Acting · Hanover, Germany · Born June 30, 1941
Otto Sander (German: [ˈɔtoː ˈzandɐ]; June 30, 1941 – September 12, 2013) was a German film, theater, and voice actor. Sander grew up in Kassel, where he graduated in 1961 from the Friedrichgymnasium. After leaving school he spent his military service in 1961/62 with the Bundesmarine and left as reserve fenrik. Sander then studied theatre science, history of art and philosophy. In 1965 he made his acting debut at the Düsseldorfer chamber plays. After his first film work in the same year he abandoned his studies in 1967, and went to Munich to become a full-time actor. His career is closely connected with the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin under the direction of Peter Stein. From 1980 onwards Sander appeared on several of Berlin's theatre stages, among others at the Schillertheater in 1981, at the Freie Volksbühne in 1985 and in 1989 at the Komödie am Kurfürstendamm. More recently he starred in Hauptmann von Köpenick at the Schauspielhaus Bochum (2004). In 1990, he was a member of the Jury at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival. Among his best-known film roles are the angel Cassiel in Wings of Desire and its sequel Faraway, So Close! by Wim Wenders, and a shell-shocked U-boat commander, Kapitänleutnant Philipp Thomsen, in Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot. Sander also appeared in The Tin Drum (1979) as a trumpeter and in Comedian Harmonists, a biopic about the musical group of the same name. He also played a professor in the movie The Promise about the division of Berlin by the wall. In 1999 he played a role in Rosa von Praunheim's movie The Einstein of Sex.
MovieAbout Narration
2025
MovieDas Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story
2021
as Self
MovieRoland Klick: The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter
2013
as Himself
MovieFly Away
2012
as Eckehardt Tiedgen
Die Schuld der Erben
2012
as Leonhard Asmussen
MovieLife Is Too Long
2010
MovieKrabat
2008
as Narrator (voice)
MovieThe Heart Is a Dark Forest
2007
as Helmut
MovieLittle King Macius
2007
as Erasmus (voice)
TVUnter kaiserlicher Flagge
2006
as Erzähler / Narrator
TVVienna Crime Squad
2005
as Conrad Ribarski
MovieKaluoka'hina: The Enchanted Reef
2004
as Narrator (voice)
Leute am Donnerstag
2004
as himself
Aus Liebe zu Deutschland - Eine Spendenaffäre
2003
as Voice
MovieThe Danube
2003
as Franz
MovieWerner - Gekotzt wird später!
2003
as Erzähler (voice)
MovieWings of Desire: The Angels Among Us
2003
as Self
Tödliches Vertrauen
2002
as Bernd Kortens
Atlantic Affairs
2002
as Maitre de Plaisir on Stage
Ein roter Teppich für....
2002
as Self
MovieHappy Too
2002
as Himself / Gert Bastian
TVThrough the Night with...
2002
as Self
Gero von Boehm begegnet...
2002
as Self
TVDas Jahrhundert des Theaters
2002
as Narrator
Movie100 Pro
2001
as Narrator
MovieSass
2001
as Vater Sass
TVPreußen – Chronik eines deutschen Staates
2000
as Self (Narrator)
TVLes Misérables
2000
as Monseigneur Bienvenu
MovieThe Einstein of Sex: Life and Work of Dr. M. Hirschfeld
2000
as Professor Steinach
MovieMarlene
2000
as Bühnenmanager
MovieE-m@il an Gott
1999
as Petrus
Majestät brauchen Sonne
1999
as Kaiser Wilhelm II (voice)
MovieGirls under investigation
1999
as Staatsanwalt Baldur Meixner
MovieMänner sind wie Schokolade
1999
as Vater Lano
Der Kuß des Vergessens
1999
as Herr Jelke
TVThe Shop
1998
Stan Becker - Auf eigene Faust
1998
as Walker
MovieAm I Beautiful?
1998
as David
The Johannes B. Kerner Show
1998
as Self
MovieThe Harmonists
1997
Tietjen und Bommes
1997
as Self
MovieConversation with the Beast
1997
as Adolf Hitler Double
Liebe Lügen
1997
as Vater
Friedemann Brix - Eine Schwäche für Mord
1996
as Rainer Kleinhundert
MovieThe Killer Condom
1996
as Mr. Higgins
TVZimmer frei!
1996
as Self
Matulla und Busch
1995
as Korte
MovieLumière & Company
1995
as Cassiel (segment "Wim Wenders")
TVDie Harald Schmidt Show
1995
as Self
MovieNikolaikirche
1995
as kirchlicher Superintendent
TVKulturzeit
1995
as self
MovieThe Promise
1995
as Professor Lorenz
MovieBauernschach
1995
as Dr. Gerold Stadler
TVA.S. Gefahr ist sein Geschäft
1995
as Freddy Klinke
MovieDas Loch
1995
as Der Mann
MovieThe White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang
1994
as Prof. Hinzelmann
Hölderlin-Comics
1994
MovieMovie Days
1994
as Maður á hesti
MovieThree Sisters
1994
as Vershinin
MovieThe Film Narrator
1993
as Salzmann
MovieThe Olympic Summer
1993
as Sprecher
MovieFaraway, So Close!
1993
as Cassiel
MovieInge, April und Mai
1993
Schlusschor
1993
TVWolffs Revier
1992
as Schenk
MovieLyrische Suite. Das untergehende Vaterland
1992
Bescheiß kein Kind!
1992
as Vater
TVDAS!
1991
as Self
MovieWerner and the Wizard of Booze
1990
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Vorwärts
1990
MovieTime of Vengeance
1990
as Robert
MovieThe Break
1989
as Erwin Lubowitz
Wie du mir..
1989
as Markus Petarka
MovieThe Case of Mr. Spalt
1988
as Otto Spalt
MovieWings of Desire
1987
as Cassiel
Close Up
1987
as Professor Spalt
MovieBoundaries of Time - Caspar David Friedrich
1986
as Gerichtsgehilfe
Drei Schwestern
1986
as Alexander Ignatjewitsch Werschinin
MovieMiko: From the Gutter to the Stars
1986
as Loan officer Grop
MovieWahnfried
1986
as Richard Wagner
MovieRosa Luxemburg
1986
as Karl Liebknecht
Eine Reise wert… Der Dichter Günter Kunert (be)sucht Berlin
1986
as Rezitation
TVDas Boot
1985
as Kapitänleutnant Philipp
TVDer Fahnder
1984
as Bähr
Der Mord mit der Schere
1984
as Inspector Spalt
MovieA Love in Germany
1983
as Narrator
Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois
1982
as Self
MovieDer Mann im Pyjama
1981
as Rudi
TVDas Traumschiff
1981
as James Korthals
MovieWho's Going Crazy Here, Doctor?
1981
as Nummer Sieben
MovieDas Boot
1981
as Phillip Thomsen
MovieStrike Back
1981
as Kowalski
Gesucht wird... Drei Geschichten um nicht ganz ehrenwerte Herren
1981
TVWetten, dass..?
1981
as Self
Im Schlaraffenland. Ein Roman unter feinen Leuten
1981
as Kalfisch
Die Ursache
1980
Der Mond scheint auf Kylenamoe
1980
MoviePalermo or Wolfsburg
1980
as Staatsanwalt
MovieThe Tin Drum
1979
as Meyn
Trilogie des Wiedersehens
1979
as Richard
Phantom
1979
TVNDR Talk Show
1979
as Self
Plastikfieber
1979
as Wilfried
Die Ängste des Dr. Schenk
1978
Heinrich Zille
1977
MovieFour Against the Bank
1976
as Eberhard Winter
MovieThe Marquise of O
1976
as Brother, Forstmeister
MovieSummer Guests
1976
as Pjotr Suslov
Lehmanns Erzählungen
1975
as Lehmann
MovieBerlin 10. 11. 74 - 28. 1. 75: Exercises in 9 Pieces
1975
as Himself
MovieMeine Sorgen möcht' ich haben
1975
as Harald Bornemann
Die Bakchen
1974
as Tiresias
MovieOne or the Other of Us
1974
as Rulle Ruhlsdorff
Ermittlungen gegen Unbekannt
1974
Prinz Friedrich von Homburg
1973
as Obrist Kottwitz
The Ignoramus and the Madman
1972
TVPolizeiruf 110
1971
as Ludwig Stolze
Die Mutter
1971
Sonntags am Meer
1970
as Fritzchen
TVScene of the Crime
1970
as Manfred Enders
MovieNo Pawing, Darling
1970
Sonnabend, der 1.
1970
TVAktenzeichen XY… ungelöst
1967
as Kunsträuber
Ludwig
1964
as Ludwig
Grimme Award
1964
as Self
