfActor
- 2000Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2000Antipasto UmbroActor
- 2000The End of an Eternity · as SelfActor
- 2001Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Faust II · as FaustActor
- 2001Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Faust I · as FaustActor
- 2002The Power of the Past · as BogliascoActor
- 2002Epsteins Nacht · as Adam RoseActor
- 2003Luther · as Johann von StaupitzActor
- 2003Wings of Desire: The Angels Among Us · as SelfActor
- 2003Behind Me · as SelfActor
- 2003Claudio Abbado: Hearing the Silence · as SelfActor
- 2004Downfall · as Adolf HitlerActor
- 2004The Manchurian Candidate · as DelpActor
- 2004Bruno Ganz - Ein europäischer Schauspieler · as SelfActor
- 2005Pablo G. del Amo, un montador de ilusiones · as Peter (archive footage)Actor
- 2005Hitler's Final Days: The Movie 'Downfall' · as SelfActor
- 2005Alias Kurban Saïd · as NarratorActor
- 2006Vitus · as GrandfatherActor
- 2006Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II · as Cardinal Stefan WyszynskiActor
- 2006The Ode to Joy · as Kurt HeinrichActor
- 2007Youth Without Youth · as Professor StanciulescuActor
- 2007Coda: Thirty Years Later · as SelfActor
- 2008The Reader · as Professor RohlActor
- 2008The Baader Meinhof Complex · as Horst HeroldActor
- 2008The Dust of Time · as JacobActor
- 2008One Who Set Forth: Wim Wenders' Early Years · as SelfActor
- 2008Ein starker Abgang · as Heinz KilianActor
- 2008Copacabana · as Herbert SchubertActor
- 2009Julia's Disappearance · as JohnActor
- 2010The End Is My Beginning · as Tiziano TerzaniActor
- 2010The Day of the Cat · as KaterActor
- 2010Taxiphone · as StrangerActor
- 2011Unknown · as Ernst JürgenActor
- 2011Colors in the Dark · as FredActor
- 2011Der Kleine Prinz · as GeographActor
- 2011Das Geheimnis unseres Waldes · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2012Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen · as (archive footage)Actor
- 2012Of Women and Horses · as Franz MannActor
- 2013The Counselor · as Diamond DealerActor
- 2013Night Train to Lisbon · as Older Jorge O'KellyActor
- 2013Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas · as The GovernorActor
- 2014In Order of Disappearance · as PapaActor
- 2014Dancing Arabs · as Self (archive footage) (voice) (uncredited)Actor
- 2015Remember · as Rudy Kurlander #1Actor
- 2015Heidi · as AlpöhiActor
- 2015Amnesia · as BrunoActor
- 2015Giovanni Segantini - Magie des Lichts · as Voice of SegantiniActor
- 2015Beethoven - Egmont, Mozart - Symphony 35 - Claudio Abbado, Lucerne Festival OrchestraActor
- 2016A Jew Must Die · as Arthur BlochActor
- 2017The Party · as GodfriedActor
- 2017In Times of Fading Light · as Wilhelm PowileitActor
- 2017To Duration: A Tribute to Peter HandkeActor
- 2018The House That Jack Built · as VergeActor
- 2018The Tobacconist · as Sigmund FreudActor
- 2018Fortuna · as Brother JeanActor
- 2019A Hidden Life · as RichterActor
- 2019Winter Journey · as George GoldsmithActor
- 2019The Witness · as Nikola RadinActor
- 2019The Naked King - 18 Fragments on Revolution · as Narrator German (voice)Actor
- 2020Wim Wenders, Desperado · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2020Who the F... is Roger Rossmeisl · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2022Bruno Ganz - The Longing Revolutionary · as SelfActor
- 2025Films to Die For · as (archive footage) (uncredited)Actor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.