Horst Günter Marx

Born in Potsdam in 1955, Horst-Günter Marx starts acting in his school's mime troupe at 10, where he makes his first efforts in acting and directing. By then he feels the strong wish to become an actor. In 1978 Marx takes acting classes at the Schauspielschule Ernst Busch in East Berlin. After finishing his studies in 1981, he plays at theaters in Magdeburg and in Anklam. There he joins Frank Castorf's ensemble, which is dismissed in 1982 for not conforming to East Germany's cultural policy. In 1984 Marx applies for permission to leave the country. He is put to jail and, after some months of imprisonment, is expelled to West Germany in 1985. From 1986 to 1988 Marx plays at the theater in Basel, in between making his first movie appearance in Jeanine Meerapfel's 'Die Verliebten'. In 1987 he plays the male lead in Robert van Ackeren's film 'Die Venusfalle', and for this performance is awarded the Max Ophüls Prize as best young actor in 1989. In the early nineties Marx plays in TV productions a lot, e.g. in 'Die Tote von Amelung' and in 'Mörderische Zwillinge', though without completely abandoning to work on stage. He tours with Schiller's 'Die Räuber', plays at the theater in Düsseldorf and at Berlin's Volksbühne. After 1996 Marx increasingly appears in TV serials, e.g. in 'Die Drei', 'Tatort', 'Balko, der Clown', and 'SoKo 5113'. In 2000 he plays the main role in the TV movie 'Die Wunde'. In 'Dark Blue World' he plays a sergeant for cinema, and in the cinema feature 'Freie Tanke' (2000) he is one of the leads. In 2003 Horst-Günter Marx plays the role of Josef Mattis in the screen play 'Milchwald' (Le bois lacte). In 2006 he appeared in the BBC documentary 'Auschwitz', playing the role of KZ-commander Rudolf Höss. Horst-Günter Marx is currently playing lead in the German TV series 'Tierärztin Dr. Mertens'.