The actor in the picture started his career in a kitsch soap opera 30 years ago. But then it went steeply uphill: the first movies follow, and soon Hollywood knocks on the door.
Do you already have an idea who it is? A little tip before we tell you the solution: He was celebrated internationally for his impressive role in Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece Inglourious Basterds. Several golden globes nominations later followed.
Today he is a Hollywood star: Daniel Brühl made it to the top
Actor Daniel Brühl (46) did it, which many German actors can only dream of: a real career as a Hollywood star. The son of a German father and a Spanish mother speaks 5 languages fluid – an advantage that beneficiaries his international career.
According to the first German-language successes, Brühl was in front of the camera as a sniper Fredrick Fredrick Zoller in the Oscar-nominated Tarantino strip Inglourious Basterds (2009) and delighted an audience of millions.
Further dream roles follow, among other things, he embodied the Formula 1 legend Niki Lauda in Rush-everything for victory (2014). Brühl played so convincingly that he even received a golden globe nomination. For his representation in the Netflix series The Alienist – the circle was again nominated for the renowned price in 2019. In 2021 he dared to jump into the Marvel cosmos with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Everyone starts small – Daniel Brühl started with forbidden love
Today Daniel Brühl is a Hollywood star that can be seen in expensive mega productions. But that wasn’t always like that: Brühl started his career with the wonderfully kitschy soap opera forbidden love (ZDF). There he played the teen Benji Kirchner in 1995, who lives in the Kuckucksheim orphanage and has to deal with his difficult past. With a 90s frieze and tattered leather jacket, he demonstrated as a teenager how much talent is in it.
In an interview with BZ, Brühl revealed that the role is quite embarrassing today:
I was only 15 and was called Benji. I was wearing a leather jacket and had a white rat that constantly shit my jacket full. I hope this will never be repeated!
Only 8 years later, Brühl succeeds in the breakthrough on the cinema screen: with the Tragikömodie Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) The young actor not only inspired the German audience, but was also able to win international fans. The rest is – as the saying goes – history.