Günter Clemens (born 8 June 1942) is a German actor, director, and author. He is best known for his roles in the films The Boat Is Full (1981), The Tin Drum (1979), and Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965).
Clemens was born in Berlin in 1942. He first studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna, Austria, and then later at the School for Music and Theater in Hamburg. He made his stage debut in 1964 at the Hamburg Schauspielhaus.
Clemens’ first major film role was as a teenage boy in the 1965 film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, directed by Sergei Parajanov. The film was a major success at the Cannes Film Festival, winning the Grand Prix. He went on to appear in several other films in the 1970s, including The Tin Drum, directed by Volker Schlöndorff. The film was an international sensation, winning the 1979 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
In the 1980s, Clemens appeared in several television series, including the critically-acclaimed The Boat Is Full, which was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He also appeared in the 1984 television miniseries Süskind, based on the novel by Patrick Süskind.
In 1993, Clemens wrote, directed, and starred in the television film Der goldene Schmetterling (The Golden Butterfly). The film was a success, and earned him a nomination for the Grimme Award.
Clemens has appeared in numerous films and television series since the 1990s, including The Reader (2008), War Horse (2011), and A Hologram for the King (2016). He also appeared in the 2017 Netflix series Dark.
Clemens has won numerous awards throughout his career, including the Golden Camera Award in 1983, the Bavarian Television Award in 1996, and the Bavarian Film Award in 2005.
Throughout his career, Clemens has been highly acclaimed for his work, and is widely considered one of the greatest German actors of all time.
Place of birth
Augsburg, Germany
