Born in East Germany, THOMAS KRETSCHMANN trained to top marks at the country's national swimming school. He was to have competed at the 1980 Olympic Games, but the Communist boycott ensured that he could not. While still a teenage, he resolved to escape to the West.
After 18 months of planning, he set off on foot, alone, with 300 Deutschmarks (the equivalent of $100) and a passport. His month long trek cost him part of a finger to frostbite. He crossed four borders: into Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and finally West Berlin. There, he began to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Within a few years, he was invited to join the Schillertheater Company, West Germany's equivalent of the U.K.'s Royal Shakespeare Company.
In 1989, Kretschmann made his feature debut in Ulrike Dickmann's telefilm "Der Mitwisser," which earned the prize at Germany's prestigious Max Ophuls Festival for Best Young Actor. A starring role in Joseph Vilsmaier's World War II epic "Stalingrad" brought him international attention; and he went on to star in Patrice Chereau's "La Reine Margot" (a.k.a. "Queen Margot"), Dairo Argento's "The Stendhal Syndrome," and Pupi Avati's "The Knights of the Quest," among other features.
Now living in Los Angeles, he has been seen in key roles in two worldwide box-office hits: Jonathan Mostow's "U-571" and Guillermo del Toro's "Blade II" (as the title character's nemesis, Damaskinos).
Kretschmann has completed filming the lead role in Egidio Eronico's "Papa," based on events in the life of the sone of Nazi war criminal Josef Mengele (played by Charlton Heston); and is starring in Enki Bilal's "Human Trap," which combines CGI and live action in the biggest-budget French action film to date.
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