Thomas Kretschmann is an Austrian actor most well known for his German films. His most notable role to date is that of Major Hans Von Wagenfield in Stalingrad. He was also in charge of propaganda during World War II. He later played a leading character in the TV series Strika. Other than acting, Kretschmann has also been a producer and director, contributing to numerous German-based movies and series.
Thomas Kretschmann was born in Austria in 1923. His parents, concerned about his emotional health, encouraged him to take up piano lessons as a youngster. He then trained for four years at the Vienna Academy of Music, from which he graduated in 1924. After that, Kretschmann went to the United States, where he spent two years studying classical guitar and began working with a travelling circus as a jugger and circus performer.
Kretschman’s first and major role in a feature film came in the 1993 movie Stalingrad. Playing a German soldier who stays behind to carry out a mission, Kretschman plays opposite Albert Einstein, together forming a dynamic duo whose dynamic partnership provides the movie with its greatest strength. In this film, Thomas loses the desire to go on living in Stalingrad after contracting a deadly disease after being shot by a Russian sniper. In the sequel to Stalingrad, Kretschman returns to the starring role.
Kretschman’s most recent major role came in the 1999 film Amadeus. Nowadays, he is best known for playing opposite Kevin Spacey in the American version of House. Thomas Kretschmann was born in 1886 in Germany, where his father worked as a lawyer. At the age of twelve, Thomas Kretschmann began learning the piano, later going on to play it even more proficiently in adulthood. He attended the University of Munich, where he pursued studies in music theory and composition.
Kretschmann spent six months in Rhenberg, Austria, during the summer of 1947, where he participated in the International Fantastic Film Festival. This time, Kretschman did not speak English but rather German, and he impressed the directorial talent of Bertulf Kubler and resulted in the part in Rhenberg as the grandfather of the late Dr. Max Kretzschmann. It was this role that catapulted Kretschman to worldwide stardom, and made him an instant favorite in the world of cinema. He subsequently played the same role in the equally successful The Good German (Kubler), which was later made into a feature-length film titled Das Boots! in 1960.
Kretschman’s acting career then took him to Hollywood, where he appeared in such popular films as Patton (which he also wrote and would write a book based on), Grease (with Joe Pesci), Man On The Moon (with Mario Lanza), Leave Me To Die With Love (with Marlon Brando), and Blowin’ In The Wind (with Roy Clark). Apart from these films, Kretschmann also had a role in A Few Good Men, Another Day At School, We Are Marshall, and Steel Magnolias. Then in the 1960s, Thomas Kretschmann was one of the most prominent figures of the Nazism. Kretschman was listed as one of the leaders of the Nazism and even received an honorary doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1967.
Kretschmann was born in dessau, east Germany. Thomas was said to be one of the most timid of all children, and it is said that when his father had to leave for a visit in the United States, Thomas would often hide inside his room for several days. Later in life, Thomas Kretschmann would go on to become one of the best known and respected swimmers of all time, making his television appearances on such shows as Coast to Coast with Johnlying, Living My Life, and The Rock. His greatest known TV role was on the series The Godfather, playing Joanna Stayton, a well-meaning, but totally insane, friend of Marlon Brando’s character. Kretschmann also appeared in the films Meet The Parents, Come On You Reds, and Everybody Loves Raymond.
Following his extensive television work, Thomas Kretschmann decided that he wanted to continue acting, and so began his long and illustrious career in films, plays, and theater. He became known to American audiences through his memorable role as Willy Loman in On the Waterfront. Kretschmann went on to star in such films as Grease, Pretty Woman, The Perfect Match, Swing Vote, and Everybody Loves Raymond. Though his mainstream film work did not always lead to stardom, his success in films and theater continued to earn him a number of awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and he is so popular with younger moviegoer that he continues to receive support from the producers of such movies as Spiderman, Fantastic Four, and Men in Black. Thomas Kretschmann was also nominated for an Oscar for his role as Alexander Cross in the movie drama The Elephant in the Room. No doubt this helped secure him a spot on the much-coveted second-best list for greatest actors of all time.
