Wolf Roth | |
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Born |
Wolf Roth [1] (born August 30, 1944)[2] is a German theatre and television actor.
Early life and education
Roth was born in Torgau, Germany, where his family had fled during World War II. He was raised and educated in Bremen. In 1961 he moved to the United States and graduated from the Edsel Ford High School in Detroit, Michigan. He spent the next months travelling through the Midwest of the U.S.
Career
Having returned to Germany, he graduated in Bremen and went on to the Freie Universität in Berlin. He took courses in sociology and economics, but found his vocation when he was taken by friends to the entrance examinations of the famous Max Reinhardt Seminar for actors. He was discovered by the actress Hilde Körber, and while still in the seminar, he was seen and engaged by Boleslaw Barlog. He made his theatrical debut in the play Quadratur des Kreises by Walentin Petrowitsch Katajew in 1967. Subsequently he joined the theatre in Oberhausen, where he portrayed several roles. He left Oberhausen in 1969 to continue his career in Berlin, where he played in the Berliner Theater and the Schaubühne. During this time, he started to work in television and the movies, where his main work has been since then. Films include Goldene Zeiten (2006) (as the character Jürgen Matthies).
Theatre
- Quadratur des Kreises by Walentin Petrowitsch Katajew, Schiller-Theater Werkstatt Berlin, 1967
- Half Way Up a Tree by Peter Ustinov, "Robert", Oberhausen, 1967/68
- Die Dreigroschenoper by Bertold Brecht, "Filch", Oberhausen, 1967/68
- Das Staatsexamen by Alexander Wampilow, "Koljossow", Oberhausen, 1967/68
- La belle Hélène by Jacques Offenbach, "Paris", Oberhausen, 1967/68
- Kaspar by Peter Handke (world première), "Einsager", Oberhausen, 11.5.1968
- Die Räuber by Friedrich Schiller, "Franz Moor", Oberhausen, 1968
- The Knack by Ann Jellicoe, "Tolen", Oberhausen, 1968
- Avanti! by Samuel A. Taylor, directed by Victor de Kowa, "Baldo Pantaleone" with Günter Pfitzmann, Berliner Theater, 1969
Piano concerts
- In his youth Wolf Roth studied to become a professional pianist. At the age of 12 he gave his first concert with Mozart, at the age of 14 he played his first Beethoven concert and at the age of 16, when in the U.S., he played the Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell and the Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin before audiences. As Franz Moor in Die Räuber he had to play the piano on stage (it was a modern dress production) and was so good, that it was almost impossible to convince the critics and the audience, that they were watching a 'live performance' and not listening to an audio recording.
Selected films
- Perrak, directed by Alfred Vohrer (1971), as Nick
- Ich werde dich töten, Wolf, directed by Wolfgang Petersen (1971), as Wolf
- Der kleine Doktor (1974, German television series, 1 episode), as Philippe
- One or the Other of Us, directed by Wolfgang Petersen (1974), as Hohenberg
- Quincy, M.E. (1977, US television series, 1 episode), as Müller
- Plutonium (1978), as Porfirio Perez
- Fleisch (1979), as Bill
- Derrick - Season 10, Episode 1: "Via Genua" (1983), as Achim Huber
- Derrick - "Ein Spiel mit dem Tod" (1984), as Ulrich Hossner
- Cover Up (1985, US television series, 1 episode), as Nicholas
- Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1985, US television series, 1 episode), as Hans Retzig
- Derrick - "Entlassen Sie diesen Mann nicht!" (1986), as Dr. Kraus
- Derrick - "Höllensturz" (1990), as Arnold Kiesing
- Derrick - "Caprese in der Stadt" (1991), as Gaug
- Derrick - "Der Schrei" (1991), as Simon Krüger
- Derrick - "Die seltsame Sache Liebe" (1993), as Seidel
- Derrick - "Gib dem Mörder nicht die Hand" (1994), as Gerhard Schumann
- Derrick - "Abendessen mit Bruno" (1994), as Herr Mandy
- Derrick - "Ein Mord, zweiter Teil" (1995), as Rudolf Kollau
- Derrick - "Eines Mannes Herz" (1995), as Arnold Bertram
- Derrick - "Die Ungerührtheit der Mörder" (1995), as Professor Weiland
- Derrick - "Mama Kaputtke" (1998), as Herr Reuter
- Goldene Zeiten (2006), as Jürgen Matthies
- A Hitman's Solitude Before the Shot (2014), as Generalleutnant Vanhaarten
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), as Spielman