Thomas Kretschmann (born September 8, 1962) is a German actor who has also performed in Hollywood movies, mostly as ill-fated characters.

Kretschmann was born in Dessau, former East Germany. Before he became an actor, Kretschmann trained to become an Olympic swimmer. At the age of 19 he left East Germany and began a month-long trek to West Germany to escape Communism. During this trek he lost part of a finger, but it was surgically reattached. Kretschmann crossed four borders with nothing other than his passport and the equivalent of $100 in his possession. At the age of 25, he began acting, starring in numerous European films and television series.

In 1991, Kretschmann was awarded the Max Ophüls Prize for best young actor for his role in Der Mitwisser. Popular in his native country, Kretschmann did not achieve fame in Hollywood until his role as Capt. Wilm Hosenfeld in Roman Polanski's 2002 film The Pianist. Kretschmann has since portrayed several military officers of the Third Reich period. Kretschmann played SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein, a member of Adolf Hitler's personal entourage, in Der Untergang (Downfall) in 2004.

More recently, Kretchmann won a part for himself in Peter Jackson's 2005 remake of King Kong, where he worked again with Adrien Brody, with whom he costarred in The Pianist.

Kretschmann's most recent role (as of May 2006) was in A Grimm Love Story (Rohtenburg in Germany). A psychological thriller, the movie co-stars Keri Russell and was inspired by the Armin Meiwes cannibalism case. It was scheduled for a March 2006 release in Germany, but its showing is under injunction after Meiwes successfully sued to have it banned on grounds of infringement of his Persönlichkeitsrecht (personality rights).

Kretschmann currently works in Los Angeles and lives there with his long-time girlfriend Lena. The couple have three children.

Selected filmography